"He Could Have Upsized. Instead...." Wall Street Journal

We helped a couple of very good friends join two flats in Earls Court, London, to create a family home surrounded by several different open/garden spaces. The Wall Steet Journal published their story and some good images of the home following the transformation.

"... The simple approach would have been to add a staircase between the two apartments, and get on with enjoying the extra space and the basement apartment’s backyard. But the couple were more ambitious than that. They hoped to improve the quality of the space, particularly in the dark and cramped basement. They wanted a link from their original apartment to their new backyard. They had the idea of sectioning off the basement’s front living room and converting it into a self-contained apartment that they could rent out as a long-term investment or retain as a pied-à-terre in the city if they ever decided to move away.

Improving the apartments was a feat of engineering. The plan was to open out the basement, extend its space, and replace a dated-looking rear conservatory with an internal courtyard which would bring in light and create a focal point.

Removing walls for the addition and the courtyard was a delicate matter. The two apartments are at the bottom of a six-story building, and the walls that would be removed were load bearing. “At one point the entire building was supported on just a beam and a couple of steel columns,” said Michael...."

Read the full Wall Street Journal article here. If you cannot access it you can download the PDF version below.