Welcome to Stories from Site, the podcast for renovation enthusiasts. I’m Amy Dohnalek and together with my co host Jane Middlehurst, we chat with home renovators about the roller coaster that is renovation.

This week we chat with Rachel, an architect whose main ambition for her renovation was to make her small London terrace home feel more spacious and light.

Working with limited space, Rachel and her partner squeezed every last inch out of their home to create useful spaces from the nooks and crannies.

We talked to her about the techniques they use to make their small space feel larger and brighter and the joys of a nice light switch.

Amy: Hi Rachel, nice to have you, with us I wondered if you could start at the beginning and, tell us a little bit about your renovation.

Rachel: Yeah, so we bought our house in, it was the Christmas of 2019, four month old baby, kind of classic grand design story, four month old baby, we were in a flat and we realised that we needed some more space, so yeah, we found a sort of small Victorian cottage, this is in London. managed to move in.

I think it was something like the 18th of December. So it was all pretty hectic before Christmas. Yes, we moved in and, realized that it needed quite a lot of work. And I think, given that I’m an architect, that’s probably a bit of a surprise. Perhaps I was just a bit optimistic and kind of a bit, rose tinted glasses about the space that we were going to get from the house.

Anyway, so we moved in and, it needed a full rewire, so we set about doing that as the first, thing, so it had a full rewire. The, the walls were covered in that awful, you know, the wood chip, um, wallpaper, So all the wallpaper had to come off.

As the wallpaper came off, the plaster came off, it was kind of one of those snowballing things. So that was the first thing that we did was the rewire, the re plaster. And then COVID happened, so we were kind of stuck in our newly plastered box, but with not much else really. So it was a bit depressing for a while.

But yeah, anyway, at least we had some space, to spread out. So that was kind of the first, big bit of work that we did, and then we set about, probably as everyone else did during COVID, doing our own bits of DIY. So thankfully we’ve got a nicely newly plastered wall so we could do a bit of, decorating and stuff.

But what we really needed to do was tackle the kitchen, and the bathroom. And that was sort of our bigger bit of work. And that happened in, I think it was 2020 we did that. So kind of, yeah, it was getting on for 12, 18 months later. So, the layout of the house is quite a typical, London terrace house.

The previous people had done an extension downstairs, so there was an outrigger where the bathroom is downstairs, and sort of a little square room, and then next to it they’d done an infill extension where the kitchen is. Well First of all we thought about do we move the bathroom upstairs, but it would have meant a loss of a bedroom.

And we also floated the idea, should we do a loft conversion at some point, but really, for us, we felt that that wasn’t the right thing to do because our garden was what we’d compromised on. The garden was quite small and I think we would have ended up sort of overdeveloping, the house really.

So we decided for us it would work better to have third sort of box bedroom, for working from home at that point. And then later on our daughter arrived, so that became her, her bedroom. So downstairs we were trying to sort of find a clever ways to make our kitchen at least feel bigger, let alone kind of make it bigger without sort of doing any extensions.

So what we actually decided to do was sort of pinch some room from the bathroom, so the bathroom and the kitchen side by side. And what we intended to do, and we sort of got the plans and got a structural engineer involved, was to put a new lintel in, sort of a new steel, in between what is the bathroom and the kitchen, and open it up and sort of pinch a bit of space from the bathroom and put it in the kitchen.

As it transpired, when we were on, when the builder sort of started day one that we found out that there already was a steel in place. So Yeah, which was a bit of luck. It wasn’t quite kind of the proportions or the dimensions that we thought that we wanted in an ideal world.

We just would have positioned it a bit differently or kind of made it a bit bigger. But it seemed like a real sort of false economy to not work with what we’d been given. It seemed like a real bonus. So we adapted. the design of the kitchen to sort of suit and what we did to sort of gain a bit of extra space was push our kitchen cabinets into that space, sort of underneath the lintel.

So we did manage to increase the width of the kitchen by, I don’t know, I’m going to say about 400 mil, 500 mil, so a little bit, not loads because it’s, you know, it’s quite a small kitchen. I think with a lot of infill extensions, you get the problem that the rear reception room becomes really dark We didn’t want that. And, and it was, the current condition was that it was quite dark. So we really wanted to open that, open that out and make it feel lighter and brighter.

So we introduced a roof light that’s kind of set back near to the rear wall of the house to sort of flood the kitchen with light, but also bring more light into the dining room, um, dining behind it. And then we did sort of try to do a few sort of tricks, I suppose, you know, like colors running the floor in and out to make it feel bigger.

And yeah, and then opening up a doorway where we could, there was a door in between what is sort of rear reception room in the kitchen. And we tried to, without sort of putting in new structure in place, just sort of open it up as wide as we possibly could. And that did make a difference, even just sort of adding 200 mil or so in width.

It just made it all and a little bit more in height. It just added that much more space and light. And then the other kind of stuff really was just trying to maximize the space that we had. So tucking a little teeny weeny utility under the stairs tucking a tumble dryer and a, and a washing machine, and then vacuum cleaner and stuff, shoving that away under there.

Yeah, and just trying to be clever with sort of some of the space that we’ve been, we’ve been given.

Amy: I’m just looking at it on Instagram, actually. And it’s, it’s so beautiful. I mean, you say roof light, but it’s, it’s kind of offset, isn’t it? And you’ve got this beautiful I really like your external door and the fact that it’s it’s kind of a little bit offset the other way. And I really love your timber panelling as well.

I guess I should mention that, you know, you are married to another architect. How was that? I was, I was having two architects on the, on the project.

Rachel: So this is, I suppose, our kind of first our first project really kind of working together. I mean, we’ve done decoration stuff in the past, but yeah, I think we’ve, we’re pretty much, we are quite aligned with what we like and what we don’t like.

I think we sort of bring different skills, which is quite nice. Andrew, my husband is, I’d say he’s got a real like eye for detail. Like, so he really was very keen on sort of having, like you mentioned, the kind of the door at the back, but kind of having, As minimal detailing as possible, really kind of keeping everything very neat and everything kind of very clean lines, which I think that’s the funny thing, isn’t it?

Things that look really simple are often not. It’s quite hard work to kind of get that looking really neat. And I think I’m probably slightly, I suppose, maybe bigger picture kind of how maybe things all work together. So perhaps some of the colors and material choices and sort of seeing it as a So, I mean, yeah, I mean, we work well together, it’s just, it’s a funny thing because we try really hard not to discuss architecture in our, in our sort of at home

But yeah, no. Yeah, we together. I mean, we’re not going into business. I,

Jane: I’m just wondering squeezing every last drop out of the space that you have.

how did you get your contractor to work to very kind of specific dimensions and get the most out of the place?

Rachel: So our builder, his background’s actually in carpentry. So he’s a builder, but he enjoys doing a lot of carpentry and that’s kind of where his experience is. And I think he was quite up for a challenge. I think, it’s quite tricky. It’s a different role being the client as well as the architect.

You’re not quite sure how you kind of, specific you can be and you don’t want to be a pain, but also like kind of quite precious about certain things as well and kind of want to try them out. So I think he he was on board with that really so I think that really helped He was also really quite creative about how things could work as well, so as you say, kind of squeezing every you know, every inch out of it.

We did things like as you come in, there’s a cupboard that we stick like coats and buggies in and stuff. But then as you go up the stairs, there was actually like a little unused cupboard, sort of on top of the cupboard, if that makes sense.

So we kind of stuck a little door in there and it became so useful. That’s where, you know, we stuck loads of things in stuff up in there really. So it was trying to, yeah, as you say, kind of squeeze, squeeze things out of it. But I suppose we did draw an awful lot of it and kind of specify an awful lot of it.

But I think we, we talked through a lot of stuff with him on site and we did end up, you know, sketching things out on site, which helpful to kind of have that knowledge or that kind of like dialogue from, you know, from an architectural language, I suppose, But yeah, I’d say that he was just a good choice of contractor, really.

Like, he kind of really was kind of up for doing something a bit creative which helped a lot.

Amy: that’s amazing. Yeah.

How did you manage your budget on this renovation?

Rachel: So, yeah. well, like I’m sure most people, we didn’t have an infinite budget and we needed to be careful where we spent our money. So we spent, I guess, kind of focusing the money on the, on a few key items. The rear door and side window is, they’re by, they’re Velfac windows um, who, you know, they make really nice products.

And again, same for the, the, so the But then I suppose the stuff that you just don’t really see, we were a bit more thrifty on. So we The kitchen is an IKEA kitchen and then as I say, the builder was a carpenter by trade, so he made doors for us to go on the, on the IKEA carcasses.

So the kitchen actually wasn’t, wasn’t very expensive at all a couple of thousand pounds really, and obviously the good thing about IKEA is you get all the cool inserts and stuff, you can really kind of design it yourself. So I think, having obviously bespoke cupboard fronts isn’t the cheapest way to do it, but I knew that’s what we wanted to spend the money on. So we ran with it and the cladding runs into the hall and runs into the, into the the stair and we had that as our big idea as it were.

So we kind of wanted that continuation. The house is small and we didn’t want to overload it with loads of ideas. So to kind of have one simple idea. Was quite effective, I think so budget wise, we spent a bit more on that and less on perhaps the stuff that you don’t see so much, and actually the tiling was really quite cheap as well.

I think the white tiles in the kitchen were an ebay thing. Andrew went and drove and got like a one pound sink for me, for me from ebay as well. So there were kind of a few things, you know, we knew what we were looking for and you could kind of like find a few things online.

I think with spending your money effectively, I always think it’s the things that you touch that you appreciate the most. So like for me, I wouldn’t really necessarily compromise on the light switch. I think it kind of having a, a nice tactile thing, well makes you happy, but also kind of, I feel like it elevates a project as well and kind of gives it I don’t know, it gives it a bit more finesse, I think.

They’re like little white toggle

Amy: Ooh, nice.

Rachel: Which, really nice. Click every time they go on. Really nice click.

Jane: I really like your flooring as well. That looks very,

hard wearing and really beautiful kind of soft finish.

Can you tell us what that is?

Rachel: Yeah, it’s I think it’s Topps Tiles. It’s a terracotta tile. Not particularly expensive. But I think the thing with that is, as I mentioned earlier, we do have a small garden. Andyou know, a fairly small kitchen.

So we wanted the illusion of both being bigger. So we, it’s an external tile. So you could, you, we ran it outside into the garden onto a kind of patio area had a flush threshold between the inside and the outside. So yeah, it kind of does give that illusion of either the kitchen extending a bit further or if you’re standing the other way, you know, the garden extending a bit further.

I think it just helps again with small spaces, just having a simple palette of materials and not introducing loads of different materials.

Jane: I think the small format helps as well because it’s quite a small tile somehow it feels more generous

Rachel: And I also think smaller format things cover a multitude of sins. In old properties like this, you know, this one’s over a hundred years old, there are so many things that are out of plumb. And I think if you have your large format tiles, you end up really reading kind of when things are crooked more.

Amy: So I think by kind of having the smaller format tiles, you kind of read that a bit less. Absolutely. I really also like the detail of your extractor fan. You’ve tiled the front of it and it’s lined up with your roof light.

Rachel: Yeah. Everything lines up. Yeah. Yeah, I think the builder had to get his laser measure out quite, quite a lot with this one. Yeah, so we wanted it to almost look like it sort of disappears up into the sky. So the tiles wrap around and yeah, as you say, it’s the same width as the the roof light.

And then, yeah, it just goes, goes up higher. And again, it does give that illusion of height. Because you run the tiles up into the height of the roof light, you just get so much more height and a bit more drama. Because it’s the floor to ceiling heights aren’t, aren’t particularly generous. They’re just, you know, they’re quite, they’re quite average.

In fact they’re lower than what the rest of the house is. So yeah, just using that extra space and volume that the roof light gives you

Jane: Also in the image of that, you can see the light from the roof light is actually reflecting off the tiles because they’ve, the tiles are gloss and so it’s having this beautiful effect of bouncing the light into the room. I think that’s a really, really, really nice feature.

I feel like Jane’s noting that one down for, for her renovation.

Rachel: Yeah, you’re right. And I think that’s the thing about choosing your materials carefully for bringing in more light, because those tiles yeah, they’re gloss, but they’re also kind of they’ve got like an undulation to them as well, so they do kind of bounce the light around quite nicely.

Amy: Oh, it’s beautiful.

Jane: I think what’s really nice is that, obviously in a, in a small space like each one of these decisions and moments and materials is so meticulously thought out that it builds this very serene, really peaceful, lovely, like generous space. There’s a certain amount of luxury to it, even though you’ve said that you’ve used these very not basic, but cheaper materials, maybe cheaper fittings.

I think working out how to weight the budget in that way just gives you such, such a lot more value.

It’s come up a lot on the podcast recently, but using design to elevate lower budget materials is so useful. It takes more coordination, it takes more thought, but the result, you know, is really impactful.

And I think that really just comes across in your projects.

That was more of a statement than a question.

Rachel: No, no, I think you’re right. you know, all, all clients, everyone, like including, myself, we’ve all got kind of a finite budget and I just think spending it in the right, the right way is just really important.

And yeah, for me, it’s well, as I say, the sorts of things that you touch on a daily basis, but then also running with one big idea I guess. I mean, we we were quite keen on sort of having a datum level that runs through. So that was derived from the height that we were able to get with the existing door opening.

And then we sat everything across that datum level. So the kitchen, the top of the units run through at that height, the door runs through at that height, and then it kind of runs through into the dining room area. I think that works well in small spaces to kind of almost like have a rule that you follow.

and I think it helps bring everything together.

Jane: Do you do this in your residential projects? And is this the type of detailing and design work that you would do for them?

Rachel: Yeah, I think working with residential clients. You know, some are more design savvy than others.

Some have got really clear vision and some just, you know, and then just want a bit of guidance, And then others want a bit more of a, can you bring it all together? I’ve got all these Pinterest ideas and like all these Instagram ideas. Can you bring it kind of together in a, you know, I think I want this and I want that feel, and how do you do it?

And yeah, I think kind of trying to pull out something that you can kind of, run with as a big idea. Yeah, I think it’s really helpful. And I think it’s really helpful for decision making as well. Sometimes you can get a bit overwhelmed and a bit lost with all the different Pinterest pictures you see and all the Instagram pictures you see, but I think if you’ve got one big idea,

that helps justify your decision making, I and I think at the end you end up with a more, coherent project.

probably.

Jane:

Amy: And how has it been being the client? Has it changed how you now work with your clients?

Rachel: Do you know what? I actually think that’s a really interesting question. I think I behaved differently on site, and I don’t really know why, but I think when I, as a role as the architect, I guess probably because I’m representing somebody else, I wouldn’t accept certain things on site, you know, if something’s been built incorrectly, I’d absolutely say no redo it.

Whereas I think when you’re the client and you’re desperate to get back in because you’ve got, like, a child at nursery, you’ve got a job somewhere else, and it’s all really hectic, I think I’m a bit more, sort of like, well, I think I could probably accept that, you know, it’s probably okay, and I’m not, I don’t think that’s probably the right thing to do,

As well, kind of as a client, it’s a different relationship with the builder that the architect has with the builder. So as a client I guess I didn’t want to have conflict. I didn’t want to rock the boat as much because they’re in your house.

At times we were sort of living there with the builder. And I think you know, I’m not a particularly argumentative person anyway, but I just, I wouldn’t, I didn’t want the conflict. So I think you kind of assume a different role slightly as a client. Yeah. And I think I definitely have a newfound appreciation or kind of understanding anyway, of kind of clients desperate to move back into their house.

I mean, I would always advise if you, if you can be somewhere else for the kind of really messy work, building what’s happening, you know, try and. Stay somewhere else, but I also absolutely kind of firsthand appreciate sort of the desperation to get back into your own space as well. And the frustration.

The frustration that when you do move back in, that everything just slows down. Everything just slows down. So yeah. It’s, yeah, you’re right. Seeing it from the other side which yeah, you kind of appreciate. It is, it is really stressful for clients, even when there is a professional team involved, you know, it’s your money, it’s your house, it’s your lifestyle, it’s everything that’s kind of turned upside down for a few months or longer.

So yeah.

Amy: It’s all the hidden things that are behind the scenes of what a role as an architect does.

Jane: As an architect, you’re holding the structure of the project and you’re, you’re like the framework where things don’t get slipped and you persuade the client not to move in too early because it’s going to slow down the sites.

Like you’re the, structure between everybody. That means that the project, gets done the way it should get done and gets done in the most efficient way and you know that’s not something that you put on a fee proposal that the yeah the referee and you’re going to be pushing so hard to get back into your house but i’m telling you if you can hang on Two weeks more, you’ll be actually done.

It’s having that person to hold everybody accountable and in place.

I think I could definitely. Feel the same having been in the client role as well, but it’s so hard to do that for yourself. It just feels almost impossible to make those difficult decisions and advocate for yourself in the same way.

Rachel: Yeah, I think,

The other thing as well,I don’t know that an architect always should be considered as always adds or does things in a really expensive way, because I do think if you’ve got kind of a good architect, they should be able to work cleverly with with the materials, I kind of always, work with the existing building as well, and you know, as I was saying about that sort of lintel being there, working with that as a constraint, it kind of helped with our budget, and actually, it, it worked just as well, but it kind of encourages you to be creative.

more creative, I think, the more constraints you have, the more creative you kind of have to be.

You kind of have to, think outside the box maybe about how you want the vision to work.

Jane: I think that’s, architecture services at its best, isn’t it?

And if you would like to see photos of Rachel’s creative home, then had to our website at homenotes.co/storiesfromsite and we’ll see you next time.