Studio 163 has added a window seat and subterranean wine cellar to a family home in London. The clients approached them with a need to open up their kitchen and dining space to the garden and maximize light whilst minimizing the changes to their existing façade.

The main issue was the existing narrow galley kitchen which had little natural light. The aim was to create a subtle intervention that would enhance the clients’ way of living.

The architects proposed a modest side extension as well as an opening in the rear façade. This allowed for a widening of the plan and for a new space to be created which could be used in multiple ways. The main element of this project was to introduce a window nook that acts as a reading space, a seating area around the breakfast table, and as storage for the two children’s activities.

The brief included a subterranean wine cellar which required significant excavation works and the pouring of over three tonnes of cement.

Studio 163 designed the space with a restrained palette of materials in mind, echoing the relaxed feeling of the garden, using highly skilled joiners to create feature pieces and using a subtle terrazzo for the continuous backsplash to provide a playful element to the kitchen.

Externally, the facade respects what is already there, a context of inter-war Art Deco housing typically finished in white render.

Photography by Emanuelis Stasaitis