When Deborah Shafier and her husband Alex set out to transform their Edwardian home in London, they wanted more than just extra space; they envisioned a cosy, sustainable sanctuary.
TEXT Alexandra Pratt IMAGES Juliet Murphy/Iguana Architects
“We spent most of lockdown desperate to make changes,” says Deborah. An interior designer by profession, Deborah had bought the Edwardian semi-detached home in London with her husband Alex four years earlier, soon after their daughter was born. The house had character, but its layout didn’t suit their lifestyle as a modern family of four, with two children aged seven and 10. “We like to entertain, have friends over, and the kitchen especially left you isolated from your guests,” explains Deborah.
The family now enjoys life in this comfortable, eco-friendly home that blends modern design with earthy elements. It is a sanctuary full of warmth and texture. With clever use of natural materials, abundant light and thoughtful layout, the home radiates a sense of calm and functionality, perfectly catering to the demands of modern family life. Yet reaching this point involved a major renovation and extension project.
Deborah knew from the moment they bought their home that she wanted to open it up, creating more light filled, practical spaces, but with an eye on both the budget and the environment. Their journey began with a serendipitous meeting at the school gate. Yaniv Peer of Iguana Architects was a fellow parent, and he understood exactly what Deborah and Alex wanted from their renovation.
“My main aim was a clutter free sanctuary. Life can be so chaotic. I wanted to balance aesthetics with a sense of calm and super practical storage. We needed a nice space to relax in,” explains Deborah. In terms of internal finishes, “we love modern design but didn’t want it to feel cold and clinical. Instead, we opted for warm neutrals, wood floors, textured clay plaster walls and an earthy, natural, understated design, which is timeless.”
Fortunately, the house’s attic had already been converted by previous owners into a guest room, office, and shower room. On the first floor, “we were bedroom rich and bathroom poor,” laughs Deborah, who developed plans with Yaniv to extend this upper storey outward by just two metres. This meant they could change the existing family bathroom into an ensuite, create a new family bathroom and enlarge her daughter’s bedroom.
On the ground floor, the extension was more significant, replacing an old conservatory – which was “either boiling hot or freezing cold” – with an elegant new kitchen and dining room that is connected to the garden via bifold doors.
Their first – and possibly biggest – challenge was getting planning permission for a deep, double rear extension. A now-scrapped local rule made the process unusually complicated. Under the old regulation, Deborah and Alex had to begin the work using prior approval rules. This meant building a new rear extension just 500mm away from an existing half width extension. Only after that could they apply for full planning permission to join the two into one space.
The couple’s renovation went beyond just the extension – it involved the entire house, including the original structure, now over 100 years old. They approached both repairs and upgrades with a strong focus on sustainability. One of the most noticeable changes was the addition of new cladding to the front facade.
“We had a big problem… the brickwork was just completely destroyed, and so we ended up putting the Cork Sol over the top, which gives some thermal insulation,” explains Deborah. Cork is a naturally produced material that contributes to carbon sequestration and provides natural insulation, reducing energy use. In use, it is breathable, flexible, weather-resistant and insulating.
The extension to the rear is timber-clad, which is fully recyclable and repairable, and the striking black slatted cladding adds a modern twist to the classic Edwardian brickwork. The ground floor extension also benefits from a ‘green’ roof, which provides insulation and adds more habitat diversity for plants and insects to the home, as well as being beautiful to look out over from the upper floors.
The same sustainable ethic continues inside the home. In the new extension on the ground floor, Deborah and Alex chose clay plaster, which was pre-tinted a soft cream colour. Sourced from UK company Clayworks, “I just fell in love with their ethos,” says Deborah. “Clay plaster has low toxicity, low carbon and is very breathable. It is part of the whole ’wellness’ vibe in the space.” Clay plaster can help to regulate indoor humidity levels, has natural insulating properties and eliminates toxic VOC emissions (volatile organic compounds, chemicals that can impact both the wider environment and cause breathing problems). In terms of finish, it can be smooth or rough, depending on the application, and “we chose to go with somewhere in the middle,” says Deborah. “Some areas are textured, some smoother.”
Colour choice was also important, as the colour of the clay plaster is a warm cream, and this continues into what was previously the difficult ‘middle room’. Now opened out into the dining kitchen, the walls and the cabinetry in this space are painted the same colour, making the effect seamless.
The cabinetry in this space is a key part of the design, as these cupboards house all the family’s clutter that Deborah felt was taking over their home. In the centre of the same wall, the TV hangs on the original chimney breast. Deborah and Alex didn’t feel the need to remove this, as the cost would be disproportionate to the space gained. The end cupboard in this room is also a secret office nook hidden behind pocket doors, which can be used as a breakout desk space or homework area for the children.
What is striking about the colour scheme in the extended ground floor is not just the calm serenity or the pared back palette, but the contrast with the older parts of the house. “We wanted to create balance,” explains Deborah. “Tradition versus contemporary, although we didn’t want it to be too stark, so we added some coving in the central room, with a dropped ceiling and concealed lighting.” The hallway, however, is more traditional, brightened with a pop of yellow inside the front door. The terracotta colour in the WC “tones with the clay nicely,” and the sitting room, which is located at the front of the house, is colour-drenched in ‘Blue 20’ from Lick Paints.
“We used colour to create different atmospheres in different areas, “says Deborah. “Some colours appear in different ways to tie the house together, such as through art. Or, for example, the exposed girders in the kitchen are the same Farrow & Ball ‘Preference Red’ as the joinery in the entrance hall.”
An unusual feature of the central room is a short, angled screen, finished in clay plaster, that breaks the sightline from the sitting areas through to the kitchen. It’s clever and unobtrusive. “My concern was that a fully open plan would leave the kitchen too exposed,” says Deborah. “I wanted to zone the space a little more, and the screen cocoons the living room section. It also creates a more impressive entry into the space from the hallway.”
The black details in the screen are echoed in the downlights above the kitchen island. “I didn’t want large pendants obstructing the space,” explains Deborah. The wider aesthetic of the kitchen is minimalist and raw. The exposed girders, unpainted clay plaster and black cabinetry could be harsh, but Deborah’s clever use of texture and natural wood, as well as cream, not white, and off black, pulls the vibe back to restful. It is a space where the eye is drawn out through the aluminium-framed bifold doors into the gardens, and the quality of the light is enhanced as it falls through carefully placed rooflights.
The kitchen layout and design emerged through discussions with Yaniv at Iguana and was made locally by Naked Kitchens in timber. A light toned quartz worktop complements the darker wall cabinetry. “I love cooking in the kitchen, as it’s so light all year round,” says Deborah. “It’s such a nice space to be in.”
The environmentally conscious decisions continued throughout the home too, including little things like the choice of recycled cotton fabrics in the bedrooms. Deborah was also keen to reuse materials already in the house where possible. These include the fireplaces in the older parts of the house and the internal doors. The double door between the sitting room and the central room has been rehung as a bifold, its position to one side decided by the existing large built-in bookcase that dominates the internal wall. “The door is open most of the time,” says Deborah. “This means we get a better quality of light in the central room.”
Other measures the couple took for sustainable reasons included suppliers with good eco credentials, such as the brass sockets from Corston Architecture, having products manufactured in the UK or as locally as possible, and upcycling or repurposing existing furniture and finishes.
Despite the couple’s environmental priorities, Deborah didn’t choose to install an air source heat pump, as she was deterred by both the cost and their lack of suitability in such an old property. While the new extension is airtight and cosy, the original parts of the building will never reach the same standard.
The family was lucky enough to move in with Deborah’s parents for the duration of the build. This went smoothly as Billa Construction, a firm recommended by Iguana Architects, ran the project. “We had a brilliant experience,” says Deborah. The couple’s only real challenge during the project, once the complicated planning permission had been achieved, was the cost of materials, which rose rapidly during the Covid period. After a nine month build, the family moved in in 2023, and they have grown into their new space, adding artworks and other pieces that make the space truly feel like home.
This tranquil retreat now fuses earthy elegance with modern functionality, blending sustainability, clever design and timeless style. As natural light pours in, the Shafier family’s home radiates warmth, texture and serenity. Deborah is particularly pleased with the ground-floor extension: “It was previously held back by being disjointed, but now we can do our own thing alongside each other, and we also love having gatherings in this space,” she says. “It just works really well.”
And there’s a happy twist in the tale, too; during the project, Deborah’s relationship with Iguana Architects was so successful, she now works for the company!