Leaside Avenue

Colour and craft transform a late Victorian house in the Muswell Hill Conservation Area.

Home to a family of four and their dog, this four-bedroom house has been transformed with a new extension and reimagined interiors. Full of thoughtful details and surprises, it delivers on the client’s desire for a house for entertaining and a busy family life, with big social spaces, maximalist decoration and generous storage.

The crafted interiors play with different styles, materials and periods to create a bold but harmonious scheme which pulls the house together while creating clear distinctions between spaces. Historic and contemporary patterns, with a botanic theme throughout, complement the rich palette of blues, greens, pinks and yellows.

The house was previously owned by the artist Maurice de Sausmarez (1915–1969), and the project is inspired by the building’s architectural and artistic heritage – drawing on the Arts and Crafts movement, particularly William Morris’s Red House. 

A rear extension with Arts and Crafts-inspired oak construction and terracotta cladding creates a large kitchen dining room. The height and form of the extension complement the geometry of the original house, and it has been splayed to retain an existing window – ensuring that new meets old gently.

Joinery: Harbour Joinery Workshop
Photography: Mariell Lind Hansen

Press:
Architectural Digest