Forest Gate
London, UK
The brief was to resolve the issues created by a single front to back living and dining room with poor circulation and limited storage. We reconfigured this into three distinct zones, using joinery and modified door openings to change how the ground floor is entered and experienced.
At the front, the living room feels larger with the hallway door removed and new oak joinery providing shelving for books and cupboards for storage. At the centre is the relocated kitchen, where the island forms a natural divide between the kitchen and the dining area. At the rear, the former kitchen has become a dining space that opens into the side return, with a large window connecting the room to the garden. A lean-to glass roof brings light into the centre of the home, while an oak trellis frame provides privacy and additional storage through integrated shelves and drawers. The rear facade is overclad with a timber frame on a cast pigmented concrete plinth, and the walls are externally insulated and finished in clay plaster.
Upstairs, a larger vaulted bathroom has been created by using the redundant corridor and loft space, forming a bright double aspect room with pattern and fluted tiles that link the space, fittings and joinery. A painted stair rises through the centre of the house to the existing dormer, where a new rooflight brings light deep into the home.
Throughout, natural finishes such as lime plaster, oak joinery and sanded pine floors combine with colour and texture to complement the spatial experience, giving the home its distinctive blend of playfulness, comfort and warmth.
Credits:
Main Contractor - Dowel Design
Structural Engineer - A.S Construction & Engineering
Kitchen - ThreeFourFive Furniture
Joinery - Golden Ratio Joinery
