Kingfisher

Kingfisher is a 1930s semi-detached house in Wanstead, east London. A loft conversion carried out in the early 2000s had created habitable rooms at roof level, but they were dark and draughty, bitterly cold in winter and stifling in summer — spaces that were tolerated rather than enjoyed. The client’s ambition is a whole-house retrofit, delivered in stages. The first phase concentrates on the loft, with a clear aim: to transform these underperforming rooms into genuinely comfortable, beautiful places to be.

The approach is fabric-first. New high-performance insulation, rigorous airtightness detailing and triple-glazed windows address the building’s thermal failings at source, reducing energy demand before any mechanical systems are considered. A new rear dormer and generously proportioned rooflights open the spaces to daylight that was previously absent.

The result is two bedrooms, each with its own en-suite shower room, designed to feel calm and restorative at any hour. Carefully considered artificial lighting complements the natural light, ensuring the rooms work as well on a grey January morning as on a bright summer afternoon. What were once the least liveable rooms in the house are now the most desirable.