Georgian house, Spittalfields, East London

Previously abandoned property restored for use as family home and architecture practice

By 2005, when the property was acquired by the current owners, the house had been abandoned for decades. In addition the front elevation had been substantially altered in the late nineteenth century with the introduction of wide casement windows. The house now has a handsome dark wooden shop front at ground level with aged yellow London stock bricks and classic Georgian windows on the upper storeys, returning rhythm to the gracious terrace of Princelet Street. The windows have been enhanced with red brick surrounds and keystone arches and the deep Portland stone cills are copies of those on the vicarage designed by Hawksmoor on Fournier Street. A weaver?s loft storey was added to make the house as much like the neighbouring buildings as possible. This encloses the kitchen which is placed on the top floor to exploit the views and daylight with the creation of a small terrace to the rear. A studio had been built into the former garden of the original house in 1840, with king post trusses, resting on brick piers, spanning the garden walls and supporting a large lantern overhead. To make it habitable these have been refurbished and it has been reglazed, properly insulated and laid with wide oak floorboards. The house is now a thriving and fully-occupied space, much as it would have been in Huguenot times. The basement is occupied, the studio in the rear garden is home to Chris Dyson?s architecture practice, the ground floor is a busy art gallery and the floors above are a 3-bedroom family home.