Ultramarine-blue-framed openings punctuate this London home renovation by local studio Nimtim Architects, creating strong visual links between newly connected living spaces.
Named Peek-a-Blue, the project reimagines the home’s previously compact and disjointed ground floor, transforming it into a sequence of fluid, interconnected spaces tailored to modern family life.
Nimtim Architects has renovated and extended a London home
Central to the redesign is a near double-height snug positioned at the heart of the house. This new space connects the original structure to a rear kitchen and dining extension, forming a cohesive layout that encourages movement and interaction throughout the home.To resolve a one-metre level change between the front of the house and the garden, the architects lowered the floor of the snug. This adjustment allowed the living areas to sit on a single plane, enabling direct access from the kitchen to the garden beyond.
The living spaces were adjusted to sit on one level
“The main concept was to establish a new living plane that reflects how the family wants to live,” said project architect Pippa Grayson. “By lowering part of the existing house to meet the garden level, we created a space that is more generous in scale and better connected to the outdoors.”
At the rear, the extension is finished externally in a warm clay render, contrasted by full-height openings and a circular porthole window edged in ultramarine blue. Inside, the kitchen and dining area features pale blue cabinetry, recycled plastic worktops and gridded clay tiles that continue through the home to reinforce visual continuity.
Light blue-coloured cabinetry lines the kitchen
A built-in bench runs the length of the space beneath a semi-circular skylight, bringing daylight deep into the plan.
“The project uses a rich, tactile palette of reds and ochres to ground the new living spaces,” Grayson explained. “Visual connections are emphasised through bold ultramarine frames and reveals that draw attention to key openings.”
A steel-framed opening links the extension to the two-storey snug, which was conceived as the home’s focal point. Box-like windows wrap around the space, including one that looks onto the staircase, strengthening the visual relationship between different levels.
“The remaining sense of separation between the staircase and living areas was resolved by introducing bright blue punched openings between them,” Grayson added.
The home’s bedrooms are located on the upper floors, where further updates include a bathroom finished entirely in pink tiles.
Openings have been coloured in ultramarine blue
A steel-framed opening connects the extension to the two-storey snug, which Nimtim Architects designed as a "focal point" for the home.
Boxy windows wrap around the space and, on one wall, look onto the home's staircase as a way to link the home's spaces, Grayson explained.
"The sense of disconnect that still existed between the spaces and the staircase was addressed with the bright blue punched openings between them."
Pink tiles clad a bathroom
The home's bedrooms are on the upper floors, where other updated spaces include a bathroom clad entirely in pink tiles.
Photography is by Jim Stephenson.
Courtesy of Dezeen