Lime House, London Property Renovation Project, Home Expansion, English Residence Images

Lime House, South London

11 Aug 2020

Lime House in London

Design: COX ARCHITECTS

Location: London, England, UK

Lime House South London

Lime House is a conversion of a derelict commercial premises into a light filled, four bedroom family home in South London, UK.

Lime House South London

The Brief
To transform a 95 sqm derelict shop on a tiny site in a Conservation Area into a spacious four bedroom family house!

Lime House South London

Key Challenges
The main challenge was to find sufficient additional floor area on a tiny plot under the strict local planning controls.

Lime House South London Lime House South London

The Solutions
A lot of patience! Initially, as a part-commercial building, local restrictions meant we could not adequately convert the whole structure so the work was split into two phases over an 8 year period with the loft being added (under permitted development rules) in 2020.

Lime House South London

Working creatively with the local plannning authority also meant we could profit from the site’s end-of-terrace location to ‘build up’ a new street facade behind which the house could expand without eating into the garden or pushing too much habitable space into a cave like basement.

Lime House South London

Key products used:
The key to the design… is hydraulic lime! Hence the name Lime House. The exterior brickwork was coated with a thin lime ‘slurry’ which gives a very matt, veil-like wash over the bare brick.

To complement the lime wash the minimal framed timber windows were lightly treated with a pale wood stain to allow the character of the material to show through .

Lime House South London

In it’s happy resolution of a tough brief with quality of space and a positive contribution to the street.

The project was completed for two clients and we were uniquely fortunate that both invested in our vision for the plot.

Client 1 was a property investor who executed the first phase then sold on. The second clients, and current owners, are a Swiss finance exec’ and Italian lawyer. The couple have two young children and needed (even pre-covid) a viable long-term home office solution. Their large stacks of Elle Deco magazines, cool lights and interesting artwork attest to their high level of design awareness!

Sustainability Features:
The thermal insulation was massively upgraded, every window replaced and new efficient mechanical & electrical services installed throughout.

Lime House South London

Lime House, London – Building Information

Project Architect: COX ARCHITECTS

Project size: 143 sqm
Site size: 92 sqm
Completion date: 2020
Building levels: 4

Lime House South London

Photographs © Matt Clayton and COX ARCHITECTS

Lime House in South London images / information received 110820

Location: London, England, UK

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