Lime House, London Property Renovation Project, Home Expansion, English Residence Images

Lime House, South London

11 Aug 2020

Lime House in London

Design: COX ARCHITECTS

Location: London, England, UK

Lime House is a conversion of a derelict commercial premises into a light filled, four bedroom family home in South London, UK.

The Brief
To transform a 95 sqm derelict shop on a tiny site in a Conservation Area into a spacious four bedroom family house!

Key Challenges
The main challenge was to find sufficient additional floor area on a tiny plot under the strict local planning controls.

The Solutions
A lot of patience! Initially, as a part-commercial building, local restrictions meant we could not adequately convert the whole structure so the work was split into two phases over an 8 year period with the loft being added (under permitted development rules) in 2020.

Working creatively with the local plannning authority also meant we could profit from the site’s end-of-terrace location to ‘build up’ a new street facade behind which the house could expand without eating into the garden or pushing too much habitable space into a cave like basement.

Key products used:
The key to the design… is hydraulic lime! Hence the name Lime House. The exterior brickwork was coated with a thin lime ‘slurry’ which gives a very matt, veil-like wash over the bare brick.

To complement the lime wash the minimal framed timber windows were lightly treated with a pale wood stain to allow the character of the material to show through .

In it’s happy resolution of a tough brief with quality of space and a positive contribution to the street.

The project was completed for two clients and we were uniquely fortunate that both invested in our vision for the plot.

Client 1 was a property investor who executed the first phase then sold on. The second clients, and current owners, are a Swiss finance exec’ and Italian lawyer. The couple have two young children and needed (even pre-covid) a viable long-term home office solution. Their large stacks of Elle Deco magazines, cool lights and interesting artwork attest to their high level of design awareness!

Sustainability Features:
The thermal insulation was massively upgraded, every window replaced and new efficient mechanical & electrical services installed throughout.