T&B’s House

Location: Gants Hill, London
Services: Architect, Interior Design, Principal Designer
Completed: 2022
Contractor: Chris Peacock
Photography: Andy Heathcote

Maximised footprint creating places to occupy the threshold between the new extensions and the garden.

This East London home was designed for two doctors and their growing family, who wanted to transform their original Edwardian house into a generous, light-filled family home. The brief was ambitious: retain the character of the original building while significantly extending it to suit contemporary living. Through a carefully considered series of extensions, the footprint of the house was almost doubled.

A key ambition of the project was to open up the ground floor and create a strong connection to the large rear garden. Taking advantage of the lower garden level, the new rear extension was sunk into the site to create dramatic 4-metre-high ceilings in the kitchen and family space. Extensive glazing brings daylight deep into the plan and frames views of the garden, while south-facing solar shading carefully controls overheating during the summer months.

The extensions were designed to support the family’s evolving needs. A first-floor extension provides a generous home office and library — a quiet retreat away from the main living areas — while the loft extension introduces two additional bedrooms, an eaves shower room and a dressing room. The existing upper floors were fully refurbished to create three further bedrooms and a large family bathroom, giving the house long-term flexibility.

Throughout the design process, we developed a clear architectural language using red brick and timber fins on the exterior, carefully responding to the original house. This language continues inside, informing the interior design, bespoke joinery and material choices. Natural finishes are used throughout to create a calm, cohesive and enduring family home that feels both generous and grounded.