Hartley House / THISS Studio

THISS Studio has transformed a Victorian terraced house in Waltham Forest, North East London, reviving the dark and cramped ground floor of the property into an airy and comfortable family space. A creative reconfiguration of the existing floor plan has created a much-loved, carefully tailored home without the need for an extension, showing that sometimes unlocking the space already in our homes can be just as valuable as extending, with a fraction of the carbon. Initially approached by the client to design a side return extension on the property, THISS Studio instead re-imagined the brief, honing in on the client's essential needs: a large family kitchen, a strong connection to the garden, more space to work when the kids are at school while creating something with a unique sculptural quality that is one-of-a-kind, playful and fun.