A Well-Preserved Arts-and-Crafts Home in London for a Pair of Architects

After years of inhabiting a tall Victorian terraced house with lots of levels and stairs, architects Jody O’Sullivan and Amalia Skoufoglou yearned for space to spread out. The couple, who founded O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects in 2016, didn’t have to go far to swap vertical living for horizontal—they found a 1930s Arts-and-Crafts-style home just around the corner. Set on a tree-lined street in London’s Canonbury neighborhood, the pebbledash-clad home was refreshingly wide and just two floors. Perhaps more importantly, it was unusually preserved.

“The man that lived here was born here and then died here as well,” Amalia says. “He had kept it in a very rudimentary state where there was no central heating, the windows were completely rotten, and the cooking and bathing facilities were very basic. But what was amazing was that all the original features—like cornicing and picture rails and fireplaces and layouts and door handles—hadn’t been tinkered with at all.”

The duo maintained as many historic elements as possible in the existing living areas, which they furnished with their collection of vintage treasures that make sense with the century-old surrounds. Then, they pivoted to a modern aesthetic for the conversion of the unfinished attic into an architecture studio and primary suite, using Okoume plywood and Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool panels for a raw, minimalist effect. Let’s take a tour.

Photography by Ståle Eriksen.

Above: Between the spacious floor plan and intact details, Jody and Amalia didn’t need more convincing to purchase their nearly 100-year-old home—the lush greenery in the area was just icing on the cake. Above: Despite Jody’s protesting, Amalia insisted on keeping the original door, which isn’t totally airtight. To prevent cold air from seeping inside, they fashioned a semicircular hanging rod with long Scottish felt curtains. “We added this antechamber as you come in, in the hope that it’ll mitigate the draft a little bit,” she explains. “It forms a thermal envelope, and it also gives this layer of entrance, especially in the winter when we draw the curtain.” Above: Ketley Brick tile, which is typically employed outdoors, moves from the foyer, through the kitchen, and into the backyard. “We liked the idea of using it inside, knowing how much battering one brings in, especially in the wetter months,” says Amalia. “It’s really practical.”[/gallery_caption] Above: The couple sourced a vintage spindle-back Ercol sofa from Portobello Market for the living room; it’s topped with Sophie Taueber-Arp-inspired pillows. Above: Another additoion: a red travertine hearth for the original fireplace. Above: A variety of chairs by midcentury design icons like Borge Mogensen, Ray and Charles Eames, and Poul Kjærholm pair with a maple dining table. The bookshelves are from HAY. Above: For two reasons, Jody and Amalia eschewed built-ins—even in the kitchen. “The idea was to not have fitted joinery or fitted furniture but to take it away from the walls and put them on little feet so that they feel inserted,” Amalia explains. “That’s partly to give the idea of this old Arts and Crafts influence, but also we thought it would give a bigger sense of space by doing that.” Above: The couple opted for brick-colored Valchromat cupboards with walnut feet, “to not have a contrast, to merge” with the floors, Amalia says. Above: In the backyard, Jody and Amalia recycled old materials that they no longer needed indoors. “We tried to reuse as much as possible,” says Amalia. “We took out one chimney breast and one fireplace, which we used in our garden for paving. Timber boards that we took out because we wanted to add under-floor heating are used as fencing.” For additional curb appeal in front, they repurposed old roof slates that they had to replace as pavers. Above: The indoor/outdoor setup. Above: The stairway landing. Above: Pale green glass mosaic tiles from Mosaic Trader cover the floors, walls, and T-shaped pony wall in the bathroom. “We often try to challenge ideas of what a shower room should be, but it’s the first time we put the WC almost in its own cubicle area, facing towards the garden, and the shower separate,” says Amalia. “It’s a small space, but actually it really works.” Above: The couple’s daughter sleeps in a vintage spindle-back Ercol bed that came with the house (and enticed them to buy the matching sofa for the living room). The bay window is fitted with a semicircular rod and long curtains, similar to the entryway and the bay window downstairs. Above: Jody and Amalia converted the unfinished attic into an architecture studio and primary suite using Okoume plywood and Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool panels. “There’s quite a bit of contrast from the softness of the original 1930s detailing,” says Amalia. “It’s got a much more raw aesthetic with the exposed timber rafters and brickwork that we just painted and didn’t try to fix very much or beautify.” Above: The duo debated building a dormer, since they didn’t want to add too much to the home, but ultimately needed it to accommodate all their work necessities. Above: An expandable bed from Moebe, made with a Welsh quilt that also came with the house, fits snugly beneath the apex roof. “The eaves go straight to the floor,” says Amalia. “We resisted the idea to close it, and this was definitely not pageantry. We thought, ‘Let’s just leave it, even the unusable bits. Let’s not put drawers everywhere.'” Above: A peek into the tonal primary bathroom, modeled after Eastern European bathhouses.

For more by the architects, see: A Kismet Renovation in Highbury, London, by O’Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects.