BELITHA VILLAS
Refurbishment, Islington
Hurley + Hughes Architects
2018
Refurbishment, Islington
Hurley + Hughes Architects
2018
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Belitha Villas is one of a pair of Grade II listed semi-detached mid-19th Century villas within the Barnsbury Conservation Area in North London which had subdivided into apartments in the 1970s. The apartment in question, on the raised ground floor, had been compromised by this subdivision with the hallway infilled to form a bathroom and the well preserved principal rooms turned into a thoroughfare to the kitchen, located in an extension to the rear of the dwelling.
Because of this the project was primary an exercise in efficient space planning; re-establishing the route from front to back in order to free up the reception rooms, making the most of their generous proportions, joinery and ornate plasterwork. A small opening was formed in the original external wall to allow a slender new shower room to be created, simply detailed and accessed by a sliding door to maximise space. This alteration enabled the corridor to be reinstated and for the reception rooms to be restored to their original configuration; a significant heritage gain. The bedroom was relocated to the rear of the building allowing the principal rooms to be used for kitchen, living and dining, with the generous opening between them maintained. The historic fabric has been carefully refurbishing and is complemented where necessary by elegant new additions in a restrained palette of timber, marble and muted colours. 
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