The brief to design an en-suite room and a kitchen on the first floor would have damaged the classic, formal space and would have robbed it of much of its own character.

 

To avoid this, the staircase was shortened by a landing and moved as far towards the street as possible.

This created space for a compact kitchen at the back, behind the stairs, next to new window to the garden.

 

In the front room, the unused door to the common entrance of the building was removed. Its frame was reused in the new opening to the kitchen.

 

The basement has three bedrooms and a bathroom.