IN HARMONY

Blending the bolder tones of nature with mid-century furniture, fabulous patterns and striking shapes, this reworked London terrace is alesson in colour cohesion and carefully considered style

-  EMMA J PAGE

Buying their Victorian terrace in southwest London at first proved a dampener for Aiden Peckham and Konstantin Burkov – quite literally. Ten days after the papers were signed, there was a flash flood in the basement and they found themselves knee deep in water. ‘It happened after a particularly heavy summer downfall,’ recalls Aiden. ‘We had planned on doing some works slowly, but we looked at each other and knew it was time to call in an architect.’

Aiden and Konstantin, an interior designer and a solicitor respectively, asked Michael Schienke of Vorbild Architecture to help tank the basement and work on a sympathetic reconfiguration. ‘We wanted to preserve the bones of the house, but at the same time make the layout feel more intuitive,’ says Aiden. ‘During the process, Michael frequently joked that we were working on a conservation project, as there was so much we wanted to salvage, but in reality, behind the Victorian facade, the house has been virtually newly rebuilt, including plastering, plumbing and wiring.’