One Victorian house, opened up

You are halfway through making supper when someone calls from the front room. You put down the knife, go through to see what they mean, then return to the kitchen. Later, carrying plates, you make much the same journey. A Victorian terrace can keep a family remarkably close while putting a wall between almost everything they do.

I have some sympathy for the house. Look at the Before rooms: a comfortable sofa facing the television, a table near the kitchen, a small room upstairs pressed into service as an office. Nothing is a disaster. The trouble is that these perfectly reasonable arrangements keep interrupting one another. Even the shoe rack, doing exactly what it was bought to do, takes up space somebody needs to stand in.

For this conceptual whole-house study, our imagined residents are a professional couple in their thirties and their primary-school child. Both adults work from home for part of the week. They need company, somewhere to eat and play, and occasional relief from one another. A useful house ought to allow all of that without treating privacy as a failure of family life.

I would open the middle of this terrace, but keep its hall. That is the major decision behind the proposal, which also refits the kitchen and gives the seven spaces new furniture, storage and colour. The more interesting test comes afterwards: can somebody cook while a child does homework, and can the other adult finish a call without hearing the whole evening begin downstairs?

From the street, the two reception rooms occupy the left side of the house; the hall and staircase run down the right. The kitchen sits in the narrower rear wing beside the yard. The big change is an opening through the wall between the front room and dining area, extending the view from the bay towards the garden.

Short side piers and a boxed head remain around the opening. I like being able to recognise the front room from the dining table: the frame gives the sofa a room to belong to, even as the view passes through it. Forming the opening would require structural design and a reviewed fire and escape strategy; the practical notes below set out the next steps for a real renovation.

The hall earns its space. You can come in, take off a coat and head upstairs without walking between the sofa and television. It also gives you a separate route towards the kitchen. There is an understandable temptation, in a narrow house, to count every partition as wasted floor area. Here I would rather arrive in a passage than in the middle of somebody’s film.

The longer view needs daylight at the other end. At the rear of the dining area, the sash becomes a pair of glazed garden doors: the opening keeps its width and head height, with the sill lowered to the floor. Beyond it, a rooflight over the kitchen aisle brings light through the roof of the existing single-storey wing. It sits past the rooms upstairs, not beneath them.

From the front room, the pale dining walls and garden glazing now draw the eye through the house. From the kitchen, you can look back towards the bay. That gives the darker aubergine reception somewhere brighter to look towards without requiring every wall downstairs to be white.

Come through the front door and the stair is still immediately to the right, with the same narrow passage running ahead. In the Before view, shoes and a school bag gather on a small rack against the opposite wall. It is a reasonable answer to a daily problem, until somebody needs to get past while someone else is putting shoes on.

The new cupboards follow the underside of the stair, their fronts flush with the panelling. Shoes go in drawers; the bag has an open cubby. I would keep that cubby open. Asking a child to put a bag away is reasonable; adding a cupboard door gives the bag another chance to end up on the floor.

There is no console to negotiate. Ivory stone with charcoal inserts carries the eye along the passage, and the original flight gets oxblood woodwork and a fitted wool runner held by brass rods. Golden walls above pale panelling make this narrow Victorian hallway feel unexpectedly rich. Through the living-room doorway, the first glimpse of ochre upholstery belongs to the same colour family.

Turn left into the front room. Before, the view stops at the wall behind the armchair; afterwards, it continues past the round dining table to the garden doors. The new opening changes the experience of sitting here as much as walking through. Somebody on the sofa can remain part of what is happening further back.

I would spend time choosing the sofa before worrying about what sits on the mantelpiece. Nkuku’s Marri in ochre recycled cotton has a deep seat and substantial arms: the sort of proportions to try in person if curling up is your preferred way to sit. The cream chair by the bay offers a different position for reading or talking to someone on the sofa. Full-height lined curtains soften the window, and lighting close to the seats gives the room an evening setting beyond the ceiling fitting.

The television stays, in shallow walnut joinery in the bay-side alcove, outside this image’s main view. There is nothing shameful about wanting to watch it. I would, however, resist giving it the best wall as well as everyone’s attention. Midnight Jazz gets the place above the fireplace, its red field set against green-veined stone and aubergine walls. That combination is gloriously strong; the pale rug and cream chair give you somewhere else to look.

At floor level, a burgundy border marks out the cream rug; the Broadway table’s pale marble-finish top sits on an open black wire base. Its round edge is easier to pass than the old table’s projecting corners. The remaining rug can accommodate a child playing close to the adults, although a large construction might need to retreat upstairs when friends come round. This is still a compact Victorian living room.

At the dining table, a child can sit with homework while an adult cooks, close enough to ask for help without relocating everything to the worktop. Someone arriving with a drink can join them. From here, the sofa is in view too.

The Huxley table’s round walnut-veneer top leaves a less awkward route around its edge than the old rectangular arrangement. Four cream Perdoba chairs make it somewhere to linger after eating. They still need room when occupied: the table belongs in the wider dining area, clear of the kitchen aisle and the route to the garden doors. Putting it there gives the cook company without gathering everyone beside a hot pan.

Look back from the kitchen and the original bay is now visible in the distance. The sink stays beneath the side window, opposite the hob, but oxblood cabinetry and pale worktops replace the old cream units. Integrated appliances reduce the visual clutter along the run; task lighting reaches the preparation surfaces beneath the cabinets. The veined splashback gives the kitchen a richness that can hold its own beside the front room.

This kitchen does not need an island. With appliance doors open and somebody carrying a plate, the aisle already has enough to accommodate. The round table provides a seat a few steps away. An island would make the plan worse, however convincing it might look on its own in a kitchen showroom.

The Kirindi glass-and-brass chandelier hangs over the table rather than the working route. Nearby, Vase With Irises brings yellow and blue into the chalk-coloured dining area. Low walnut storage keeps tableware to hand and gives school papers somewhere to go before supper. Clearing the table becomes a short interruption, so using it during the afternoon need not mean a major reset before friends arrive.

Of course, opening the house means hearing more of it. The extractor, dishes and television share a larger space. I would want anyone considering this plan to imagine all three going at once before falling for the long view. Upholstery, curtains and the rug can temper reverberation; they cannot do the job of the wall that has gone. Appliance noise and effective extraction deserve attention during the kitchen refit.

Upstairs, the doors become more valuable. The plan stays put: main bedroom and study at the front, child’s room and bathroom at the back, each reached separately from the landing. Someone can take a call or go to bed while the evening continues below. A family can enjoy being together considerably more when being together is sometimes optional.

In the principal bedroom, the change of pace begins underfoot. Fitted rose carpet replaces bare boards and a loose rug. Walnut wardrobes rise to the cornice in the existing storage position.

Dusty-rose upholstery stretches across the wall behind the bed, divided by slim timber strips. The Eden takes a 135cm double mattress; its upholstered frame is 161cm wide overall. I would stop there. A king would take space from the route beside the fireplace and the entrance, and I would find squeezing past it every morning a poor bargain for the extra mattress width.

The ivory bed has its own curved headboard, separate from the wall panels. Compact walnut drawers sit on either side, with Davika ribbed-glass wall lights keeping their tops available for a book or glass of water. Rehanging the door within its existing opening clears the bedside joinery.

Across the room, Distant Landscape introduces pale sky above the darker fireplace surround. There is no bench squeezed across the foot of the bed. The pleasure here is being able to get around it easily and, later, sit up for a few pages before turning out the light.

At the back of the house, the child’s room has no intention of being restful in the same way. Apple green and tomato red take over from the pale walls, with cinnamon textiles and a gingham blind. The toy dog is still on the bed.

In the Before view, books crowd a tall bookcase and a large toy box occupies part of the floor. The new red wardrobe fills the rear corner, while lower drawers and open shelves run along the right-hand wall. Books can be reached without fetching an adult. A drawing ledge has a stool that tucks underneath, and the globe and dinosaur come down from the top of the old wardrobe to a height where they can be enjoyed.

The furniture is straightforward enough to outlast this particular collection of possessions. The white Luna single bed sits against an upholstered wall band, useful for leaning back with a book. Independent wheeled trays underneath take smaller toys; the window radiator remains exposed. There is room on the rug for a construction to survive beyond the afternoon that produced it.

Above the bed, Bengal Tiger adds a suitably absurd grown-up in a suit. Across from it hangs the homemade drawing. I like their unequal status: one was chosen for the room, the other matters because a child made it. There is no reason the shop-bought picture should have the last word.

As interests change, the ledge can take different books and the rug a different game. There is no elaborate furniture theme to outgrow.

Back towards the street, the study is barely more than a desk’s width with a door behind it. At roughly 1.78 by 2.05 metres, it has very little to give away. The old freestanding bookcase takes a conspicuous bite from that space; fitting shallower storage along the right-hand wall leaves the centre clearer for the chair.

A walnut desk runs beneath the sash, with closed cupboards for the things that need to be nearby but need not stay in view. The Juno chair provides adjustment that the old dining chair lacked. A blind controls the bright window behind the monitor, while the task lamp can be directed onto paperwork. The final desk and screen positions still need to suit the person using them.

Tobacco walls and lit shelves give this tiny room a warmth I would miss in a white office squeezed around the same desk. Marfa, Texas sits above the joinery; a child’s drawing remains on the pinboard opposite. You might spend much of a working day here. That seems a good enough reason to enjoy looking up from the screen.

For this household, it is one private working position. Two simultaneous calls would still require an arrangement elsewhere; there is no honest way to fit a second office into this plan by describing the furniture more enthusiastically. But when a call finishes, the papers can stay exactly where they are and supper can happen at a different table.

At half past seven, nobody waiting outside the bathroom is likely to care much about the tile choice. There is still one bathroom. A bath beneath the rear sash occupies the far end, with the WC on the left and basin staggered to the right. The outward-opening door keeps its swing off the small floor. At approximately 1.78 by 2.30 metres, the plan offers no spare corner for a second basin or separate shower.

Instead, the refit improves what is already there. A green Hudson Reed wall-hung vanity replaces the pedestal basin, bringing a drawer to the place where toothbrushes and bottles accumulate. Mirrored storage above catches smaller things, and a vertical light beside it makes the basin useful without relying solely on the ceiling light.

Wine-veined cream porcelain covers the bath walls. Burgundy tiles on the bath panel and a border around the mosaic floor give the little room enough pattern to enjoy at close range. The Colore brushed-brass shower set combines an overhead head with a handset, behind a new screen; the bath shell and WC remain.

The bath still has to accommodate the child’s toys, including the yellow duck on the edge. It looks perfectly at home beside the new brass fittings.

By the time we return downstairs, imagine supper nearly ready. The child has left something unfinished on the bedroom rug and brought a book to the table. One adult is cooking; the other has shut the study door on a desk that can wait until tomorrow. A voice comes from the sofa. This time, the cook can answer without leaving the pan.

I would be happy to see the table slightly buried at this point. The cupboards are close enough for the school papers, the plates are within reach, and nobody needs to dismantle the afternoon before sitting down. Leave the drawing where it is. There is room beside it for supper.

These are concept plans and images, not a surveyed or completed renovation. Before making an opening, commission a structural assessment, services checks and a fire and escape review. Retaining the hall does not itself establish a compliant escape route. Planning Portal’s internal-wall guidance explains the building-regulations considerations in England; check the requirements for your location. Bathroom waterproofing, ventilation, wet-area electrical work and fitting compatibility need professional specification. Site measurements must establish door and drawer clearances. The HSE workstation checklist supports an assessment of the person and their desk setup; an adjustable chair alone is no guarantee of comfort.

For daylight and layout, we consulted Chiswick Architecture’s Dale Street reconfiguration and Thor Architects’ Lewisham project. Both connect living spaces with garden light; Lewisham includes a rear extension, whereas our proposal keeps the existing footprint. Opening an internal wall shares available light. The new glazing and rooflight admit it; orientation, neighbours and glazing specifications determine the result. No measured daylight gain is claimed here.

The Hybrid Home Design Guide, supported by Newcastle University and University of Dundee research with families during lockdown, informed the attention to shared space and privacy. These references support the design thinking; they are not evidence of a family living in this proposed house.

The selected furniture, lighting, bathroom fittings and artworks are gathered below, with their variants and dimensions. These concept images interpret the catalogue references; use the retailer’s photographs and current specifications when choosing an item. The upholstered bed wall is separate from the Eden bed; the toy trays are separate from the Luna. The vanity’s tap and waste are also separate purchases.

The kitchen, fitted joinery and several finishes, lights and accessories need their own specification. The bathroom screen and towel warmer are not included with the selected fittings. Furniture and bathroom links are UK-focused; Big Wall Decor’s artwork links are US listings, so check delivery and total costs for your address. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through these links.