When we first stepped into this house, its history was palpable. The property had not been touched for over 60 years. Not only were few changes or renovations made, the previous owner was a hoarder. She kept everything. There were newspapers from the 1970s used to cover a table, piles of clothing, hundreds of banana stickers on the doors, chairs not sat on in years. We also found between the floorboards what must have been a Victorian girl’s shoe, a Lego car probably from the 1950s and an old screwdriver marked with the initial ‘W’. We wish we’d taken photos more comprehensively before everything was cleared.

After the strip out, a multitude of layers remained - residues of living. In addition to all the signs of living were the intact Georgian details, an old potter’s wheel, a niche for a cross, pink timber panelling and peeling wallpaper. There were some eerie qualities, perhaps most noticeable that it was colder inside than outside. This was even in the winter. The shutters that were not opened for years. There seemed to be sounds. The house had a life of its own.

Together with our client, we took care in retaining as much of the original, as we reconfigured and modernised the property to suit a family of four - two boys with their film director mother and her partner, a director of photography. Essential to our collaborative work was to maintain the essence of what is there while introducing new uses, services, new textures, finishes and colours from an eclectic range of sources and periods.

In concert with peeling paint and patina, we built up a rich combination of new and old elements. We added a reclaimed timber shutter from a long lost shop; window frames from another project of ours – Waldo Works – were re-purposed here and fitted with new coloured glass. A large wine rack purchased by our client was used to separate the kitchen from the larder. Building a new layer in its history, we like to think about the life of the house continuing, yet with a partial change of clothes. The final result is an organic and rich series of spaces that appear to have emerged slowly over time.

Many of these photographs are by Simon Bevan, specially commissioned for remodelista.com