David Bowie’s childhood home is being restored

David Bowie with a cat — (Image credit: Credit David Bowie Estate.)

The childhood home of David Robert Jones – a.k.a. David Bowie – will soon be restored and open for the public to enjoy. The residence, located at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, served as the musician’s home from ages 8 to 20 (1955–1967), when he became known to the world as the hugely influential musical artist we all know. The ‘two up, two down’ house building works are set to be completed in late 2027.

You will soon be invited to David Bowie's Bromley home

The London Heritage Trust will work alongside curator Geoffrey Marsh (co-curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition) to restore the terraced railway workers’ cottage to its original early 1960s appearance. This includes an exact interior layout of how it was when Bowie’s father commuted to work at charity Dr Barnado’s, and his mother worked as a waitress.

Bowie’s childhood 9 ft x 10 ft bedroom will also be recreated, a creative space where he wrote his formative songs, including Space Oddity. ‘It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom,’ shares Marsh, ‘As he said, “I spent so much time in my bedroom. It really was my entire world. I had books up there, my music up there, my record player. Going from my world upstairs out onto the street, I had to pass through this no-man's-land of the living room.”’

The restoration is more than a visual reconstruction of bricks and mortar, but, through the Trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes, will also offer creative skills and workshops for young people.

‘We spent so much time together, listening to and playing music. I’ve heard a lot of people say David’s music saved them or changed their life,’ says George Underwood, artist, musician and David Bowie's lifelong friend. ‘It’s amazing that he could do that and even more amazing that it all started here, from such small beginnings, in this house. We were dreamers, and look what he became.’

Fundraising for the project will begin in January 2026 and the project is planned to open at the end of 2027. bowieshouse.org

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Tianna Williams is Wallpaper’s staff writer. When she isn’t writing extensively across varying content pillars, ranging from design and architecture to travel and art, she also helps put together the daily newsletter. She enjoys speaking to emerging artists, designers and architects, writing about gorgeously designed houses and restaurants, and day-dreaming about her next travel destination.