Heritage Meets Colour Joy at Thiss Studio’s Hartley House in London.

Somewhere in Waltham Forest, North East London, a new family home has come about within the frames and constraints of a Victorian-era Terraced house, and it’s simply wonderful. With the aim to avoid extensions and hero existing spaces, THISS Studio took to the renovation with a sustainable lens and the goal to have loads of fun doing it. If the kitchen is considered the heart of the home, then the butter yellow living room would be the lungs, as it breathes new life into this heritage-heavy home with fantastic fervour.

Let’s start at the heart—the kitchen—with its openly social agenda, amplified by the layout, which suggests a connection to the garden whilst hosting friends or feeding a family. Warm terracotta tiles lead bare feet from the inside out, where they form what is fondly referred to as the ‘disco ball patio’, a circular platform for family gatherings and performances of all kinds.

This Architectural Gem in Sydney's Paddington Transforms the Street.

There’s an ease to this newly-built Paddington house that masks its economy. Single gestures generate multiple outcomes, nothing is wasted, and much is achieved with little.

Back inside, acoustic wall panelling made up of recycled paper waste hugs the walls, and floor-to-ceiling, mint green casework highlights the abundance of height bestowed upon the kitchen, something THISS studio achieved by removing a sort of ‘false floor’ after discovering a large void underneath, aligning with their philosophy of working with the existing and practising sustainable design.

Suspended above the dining table we see petal pendants, a slight homage to the garden beyond and a fun floral detail to brighten the space. The real fun is, of course, the cheeky recycled aluminium sun shade, undulating and extending from the Douglas fir timber window frame, the mirror of this resulting in a playful perch on the patio for all to enjoy.

Small Design Moves, Monumental Impact: Parkville House in Melbourne by Placement.

Placement's rework of this Melbourne terrace is a masterclass in how small design moves can result in monumental shifts—not just for a single family but for the architectural fabric of a community.

Buttery yellow walls make up the study, speaking to the family’s desire to have a work space that can be utilised when the kids are at school, alongside the request for a clear connection to the natural landscape outside, this room could not possibly do anything else other than inspire creativity in the user.

A clever play with paint, we see the spaces split up by colour rather than physical structures, as a soft sage green living room wall meets the yellow in a clear line aligned with the threshold of the study. Warmth is given to the space in keeping the original timber flooring, the remains of the previous fireplaces and structures still evident in patches of concrete throughout. It adds a certain robust quality that immediately inspires relaxation and the notion that one need not be too precious with the space, and that alongside the family inhabiting the house, there is plenty of opportunity for growth and change in the years to come.

Autumn House in Melbourne by Studio Bright.

This extension to a Victorian terrace with a 1980’s renovation by architect Mick Jörgensen and a mature elm tree in the backyard, adds a careful new layer stitched into and around existing constraints.

[Images courtesy of Thiss Studio. Styling by Beth Golding. Photography by Henry Woide.]