Victorian architecture meets minimalist interiors in this London townhouse
A Victorian townhouse gets a refresh through minimalist interiors by Moxon Architects in London

Alexandria Hall - Photography
Set in the Arlington Square Conservation Area in central London's borough of Islington, a Victorian house has been transformed into an urban haven of domestic minimalism by Moxon Architetcs. The project, the internal redesign and rear extension of a townhouse in a period terrace, promotes openness, minimalist interiors and improves internal connectivity and overall quality of life in this modern, family home.
While the architects' work involved reconfiguring the entire four-level building, the most striking change took place on the lower ground level. ‘The original building layout was disconnected from the rear garden, the property’s strongest attribute for the client, whom Moxon had worked with a decade earlier,' say the architects.
Even though its main social areas – such the living room and kitchen – were placed on the lower two levels, pre-redesign, the spaces remained profoundly disconnected to the garden. Moxon stepped in to address that, excavating the lower level further and linking it to the garden through a new patio.
A floor-to-ceiling glazed wall towards that patio and garden beyond allows for the entertaining area to spill out to the decked part of the outdoors. At the same time light floods into the space, which houses the kitchen and dining area in a crisp, uncluttered look created through bespoke cabinetry and ample use of clean, white surfaces. The kitchen, dining table, floating side boards and under stair storage have all been finely crafted by joinery specialist Jack Trench.
Restored, existing period features in the old house meet minimalist architectural interiors all the way through to the upper levels, which host the private spaces – bedrooms and bathrooms. ‘The end result feels a world away from the property’s previous incarnation,' say the architects.
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Daisy Margarita Bar reimagines the Mexican tavern with vaquero flair in Los Angeles
From frozen guacamole margaritas to lamb shank with frijoles puercos, this new Sherman Oaks destination mixes playful gastronomy with tradition
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellings
While architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
Meet Rural Futurisms, 'agents for catalytic change' in South Africa's landscape design field
Led by Lesego Bantsheng, the collective is challenging conventional ideas of landscape by reimagining how rural communities connect with heritage, ecology and design
-
Meet the landscape studio reviving the eco-brutalist Barbican Conservatory
London-based Harris Bugg Studio is working on refreshing the Barbican Conservatory as part of the brutalist icon's ongoing renewal; we meet the landscape designers to find out more
-
A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining
-
15 years of Assemble, the community-driven British architecture collective
Rich in information and visuals, 'Assemble: Building Collective' is a new book celebrating the Turner Prize-winning architecture collective, its community-driven hits and its challenges
-
Meet Studio Knight Stokoe, the landscape architects guided by ‘resilience, regeneration and empathy’
Boutique and agile, Studio Knight Stokoe crafts elegant landscapes from its base in the southwest of England – including a revived brutalist garden
-
Tour this compact Kent coast jewel of a cabin with Studiomama
Jack Mama and Nina Tolstrup take us on a tour of their latest project – a small but perfectly formed Kent coast cabin in Seasalter, UK
-
Boutique London rental development celebrates European courtyard living
London design and development studio Wendover unveils its newest residential project, 20 Newcourt Street, comprising nine apartments; we toured with co-founder Gabriel Chipperfield
-
A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventions
A Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July houses
From geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month