EXTENSION
Sahar and Dan Robinson transformed their dilapidated Victorian house into a contemporary home, blending modern design with original features
BEFORE
HOMEOWNERS Dan and Sahar Robinson
LOCATION Leyton, east London
PROPERTY Victorian mid-terrace
BUILD ROUTE Main contract
BUILD TIME January 2020
PROJECT FINISHED April 2021
SIZE 115m²
HOUSE COST £500,000
BUILD COST £330,000
WORDS Caroline Ednie
Dan and Sahar Robinson were seduced into buying their mid-terrace house in east London’s Leyton area because of its charm and original Victorian features, but the property wasn’t without its downsides. The building was in an extremely poor state of repair as it had been largely untouched for over 60 years. The previous owner had lived in this place for almost all her life and she was in her nineties when she passed away. “The surveys we commissioned documented that the only bit of the house that was in good repair was the outside toilet,” says Dan. “But there was nothing that couldn’t be dealt with and structurally it wasn’t too bad.”
Originally the couple had intended to fix up the property and sell it on, then move further out of the city. But this idea changed when they met and appointed the services of James Daykin of London-based Daykin Marshall Studio. Discussions with James and the design team centred around making every space useful to the couple. “James’s design definitely persuaded us to stay for longer,” says Dan.
ADDING MORE SPACE
The overall scheme that emerged was to create more contemporary user-friendly living spaces while retaining some of the original features that the couple liked so much. “The property was a bit like a time capsule because it hadn’t been touched since the 1960s,” says James. “It was a blank canvas in that respect.”
SUPPLIERS
