Case study

Refinement Over Reinvention

A Georgian townhouse, South London

On a quiet South London street, where Georgian terraces unfold with measured regularity and morning light slips through tall sash windows, this townhouse carries an easy, unforced confidence. A planted front garden forms a gentle threshold from the road, filtering sound and movement, lending the house a sense of retreat uncommon in the city. When the current owners arrived in 2021, they stepped into a home that had been lovingly inhabited for over two decades. Their approach was not to overwrite what was there, but to refine it – adjusting colour and flow, and allowing the architecture to lead each decision.

The work unfolded gradually, in phases that balanced necessity with instinct. Essential updates to electrics and plumbing came first, followed by more expressive interventions in the kitchen, basement and bathrooms. Throughout, the house’s Georgian logic remained a constant guide.

Certain spaces revealed their potential immediately. The loft, with its exposed London roof beams, unfolded as a moment of quiet drama, where structure became an integral part of the room’s character. Elsewhere, the tall windows and their shifting light shaped decisions almost unconsciously, informing a palette that feels settled and assured.

The principal ensuite bathroom was already in place, but its layout felt at odds with the room’s proportions. A combined bath and shower, alongside an enclosed WC, broke the space into smaller, disconnected parts. By rebalancing the layout and opening the room out, the bathroom was able to function with greater ease and intention, comfortably accommodating both a freestanding bath and a walk-in shower.

Working closely with Drummonds, the owners selected fittings that felt in tune with the age and cadence of the house. The walk-in shower brings a sense of clarity and everyday practicality, while the skirted bath restores bathing as a slower, more considered ritual. Together, they establish a rhythm that feels calm and deliberate.

Colour and material were treated with the same restraint. Tiles from Mandarin Stone were carefully matched to Farrow & Ball’s Teresa’s Green, allowing walls and surfaces to read as a single, enveloping tone.

Throughout the bathrooms, Drummonds’ unlacquered brass fittings provide warmth and quiet movement. Chosen for their balance of classic form and everyday function, they sit easily within the architecture. “We love the combination of classic style and functionality,” the owners explain. “The craftsmanship is second to none.” Used across two bathrooms in the house, the brass has already begun to change, its surface responding subtly to touch and time. “We love the ‘aliveness’ of unlacquered brass,” they add, “and its shifting patina over time.”

What gives the bathrooms their particular sense of ease is this allowance for change. Surfaces soften, materials deepen, and the rooms settle into themselves with use. The atmosphere feels open and generous, shaped by time as much as by design.

Like the house as a whole, the bathrooms rely on proportion, material integrity and judgement to create their impact. They are confident and composed, rooted in their Georgian setting while gently accommodating the rhythms of contemporary family life.

 Architect: Pam McCretton, Content Design Ltd

Contractor: Steve Orr, 2020Seven

Full Product List