Paul Archer Design

Highbury Barn is a considered and layered transformation of a detached Victorian home in North London, designed to sensitively expand a family’s living space while deepening their connection to the rear garden.

The brief was familiar, more space, better flow, and improved functionality. Reflecting a quiet ambition to create a home that would not only meet the practical needs of daily life with young children but adapt and mature with the family over time.

The challenge lay in achieving this within planning constraints and a tight urban footprint. Our response combined a two-storey rear extension, a narrow side infill, a subtle basement excavation, and a loft conversion. The rear extension was designed in a traditional language, period-appropriate windows and brickwork, that complements the existing house and meets conservation expectations. In contrast, the side extension offers more creative freedom and takes a contemporary form: a fully glazed kitchen and dining space that bathes the interior in natural light and frames views onto the garden. A set-in planter along the glazed façade aligns with the extension’s edge, an enjoyable feature for a family that loves to cook, gather, and spend time outdoors.

Internally, the double-width footprint, an unusual asset in London, was maximised through the use of glazed partitions on the ground floor, allowing for spatial separation without visual compromise. Long views across rooms emphasise the home’s scale and foster a sense of openness. Materially, the house balances robust family-friendly finishes with carefully placed moments of luxury: micro-cement flooring offers durability; plywood joinery in the playroom adds warmth and resilience, while the kitchen and bathrooms feature a playful mix of tiles, refined marble surfaces, and high-spec fixtures. A shared Jack and Jill bathroom for the children is both practical and charming, adding functional novelty elements to family life.

Below ground, the original basement was constrained by tight head height, but a subtle excavation allowed for a new utility room, wine store, and general storage area, freeing up valuable space above and enabling more generous living areas at ground level. Above, the loft has been converted into a bright, elevated retreat, a playroom that feels like a treehouse, accessed via a compact, space-saving staircase that adds to the sense of adventure for the kids.

Highbury Barn is a home designed to grow and change with its occupants. Through sensitive intervention and thoughtful planning, it supports the joyful chaos of family life while quietly celebrating craft, character, and connection.