Sobremesa House
A comprehensive renovation and extension of a terraced house in South West London, resulting in a refined home primed for hosting. The Victorian property, owned by founders of bespoke luxury catering business Opus 11 – Charlie and Joshua Karlsen – offers a composed and serene setting for effortless hospitality.
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The clients sought to extend their Victorian terraced home in a way that would honour its original character while adapting it for modern family life and frequent entertaining.They were particularly keen to preserve the proportions and detailing of the existing house—its modest grandeur—while creating a light-filled, sociable space that felt both contemporary and contextually sensitive.
The brief focused on creating a generous, welcoming kitchen and dining area at the rear, designed to open seamlessly onto the garden. To blur the boundaries between inside and out, cobbled external paving was brought into the interior, and a large rooflight above the dining table floods the space with daylight. Timber fins beneath the rooflight offer privacy from neighbouring windows without compromising light, allowing guests to feel both open to the garden and protected during gatherings.
The site presented several planning and contextual challenges. Located within a tightly knit urban terrace, the neighbouring properties stepped out to different depths and heights. The design responded with a sweeping curved brick wall above a built-in planter. One of the central challenges was to create a contemporary intervention that would neither overpower the original Victorian home nor negatively impact the light, outlook, or amenity of neighbouring properties—a common tension in dense urban settings.
The playful, curved brick form became our solution that both echoes and subverts the traditional detailing of the host building. The soft geometry adds a sculptural quality while cleverly managing views and light spill and managing solar shading. This allowed the extension to feel distinctive as an original gesture that respects its context. The extension negotiates the neighbour site heights and depths, creates a generous internal volume, and provides passive solar shading on the south side. It also shelters open windows during rain, enhancing natural ventilation.
