Take a look at this beautiful residential project from Voon Wong and Benson Saw. It's the largest project completed to date by the London-based designers, with an overall construction budget of £1.5 million, and involved a complete interior rebuild behind the existing façade.

The building had a typical layout for a London Victorian town house, and their remodelling interventions emphasised the division between the front of the house (the public side) and the back of the house (the private side) with the garden at the back of the house acting as a focal point for the private rooms. This involved changing the layout and location of the principal staircase and the subsequent spaces that lead off it.

This change resulted in wider well proportioned spaces that are lit by the windows along the full width of the house. Space, light and the use of beautiful and luxurious materials were the tools to create the sequence of interesting and liveable spaces. The house was totally demolished internally and now comprises: a family room within a new extension in the basement, as well as a kitchen and formal dining room; a drawing room and study on the ground floor; a master bedroom suite on the first floor; the second floor with three additional bedrooms; the top floor containing a guest suite and the plant room.

The five floors are all linked by a central staircase that is lit overhead by a skylight. This is the third project that the practice has completed for this client; an interior designer and art collector. The client’s aim was to create a theme of restrained luxury and eclecticism. and all parties involved, client included, were keen to explore new materials as well as rediscover traditional ones. Venetian plaster was used extensively for the accent walls to provide a beautiful surface sheen. Custom balustrades and light fittings were cast in bronze. Acrylic panels, shelving and handrails concealed LED light fittings. This combination of new materials alongside the traditional was the key to creating a sense of understated luxury in a contemporary but enduring set of spaces.

The outside spaces weren't forgotten either and the practice worked closely with the landscape architects del Buono Gazerwitz to create the rear garden. The south facing garden is the focal point of the rear of the house and is created so that the architectural elements of the basement extension and the external spaces are perceived as a unity. In fine weather the doors of the Family Room can be completely pushed back so that the boundary between the inside and outside is completely removed. The patio seating, water feature, planting and central lawn all contribute to the creation of an outdoor room that is a harmonious extension of the extended basement.