Clifton Hill House by Patalab Architecture

Clifton Hill House by Patalab Architecture is a refurbishment of a semi-detached Victorian villa in St John’s Wood. The project looks conventional from the outside, but the main architectural work is inside: connection, daylight and a stronger relationship with the garden.

The brief was to consolidate the lower ground floor flat with the rest of the house and create a contemporary home for a growing family.

Project image

The internal detailing and material approach help make the refurbishment feel calm rather than forced.

The design move

Before the refurbishment, the garden was only accessible from the lower ground floor. That made the landscape feel disconnected from the main living and bedroom spaces.

Patalab’s response was to create stronger vertical and visual connections. A new staircase draws people from the raised ground floor down to garden level, where the kitchen and sunken terrace connect the house more directly to the outside.

What changed in the house

• The lower ground floor flat was consolidated with the main house.
• A new stair sequence connects the entrance hall to garden level.
• A tall glazed opening brings garden views deeper into the house.
• A new void gives the entrance hall more drama and daylight.
• The master suite gains a stronger connection to the floor below.

Material and detail

The material palette stays deliberately calm. Light-toned bespoke joinery catches the improved daylight, while darker materials such as Belgian basalt and stained oak add contrast.

The weathered brick facades were left untreated, preserving traces of the building’s 150-year history, with grey tones used for window frames and rendered areas.

Architecture Social view

Stephen’s recruiter view is that residential refurbishment projects are useful portfolio evidence when they show more than finish. The best examples explain the constraint, the spatial move and the built detail clearly.