| FAMILY HOME |

HEAD & heart

ARCHITECT KATIE ROBINSON TOOK A MINDFUL APPROACH WHEN IT CAME TO CREATING A FAMILY HOME WITH A PASSIVE CARBON FOOTPRINT

FEATURE EMMA J PAGE

LIGHT TOUCH

Tier-on-tier shutters offer great flexibility, allowing you to tailor the light and privacy to suit your requirements

Living room

‘We chose the wall colour to suit the furniture which was looking a bit scattered and needed drawing together. The greengrey gives an earthy, cosy feel.’

HOME NOTES

Katie Robinson, her husband Niall and their three-yearold son. Katie is a trained architect and a holistic interiors specialist and Niall is a product designer.

A five-bedroom Victorian terrace in south Bristol.

THE LAYOUT

Off the entrance hall, there is a living room and dining room, with a kitchen housed in an existing rear extension. On the first floor there are two bedrooms, a study and a main bathroom, while a loft extension on the second floor has made room for a bathroom and two conjoined rooms designed for flexible use.

A sayoung couple, Katie and Niall Robinson lived in London’s Hackney Downs and loved making use of the city. However, in 2016, they bought a Victorian terrace in Bristol with the idea that they would rent it out for a few years. Two years later, Katie fell pregnant and the couple were ready to make the move…

WHAT APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT THIS HOME?

This Victorian terrace ticked all our boxes – structurally it was in decent condition; the rear had already been extended and there was potential for a loft conversion. We knew that we wanted to replace the bathroom’s dingy brown décor. We also planned two further rooms and a bathroom in the loft space, a new kitchen and a revamped living and dining room. All of these elements took time as we had to remortgage for some of the works.

HOW DID YOU MAKE YOUR MARK?

For the loft conversion, instead of opting for the typical one bedroom with en-suite configuration, we chose to create two bedrooms and add an opening between one room and the other for a truly flexible space. We are fans of soothing colours, natural textures, upcycled pieces and items that we can source direct from makers, so the interiors came together in a slow, mindful way.

WHAT ECO RENOVATIONS DID YOU MAKE?

For us, it’s not just about choosing sustainable materials but only making necessary alterations. So, for example, the uPVC windows largely stayed in situ and we chose not to extend into the side return. T