PROPERTY
24 Award-Winning
Victorian Terraced
Townhouse Award Winner in the Residential Interior Private Residence London category,
of the United Kingdom Property Awards in association with Rolls Royce.

LLI Design completed a total redesign and
refurbishment of a 5-storey, period terraced
townhouse in Highgate, North London.

LLI Design’s work was commended with
an award in the Residential Interior Private
Residence London category of the United
Kingdom Property Awards in association
with Rolls Royce. The award’s judging panel
was chaired by Lord Caithness, Lord Best,
and Lord Waverley, members of the House of
Lords in the UK Parliament.

Intro Historic Highgate is filled with beautiful
period family homes, and this one was no
exception. Perched at the top of Highgate Hill,
commanding enviable views across London,
this 1860s house forms part of a terrace.

The townhouse sits within the Highgate
Conservation area, so any architectural
amendments had to be approached in a
sensitive manner.

Although the brief was to keep the period
feel of the building, it also required that a
contemporary individual aesthetic should
be overlaid in order to create easy open
plan living spaces that worked for a modern
lifestyle. The house was tall and narrow, but had the
advantage of being a quite long front to
back. A major design problem which had
to be addressed in the overall scheme was
how to make the property feel visually more
expansive laterally.

To answer the brief, the existing layouts
required a total redesign, with careful



PROPERTY
25 The Upper Ground Floor was completely
reconfigured by way of removing the corridor
between the rooms, which freed up valuable
space width-wise. A smaller entrance hall,
opening onto the formal living/dining
room that led onto a new contemporary
conservatory, was created, for which
planning permission was sought and granted
to replace the existing conservatory.

The footprint of the Upper Ground Floor was
increased by extending out over the Lower
Ground Floor where the building returned.

The traditional sash window was replaced
with a full height, full width, a fixed window
allowing for long views of the garden. The
impact of extending this small area allowed
for better flow in the dining room, making the
space feel more comfortable and cohesive.

consideration required to how the dynamics
and flow of the spaces would feel. The
direction adopted throughout was eclectic,
with elements of mid-century, contemporary,
industrial, and traditional styling all coming
together. Existing Layout
The property consisted of c. 2,800 sq ft laid
out over 5 floors.

The existing Lower Ground Floor featured a
kitchen/dining area opening onto the garden.

The existing Upper Ground Floor consisted of
a sizable entrance hall, a small study, and a
later, non-original addition of a Victorian-style
conservatory, all accessed via a long corridor.

There was a small guest WC on the half
landing between the Upper Ground Floor and
the First Floor.

The existing First Floor enjoyed high ceilings
and housed the grand formal reception
room featuring a pair of full-height windows
overlooking the front of the property. There
was a smaller, second reception room
towards the back.

The existing Second Floor consisted of a
master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom
and a small dressing room.

On the existing Third Floor, there were 2
further bedrooms and a family bathroom.

Amended Layout
In reconfiguring the property for family
living, it was decided to amend the layout as
follows. On the Lower Ground Floor, a boot room
was created by dividing off a section at the
front, which allowed for plenty of storage for
everyday coats and shoes. It also had the
advantage that it could be accessed from the
street via the basement light well, making it
ideal for everyday family use. The boot room
connected to the open plan kitchen, dining,
and family living area, which in turn opened
onto the garden at the rear of the property.

The First Floor was re-configured into a
master suite, consisting of a master bedroom,
dressing room, and ensuite bathroom.

The Second Floor was reconfigured to create
2 bedrooms and a family bathroom, and
featured a sizable utility cupboard.

The Third Floor was re-configured with a
guest bedroom, home office, and a shower
room. Lower Ground Floor
The Lower Ground Floor was designed for
family living and was kept largely open plan,
zoning the space as a boot room, kitchen,
dining area, casual study, and family living
area.