Hampstead House Extension

Architecture for London completed this Hampstead house extension and refurbishment for a Grade II listed Arts and Crafts property overlooking Hampstead Heath. The project creates a unique family home that balances heritage with modern living, improving connections to the garden and bringing more natural light into the heart of the house.

Context and Brief

This Grade II listed house is one of a collection of Arts and Crafts dwellings on a crescent adjacent to Hampstead Heath. Built in 1884 and designed by Victorian architect E. J. May, the property required significant refurbishment while respecting its historic character and listed status.

The client’s brief was to deliver a sensitive house extension and internal reconfiguration that would better connect the home to its verdant rear garden. The client required generous, flexible family spaces, with carefully restored Arts and Crafts features throughout.

Rear Extension

The new rear extension embraces Arts & Crafts principles of simple forms, authentic materials and meticulous craftsmanship. A common material palette of red brick and Buscot limestone ties the new addition to the existing house, ensuring a harmonious relationship between old and new.more

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Powder-coated steel, triple-glazed Secco doors open the kitchen and living spaces to the garden, while a roof lantern brings daylight deep into the plan. Together, these elements complete the glazing to the extension and enhance the connection between the interior and the landscaped garden.

Interior Refurbishment

Piano nobile rooms were refurbished and original cornices restored, preserving the character of the original Arts and Crafts architecture. New bespoke joinery was designed throughout the house, including smoked oak panelling to several rooms, to complement the historic detailing.

The kitchen, utility room and master bedroom joinery were supplied by Plain English, with cabinetry tailored to the proportions of the existing rooms.

Most of the original timber floorboards survived and featured an early tongue-and-groove detail. These were carefully removed, refinished and re-laid, with matching infill pieces introduced where necessary to create a seamless finish.

A new master suite was created on the second floor, with the original turret space now providing a light-filled dressing room. The ensuite bathroom is finished in bookmatched Arabescato marble, with Tadelakt applied to the walls, ceilings and shower enclosure for a refined, tactile finish.

Conservation and Structure

The elaborate chimneys at the top of the house were in poor condition after years of exposure; the mortar had weathered away, weakening their structure. Each chimney was carefully taken down, the stone flaunches rebuilt, and the brick stacks reassembled to match the original appearance.

A significant number of floor joists at both the second and third-floor levels required replacement due to historic modifications that had weakened the floors. These structural upgrades ensure the long-term performance of the house while allowing for the new layout and services required for contemporary family living.

Garden Design

Previously, the raised rear garden was accessible only via steep steps from the ground floor, limiting its everyday use. Lowering the garden involved an extensive and complex excavation, as the house is bounded by other listed properties with similarly raised garden levels. The works required careful propping and underpinning of high garden walls to protect neighbouring structures.

The new lower garden is now directly connected to the kitchen at the rear of the house, transforming the way the family uses the ground floor. The adjusted levels allow natural light to flood into the kitchen and rear extension, creating a bright, generous space that opens seamlessly onto the garden terrace.

This Hampstead house extension and refurbishment demonstrates how a Grade II listed Arts and Crafts property can be adapted for modern family life while respecting and enhancing its historic character.

If you’re planning a residential extension in Hampstead or a Grade II listed house renovation in London, contact Architecture for London to discuss your project.

Project Details

Project Architects:
Sophie Campbell, Amrit Marway

Location:
Hampstead NW3

Project Type:
House Extension and refurbishment

Photography:
Nick Dearden