{"id":829264,"date":"2026-03-16T09:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/829264\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T09:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:18:15","slug":"a-spectacularly-airy-house-hidden-behind-an-unassuming-facade-in-east-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/829264\/","title":{"rendered":"A spectacularly airy house hidden behind an unassuming fa\u00e7ade in east London"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-dropcap has-dropcap__lead-standard-heading\">One of the wonderful things about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houseandgarden.co.uk\/topic\/city\" isautogenerated=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">city<\/a> as historic as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houseandgarden.co.uk\/topic\/london\" isautogenerated=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">London<\/a> is that each building evolves and takes on new incarnations constantly. The result is that you never quite know what to expect behind the door of an unassuming terraced house. The wrought-iron gate, white-painted windows and pale brick exterior of this Victorian house in east London reveal little of the luminous, multi-level expanse behind it. Even less expected is the bountiful L-shaped back garden, which features a natural swimming pool and a sauna that feel worlds away from the busy surrounding streets.<\/p>\n<p>The owner has a demanding work schedule and wanted \u2018both a sanctuary away from a busy London life and a place to socialise and entertain\u2019, says Nathaniel Mosley, who, along with Henry Thorold, founded architectural studio Mosley Thorold in 2017. In fulfilling the brief, they have sensitively added a new chapter to the house\u2019s story, while preserving the elements that root it in its past.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Window Indoors Interior Design Bay Window Plant Chair and Furniture\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/250908_H_G_Mosley_Thorold_08_Tiff_8_Bit_sRGB-production_digital.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Natural materials and neutral tones enhance the pale and airy lower ground floor space. The Nupe wooden stool is from Sworders.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Sinclair<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We visited the house with our client before he bought it and could immediately see that, although it needed a lot of work, there was huge potential to unlock,\u2019 recalls Nathaniel. The house, including the basement, had been renovated in the 1970s, but not necessarily to its advantage. The lower-ground floor was divided into small, dark rooms with \u2018an awkward circulation and a staircase right in the middle, blocking off the space\u2019. Upstairs, many of the Victorian details had been taken out and replaced with modern additions. \u2018Our client wanted the whole space to have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houseandgarden.co.uk\/topic\/country\" isautogenerated=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">country<\/a>-house-meets-the-city atmosphere, and for it to feel like an oasis,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The journey downstairs was important,\u2019 Henry points out. \u2018We wanted to be able to see the garden from the front door and to have the space open up in front of you as you walk down the steps.\u2019 One of the first-floor rooms was replaced with an open staircase leading down to a double-height library space on one side and a kitchen, dining and sitting room on the other. This new staircase, coupled with double-height windows was, he says, \u2018a big spatial move that unlocked everything \u2013 you can read the space as a whole. There are constant glimpses of the garden and it feels like an increasingly expansive and always diverting journey.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the wonderful things about a city as historic as London is that each building evolves and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,2737,87365,110576,393,4884,257,87364,87366,183537,16,15,122890],"class_list":{"0":"post-829264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-city-houses","11":"tag-city-houses-with-contemporary-interiors","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-london-houses","16":"tag-modern-houses","17":"tag-old-houses-with-contemporary-interiors","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-victorian-houses"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116238110377462915","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}