A spacious Holland Park house gets a remarkable architectural transformation by David Money
For architects working on a typical UK urban house, it must sometimes seem that there isn't much possibility for originality left. Side return extensions, loft conversions, basements dug out for open-plan kitchens – the script is a similar one on most of our city streets. But this is decidedly not a typical urban house, as David Money and his team found when they were called on board by their long-term clients, and neither was their response to it.
Tucked down a side street in lovely Holland Park, the house was, as David describes it, “a classic Edwardian pile, quite chaotically planned and a bit of a labyrinth, but very grand nonetheless. It wasn't, however, functioning particularly well." There was no basement, so that the potential of the footprint was not being maximised, and there were tiny hidden staircases that did nothing to help the flow through the existing three storeys. The biggest problem, however, was that on the long, deep plot, it was difficult to get enough light into the heart of the house.
David and his colleague Fernando Chehtman proposed a radical solution – to remove part of the middle of the house entirely and create a courtyard garden which would allow light to flow into the darker spaces at one side of the house, even the new basement. One side of this courtyard was to be entirely glazed all the way down its four storeys, with a showstopping new staircase within that connects all the floors in a more rational way.
The result is a bold, dramatic layout that has transformed the feel of the interior. “With the introduction of this internal green haven you suddenly get double-aspect spaces and natural light everywhere” David explains. “The kitchen, for example, has a window onto the garden and also onto the back of the house, so you get light infusing right into the centre of the house." Jinny Blom was tasked with the garden design (both in the courtyard and in the larger space at the side of the house, which was featured in House & Garden in 2023), and created a marvellous Japanese garden, complete with a cloud-pruned pine tree that had to be craned in from above and a playful bridge that runs across from the front of the house to the back at the level of the ground floor.
The staircase was an impressive technical feat: David and Fernando had a fight on their hands to get vast wall of glass installed in the first place, and it meant that the support for the stairs had to be disguised within the framing of the window. The other significant feat of engineering was building a basement under the entire footprint of the house. The clients wanted two things from this space: firstly it needed to contain a bar where they could throw parties without disturbing their neighbours, and secondly it was to house a spa, complete with a sauna, steam bath and cold and hot pools. Both are spectacular spaces in very different ways, though the designers’ and clients' shared love of Asian aesthetics informs them both. The spa is restrained with a suggestion of Japanese onsen baths, while the bar is an opulent riot of a room with exotic murals, infinity mirrors and a high-gloss ceiling, all influenced by the idea of the opium den.
The interiors were the work of Paris-based Festen Architecture, who worked closely with David and Fernando every step of the way, enhancing the generous, open rooms the architects were conjuring up. “The clients have an informal, spontaneous kind of lifestyle,” explains David, “so the brief was to avoid dividing the house up into compartmentalised formal spaces. It was very much about creating flow between the rooms, and also between the interiors and the garden.” The ground floor houses a set of expansive living spaces that open on to one another: a spacious kitchen that opens into a timber-clad dining room; a smart drawing room filled with art, and a more informal study and family room at the front of the house. The first floor houses an airy main suite complete with dressing room and bathroom, along with a guest room, while the children's rooms occupy the top floor.
The studios collaborated on the luxurious materials that run throughout the rooms, such as the beautiful timber boards that unify each space, the characterful wood cladding in the dining room, and the lovely glazed bricks on the staircase. “We took inspiration from Victorian architecture," explains David, “where often a light well is clad in white glazed bricks. They continue from the garden into the stairwell, blurring the boundaries between the two.” Elsewhere, the aesthetic is cool and contemporary, filled with a stylish blend of vintage and modern furniture. "Festen’s interiors are exuberant in some parts, pared-down in others but everywhere an elegant and refined complement to our form" concludes David – “the perfect backdrop for entertaining and family life alike.”
Michael Sinclair1/17A pair of Gio Ponti lounge chairs form part of the seating arrangement in the main sitting room. The rug was designed by Barbro Nilsson for Märta Måås-Fjetterström in the 1940s.
Michael Sinclair2/17
Michael Sinclair3/17The plywood chair is a 1950s design by José Zanine Caldas. ‘LT8’ lamps by Osvaldo Borsani stand to the right.
Michael Sinclair4/17The dining table is the ‘Kitayama K22’ design by Garnier & Linker. The wall lights are by Pierre Chareau via Galerie MCDE, and the ceiling light is by Dimore Gallery.
Michael Sinclair5/17The cabinetry in the kitchen was designed by Plain English, and the island is by La Cornue, and has a custom waney-edged wooden counter on one side.
Michael Sinclair6/17Looking back into the dining room from the kitchen, one of Isamu Noguchi's ‘Akari’ lights is visible.
Michael Sinclair7/17
Michael Sinclair8/17
Michael Sinclair9/17
Michael Sinclair10/17
Michael Sinclair11/17The main bedroom.
Michael Sinclair12/17Lanterns by Apparatus hang at the side of the bed.
Michael Sinclair13/17The bath is Water Monopoly's ‘Rockwell’ design.
Michael Sinclair14/17
Michael Sinclair15/17
Michael Sinclair16/17
Michael Sinclair17/17
