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When Blu Reynolds and his partner Corey bought their ground-floor apartment, part of an end-of-terrace Victorian house in Brixton, London, they were keen to infuse it with their own diverse artistic flair. The couple knew significant remodelling would be required to provide the layout they wanted, but lived in the house for a year before making any final decisions to ensure their ideas had time to blossom.
When they moved in, the living room was located at the front of the house and the kitchen to the rear. These main spaces were connected by a cramped corridor, running in an L-shape configuration past the two bedrooms. The main bedroom, set at the back of the house, had no external glazing, instead featuring just a single clerestory window overlooking the kitchen area – from which a small roof light allowed limited daylight to filter through. The second bedroom was to one side of the property, directly between the living room and kitchen, and this had an ensuite bathroom extending into the garden.
Planning permission was already in place for a small brick extension to the rear to provide a living-dining room. The scheme also included the conversion of the front living room to a large master bedroom. However, the lack of daylight in the second bedroom and a shortage of storage space meant that a more creative solution was required.
Blu and Corey appointed friend and architect Ed Couper to work in collaboration with Lucy Kuhar, of Lumin Architects, with a brief to remodel the apartment’s layout, as well as convert the basement into habitable living space. The two designers have worked together on a number of projects across the globe, including at London practice Karakusevic Carson Architects, a house in Australia, community centre in New Zealand and women’s shelter in Fiji.
Built in brick and block with a flat roof, a living-dining room has been added to the back of the house, providing a strong connection with the garden via full-width bifold doors
Ed has since returned to his native Australia, while Lucy founded her own practice in 2018, initially in London but now based in Hertfordshire. “When Blu and Corey came to me to ask if I could do their house extension, of course I said yes – and brought in Lucy, who has lots of experience with this kind of project,” says Ed.
The first iteration of the plans included digging out the existing small cellar to make space for an ensuite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe for the new master bedroom. Skyrocketing materials and service prices caused by the Covid pandemic, however, meant that the required excavation and underpinning works became unaffordable – with prices rising sharply, from £250 to £400 per m2.
With a basement ruled out, Ed and Lucy revisited the existing approved plans. They made amendments to rationalise the layout, introduce more daylight and increase the dimensions of the main accommodation to create a cohesive kitchen-living-dining area. An ensuite bathroom leading off the rear bedroom would be demolished to make way for a new 3.6m-deep flat-roof extension, built in London brick and topped with a modern EPDM membrane.
This new space is drenched in daylight, with a dropped floor level and a green marble tabletop that matches the worktops.
Aluminium bifold doors would open up the new living space to the garden, enhancing the connection between indoors and out. One of the panels operates as a conventional door, enabling it to double up as the main entrance, with access via a gate into the rear garden. A single large rooflight further enhances natural brightness.
Corey is a keen gardener, and once the dwarf wall and horizontal hit and miss fence had been built, he soon populated beds and borders with stunning plants and flowers
The large living room at the front of the house would still become the master bedroom, but Ed and Lucy were eventually able to include an ensuite by slightly reducing the size of the bedroom and moving the door. They also shaved a few inches off the second bedroom, which meant the hallway could be shunted across, creating space for a compact storage-cum-utility room, flanking the corridor.
Perhaps the most spectacular feature of the new proposal was the glazed internal courtyard, between the kitchen and second bedroom. The addition enhances the open feeling and creates a sense of depth in the apartment, while introducing daylight into the centre of the house and providing both rooms with access to the outdoors. There was even enough space within the revised floorplan for a third bedroom/study.
The parquet floor has been laid in chevrons to point in the direction you walk in as you enter, creating a subtly welcoming message
Corey and Blu put their project out to tender, receiving quotes that varied widely between £70,000 and £300,000. Some included materials and services, while others were for labour only. After careful consideration, the couple chose a firm (which has since ceased trading) that quoted £110,000 plus materials.
A management consultant in the health care industry, Blu felt confident taking on the role of ordering the materials, products and fittings for the project. Given the lack of space on the tight London site, one of his best decisions was to rent a nearby storage unit, which was invaluable for stocking their purchases, ensuring they’d be ready when the builders needed them. The couple moved into a friend’s house for the duration of the building works, popping back to their own home regularly to check in on how the scheme was coming together.
The layout changes meant that most of the internal walls were removed, necessitating the installation of new steel beams. During this work, the structure was buttressed with specialist supports designed by a structural engineer and propping consultant. The foundations were dug at the same time, making for a busy site.
The new kitchen-living-dining room is a light-filled hub, but it’s not quite how the couple originally envisaged. Their planning permission stipulated a maximum roof height of 2.83m for the extension, which in turn meant the living-dining area would have to be lower than the original house to achieve adequate ceiling heights. “We had our hearts set on a single floor level throughout the apartment, but this would have meant lowering the floor throughout, costing a fortune,” says Blu.
Walnut door fronts have been fitted over Ikea units to create richly toned cupboards on both sides. Green marble worktops reach to the floor on the right side of the kitchen
Instead, this zone steps up to the kitchen. “We actually love the difference in floor levels,” says Blu. “Plus, the new, light space with bifold doors that open onto the garden is gorgeous in the summer.” The kitchen itself has been upgraded with stylish wall cabinets on one side and a striking marble island unit opposite, with waterfall worktops that continue down to the floor.
The flooring – oak parquet in a herringbone pattern – proved difficult to get right, and in some places took more than one attempt to install. Blu and Corey spent six weeks finalising a stain for it that would achieve the depth of colour they wanted, but as they’d ordered the product in advance and kept it in storage, there was time to play with colours. “It would probably have been easier to buy a walnut floor, but I’m extremely picky and had an idea in mind,” says Blu. “We mixed so many stains in different quantities until we got the right look.”
In addition to the floor, attention to detail shines throughout the house, not least in the decorative finishes. “We have quite different tastes, but are respectful of this and agreed that, unless the other person absolutely hated our choice, we would include it,” says Blu. “This has led to us using some fairly bright colours and bold patterns, and we’re thrilled with how it’s turned out.”
CLOSER LOOK Art takes centre stageBlu and Corey, who have been married for almost eight years, take an eclectic approach to art and decor. Keen to inject colour and form into the interior, they’ve carefully curated the spaces to best showcase their collections.
The couple gave a detailed brief to the architects on the desired location of various pieces of artwork and sculpture, to ensure the spaces were designed to accommodate them. The electrical installation was then planned to ensure picture lighting and power sockets were positioned to enable certain pieces to be properly displayed.
“We wanted each room to have its own character, bringing life, colour and texture to the spaces. We feel like we have done exactly that, and we are really happy with the result,” says Blu. |
Happily, the couple do align on many decorative styles. “Corey likes classical and lavish designs, so we opted for traditional coving in the new living room and added it back into the original parts of the house – to match the existing mouldings and ceiling rose in the master bedroom,” says Blu.
A bold royal blue paint colour has been chosen for the ceiling, which showcases the pretty ceiling rose and the white modern light fitting – a real feature
“We also selected an opulent gold wallpaper in the master ensuite, royal blue in the ceiling of the second bedroom and bold blue-green walls in the study, to offset the use of bright white through other areas of the house.”
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