SPATIAL STUDY
Hurstbourne Road
A compact Victorian ground-floor study exploring how flexible, connected rooms can support hosting, family life, kitchen-dining and everyday living.
The study explores how two separate living rooms, a long kitchen footprint and a narrow hallway can be reshaped through clearer circulation, integrated storage, natural light and a cohesive modern Victorian atmosphere.
TYPE
Victorian ground-floor rework
SCOPE
Layout planning, flexible partitions & 3D visualisation
FOCUS
Flexible living, storage & light
01 EXISTING CONDITION
The existing ground floor had the character and proportions of a traditional Victorian home, but the spaces needed a clearer relationship between everyday living, entertaining, storage and connection to the garden.
The study explores how the main rooms could become more purposeful without losing their connection to one another. Rather than treating the ground floor as a single open-plan gesture, the proposal creates a sequence of distinct rooms that can work independently or open up when needed.
Key Issues
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Separate rooms with limited flexibility
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Long and narrow kitchen footprint
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Living spaces needed clearer individual roles
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Storage not fully integrated into the architecture
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Limited garden connection from the secondary living space
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Hallway risked functioning only as circulation
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Opportunity to improve sightlines, light flow and room-to-room connection
02 THE SPATIAL MOVE
The proposal creates two connected living zones with distinct purposes.
The formal living room is designed for hosting, conversation and a more composed atmosphere, while the TV room becomes a quieter garden-facing space for reading, relaxed family use and everyday entertainment.
A new French window strengthens the relationship with the garden, while the Crittall-style partition allows the rooms to remain connected without becoming fully open-plan. The kitchen and dining area are reorganised into a long, efficient social space using perimeter storage, concealed appliances and banquette seating to make the most of the narrow footprint.
Key Points
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Create two distinct but connected living zones
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Use a glazed partition to separate activity without losing visual connection
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Strengthen the TV room’s connection to the garden
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Maximise kitchen storage and worktop space
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Integrate banquette seating for dining
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Use material continuity across the ground floor
03 FORMAL LIVING ROOM & TV ROOM
A new cut-in French window gives the room a stronger connection to the garden, turning the reading nook into a calmer, light-filled destination rather than a leftover corner.
TV ROOM & READING ROOM
The room shifts from a relaxed everyday space to a larger entertainment area when needed. A Crittall-style partition allows it to open to the formal living room or close down into a more intimate retreat for reading and television.
FORMAL LIVING ROOM
Blue colour drenching creates depth and intimacy, while the marble-clad fireplace, layered lighting and seating arrangement help establish a room suited to hosting, conversation and quieter evening use.
HALLWAY & CONNECTION
Victorian-inspired mosaic tiles, dark mouldings, brass accents and warm lighting give the entrance sequence its own character, while the glazed partitions open sightlines into the living spaces and allow light to move more freely through the ground floor.
04 KITCHEN AND DINING
KITCHEN & DINING
The kitchen is planned to make the most of a long and narrow footprint without feeling compromised.
A shaker-style kitchen in sage green brings warmth and character, while marble worktops, metro tiles and concealed appliances balance traditional references with modern usability. A generous stove, long worktop runs and substantial storage make the kitchen practical for everyday use.
In a live project, worktop options would be reviewed against budget, maintenance expectations and everyday use, with marble, quartz, porcelain or composite alternatives considered depending on the client’s priorities.
BANQUETTE
The banquette and oval dining table create a sociable dining area that works naturally within the narrow plan, turning the kitchen into a generous and welcoming space rather than a purely functional corridor.
05 CONTINUITY & DETAIL
Although each room has a distinct role, the ground floor is tied together through a cohesive material, colour and lighting strategy.
Blue colour drenching links the formal living room and TV room, while black steel, warm timber, marble, brass accents and tactile fabrics create a consistent rhythm across the ground floor. Integrated joinery appears throughout the living spaces and kitchen, helping storage feel architectural rather than added on.
06 TESTING THE PROPOSAL IN 3D
The concept was developed through detailed 3D visualisation to test how the rooms would feel, connect and perform in use.
This was especially important for the relationship between the formal living room and TV room. The 3D studies test how the Crittall-style folding partition affects sightlines, light, privacy and atmosphere when the rooms are open or closed.
They also test the impact of the new French window in the TV room, showing how the reading nook gains a stronger garden connection and a clearer reason to exist within the plan.
The renders help validate material continuity, lighting hierarchy, furniture placement and the balance between compactness and comfort.
Implementation note
This is a conceptual spatial study. In a live project, any new external opening, structural alteration, glazing system, lighting layout, joinery or service change would require site survey, contractor input and relevant specialist confirmation before technical design or construction.
