Cerys' Palace in Crystal Palace

This project sits in the Church Road Conservation Area in Crystal Palace, South London and consists of a complete refurbishment of a beautiful, historic five-bedroom house and a rear extension.

Unlike with many other projects, the brief here was not to create more area but to enable the clients to fall in love with their home of 27 years again and to make better use of the existing space. This has been achieved by cutting down on circulation area, refurbishing existing bathrooms and moving some into new locations and by providing a more functional and generous kitchen with a new dining area that looks out onto the garden. Further to that we have also created a proper home office, in order to finally provide a nice, tranquil environment for one of the clients who is often working from home.

The large room sizes and generous ceiling height enabled us to opt for warm and rich finishes adding not just extra depth to the spaces but also a certain character. Oak slats wrap the extension both externally and internally and even reappear in the bathrooms. The wood is offset against dark grey finishes in the shape of paint, hexagonal tiles and a zinc cladding. All details are made of brushed brass. Recesses formed of a split-faced travertine mosaic adding to the haptic experience.

The new, light flooded kitchen and dining area follows the same principles. It consists of exposed oak plywood and dark grey units and has a striking brushed brass island at its heart. Oak slats wrap up the wall and over the ceiling. Where they stop short they provide striking framed views whilst they also run over a skylight to contribute to the solar gain prevention.

An existing small basement has also been utilized and transformed into a new utility area.

Client: Confidential

Budget: Confidential

Contractor: SUMMIT Building Group

Structural Engineer: Constant Structural Design

Status: Completed