Barnes Common House

This 4-bed Victorian semi-detached house in Barnes, London, had the typical characteristic of a rear closet wing which served to cut off views from the main house to the garden.

FORMstudio’s full-width extension and refurbishment scheme has opened up the ground floor to form a new light and airy kitchen and family room, with full-height sliding glass doors to the garden and a sloping glass skylight to the full length of the extension. The shape of the latter was designed to avoid impacting the adjoining property.

At roof level a previously added staggered side/rear dormer within a hipped roof was replaced by a new rear facing dormer and the roof changed to a gable-end.

The new elements are detailed in a contemporary manner to contrast with retained parts of the original dwelling, using a minimal palette of quality materials, with a combination of pre-weathered zinc, powder-coated aluminium, and timber slats.