‘Our extension was craned in turning a poky studio into an airy one-bed’

W hen Christian Brailey and Faye Johnson seen a poky studio flat with tobacco-stained partitions, historic carpets and rotting home windows it didn’t seem like their dream starter residence. However as an architect and panorama designer, the pair may see the potential of the property.

The couple used all their insider data of design to remodel their decrepit studio right into a spacious, ethereal and trendy one-bedroom flat, including greater than a 3rd extra dwelling area by craning in a classy wood-built extension constructed off website and delivered by lorry.

Nearly 4 years later they’re now having fun with an unrecognisable residence, with pared-down interiors and rooms overlooking a surprising walled backyard. Right here’s how they did it.

Again in 2018, the couple had been dwelling in a rented one-bedroom flat in Camden City. “It was Christmas Eve and we had been going to my dad and mom’ home in Hertfordshire for Christmas,” says Brailey, 32. “The site visitors was unhealthy and the satnav directed us by Muswell Hill, an space we didn’t know in any respect.”

As they drove by the leafy streets of Edwardian villas, the couple had been immediately hooked. “We had been each like: “Wow, that is pretty,” says Johnson, 30.

They had been impressed sufficient to spend the vacations trying out properties on-line, they usually seen a studio flat carved out in the back of a grand interval home on New 12 months’s Eve, totally on the premise that it was virtually the one property within the space inside finances.

Regardless of its aged nicotine décor, failing home windows, damp and mildew, the couple had been smitten and agreed to pay £315,000 for the flat. “It was the worst place on one of the best road,” says Brailey.

On the plus facet — location apart — the flat got here with a 1,000sq ft backyard. Though it had been completely colonised by rampant brambles and weeds, it screamed potential.

And since Brailey is the director of Christian Brailey Architects, and Johnson the founding father of Faye Johnson Panorama Design, they had been in an ideal place to unlock it.

The sale took a number of months to undergo. By the point they lastly moved in, it was summer season.

They started by cleansing up the flat up as greatest they may, portray the partitions, ripping up outdated carpets, sanding down floorboards and clearing the backyard.

Brailey had already been drawing up extension plans and, by November 2019, he and Johnson had received planning permission so as to add a protracted, slender extension, set alongside one facet of the backyard to create a house with an L-shaped footprint.

Its open-ish plan format has a front room main, through a brief run of steps right down to a kitchen and eating room, with a bed room on the finish of the backyard.

The extension elevated the dimensions of the flat from 463sq ft to 700sq ft. And to make it really feel as spacious as attainable, the extension is dug down round a metre into the bottom to provide further excessive ceilings.

Work ought to have began in spring 2020 however was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fairly than do nothing, Brailey and Johnson determined to begin the work themselves.

They spent weeks digging out the foundations of the extension, eradicating bucket after bucket of earth and rubble from behind their flat and levelling off the sloping backyard.

In the meantime they commissioned an organization to construct their timber-framed extension off-site — some 180 miles away at a workshop in Devon.

They opted for Canadian Douglas fir plywood, partly as a result of it’s pleasingly knot-free and partly as a result of it could be sturdy sufficient to accommodate the 11ft-tall doorways and huge home windows they wished.

When the builders lastly arrived on website in the summertime of 2020, the couple decamped to Brailey’s dad and mom’ home the place — with social distancing on the forefront of their minds — they moved right into a caravan.

Again in London, their crew started ripping out the innards of the flat, eradicating its again wall, and pouring concrete foundations prepared for the extension to reach.

Regardless of Covid-related delays, by December their extension arrived from the West Nation and was craned into place over simply 4 days.

“It’s definitely not a less expensive technique to construct,” says Brailey. “The primary purpose we did it was the standard you may get working in workshop situations; the small print are far higher than something you possibly can obtain on website.”

They couple had been additionally aware of minimising aggravation to their new neighbours, who had been principally working from residence on the time. Constructing off-site lower the timetable by a number of weeks.

With the shell in place they may get on with the fundamentals: becoming underfloor heating, insulating partitions and ceilings, and putting in a mechanical air flow and warmth restoration system, which ensures the extremely insulated flat is rarely stuffy.

They picked low-maintenance finishes: polished concrete flooring and off-white lime render for the partitions.

Taking a waste not, need not strategy, the couple had the surplus concrete packed into timber moulds to create slabs which have been used within the backyard, and to type the chunky kitchen worktop and splashback.

The kitchen was created from an Ikea carcass, with cupboard fronts created from plywood offcuts. The easy matte white mixer faucet is from Vola, the cheap metal handles are from Häfele.

Johnson and Brailey went to Fisher & Paykel, a New Zealand agency, for minimalist home equipment together with a dishwasher tucked right into a drawer.

Views of the backyard from the full-height finish window of the lounge take centre stage, whereas a sandblasted glass skylight provides further mild.

Brailey made the timber towel rail within the rest room from extra offcuts of plywood and the trestle eating desk from wooden flooring rescued from a skip.

In the meantime within the backyard, Johnson salvaged as many crops as she may from the overgrown area and transplanted them into new beds, augmented by a lush combine of decorative grasses, olive bushes, lavender, rosemary, white allium and delicate clumps of erigeron karvinskianus.

Ruby-red astrantia provides punches of color, and three outdated metallic water tanks the couple excavated whereas digging the foundations have been repurposed as seating and backyard planters.

To save lots of area, many of the furnishings — together with the wardrobes and window seat within the bed room — is inbuilt.

And the couple have eked each inch of cupboard space they’ll out of the property, turning a void above the lavatory into a cabinet, including storage behind the lavatory mirror and utilising the understair cabinet as a utility room/ plant room containing every part from the boiler and washer to bikes hung from the wall.

Lastly, after seven months of caravan dwelling and having spent £125,000 (excluding VAT), the couple returned to their bigger, lighter and way more comfy residence.

“We purchased most likely the one flat we may afford in the entire space,” says Johnson.

“It’s now a stunning place to dwell in, it appears like a very spacious residence and ideal for a pair. It has been very laborious work at instances, but it surely feels very worthwhile now.”