First-time buyer Hannah Smith took on a project flat in Honor Oak with the support of her parents
(Picture: Adrian Lourie)For many first-time buyers taking on a project property seems overwhelming. But Hannah Smith, who works as a visual artist for film and TV projects including James Bond, has a long-term interest in design. She also had her parents’ support, not only in helping her run the project but also financially.
Pre-pandemic Smith, 25, was living at home in south-east London and dreaming of a place of her own. “My dad was adamant about not giving away money by renting and he started scouting for properties,” she said.
The flat he found was on the top floor of a period house in Honor Oak. It had a single bedroom at the back of the property, a living room at the front and a separate kitchen in the middle.
But when Smith first saw the flat, she was far from excited. For a start, she didn’t want to live alone. It also didn’t offer her the open plan living space she was looking for. And its décor, while in reasonably good order, was boring. “Beige, beige, beige,” says Smith.
However, on the advice of her father, Smith decided to pursue the flat because of the huge potential right above her head in the shape of its unconverted loft.
Smith’s parents put down a deposit to allow her to buy the flat for £320,000. Then she enlisted the help of Fraher & Findlay design and build firm — which she found online and admired for its style — to help her rethink the space.
After two years, a full renovation and significant investment, the one-bedroom flat has been enlarged to a two-bedroom home full of colour, large enough for Smith to work from home when necessary and to live with a friend. It has also been shortlisted for a Don’t Move, Improve! award, recognising London’s most inventive home extensions and renovations.
An upside down flat
“I had so many ideas,” says Smith. “I sketched out a plan, with the bedrooms on the top, but they flipped it upside down. They said if we had the bedrooms at the top we wouldn’t get much living space, whereas using the loft as our living space it’s massive, there’s lots of light, and I can just see Canary Wharf out of the window.”
To create as much usable space as possible, the architects designed two large mansard loft extensions. These were clad in reddish zinc at attic level to create a striking visual appearance from the outside, too. “Our roofs should be spaces to create beautiful jewelled spaces — not a cheap, poorly built afterthought,” they say.
The flat’s upside-down layout means that the kitchen is tucked into one of these spaces, with its pitched roof adding interest and large window plus four skylights flooding the room with light.
The flat is set out on half levels and a few steps down from the kitchen is the dining room, with its engineered oak floor, exposed beams and built-in storage seating.
Although the flat lacks much in the way of outside space, double sliding doors lead on to a slim balcony — enough, on sunny days, to give an indoors/outdoors effect. A row of windows punched into the side wall gives it double-aspect light.
The new staircase added to link the loft to the original flat is built from elegant, perforated metal. Its slim, white balustrade makes the stairwell feel as open as possible.
Beige no more
Smith is not afraid of bold colour choices and her kitchen cabinets are a rich green, while the worktop and breakfast bar are terrazzo marble. A linear open shelf gives her space to display crockery and plants.
I’m obsessed with everything here. I come home and think: ‘I can’t believe I actually live somewhere like this’
The double height living room has traditional sash windows overlooking the street and is painted a deep and peaceful shade of sage green right the way up to the pitched ceiling, which was created by knocking through, up into the eaves.
Smith continued the theme with plenty of plants and dark green sofas (from Swyft Home and Adventures in Furniture respectively). Most of the accessories, from artwork to cushions, are monochrome to keep things pared down and harmonious, although such a high ceiling does require a statement light. Smith chose a brass and glass chandelier from Pooky, which she spotted on Pinterest.
What it cost
- One-bedroom flat in Honor Oak: £320,000
- Loft extension to two-bedroom flat: £260,000
On the lower level are two bedrooms. Smith rents the spare room, also painted green, to a friend to keep her company and help with the mortgage. Smith’s own bedroom is painted a gentle petal pink, which perfectly sets off her dusty blue velvet bed. A wall of wardrobes with carcasses from Ikea and floor-to-ceiling doors made by her builders gives her loads of storage space and hides a built-in dressing table painted a richer tone of pink, with a blue velvet chair that tucks into the space.
Bad timing
Smith’s timing wasn’t brilliant. Work on the project began in March 2021 when the third lockdown was still in place. Sourcing building materials was tricky but, without any major setbacks, by September Smith was able to move back in.
A project of this scale doesn’t come cheap and this one came in at about £260,000. It has inevitably added value to the property, increasing its square footage by around a third, although Smith and her family don’t know exactly how much since they haven’t had the flat valued.
“I think we might potentially have broken even but I am probably not going to leave it for a long time anyway, so it doesn’t really matter,” says Smith. “At the moment, I’m just obsessed with everything in here. I come home and think: ‘I can’t believe I actually live somewhere like this’.”
