In pictures: Druid Grove

CAN’s latest project transforms a typical London terrace into a habitable work of art. The three-bedroom home in East Dulwich has been extended and refurbished for its visual artist owner, with an idiosyncratic aesthetic that architect Mat Barnes has dubbed “hyperfolk”.

When asked by Barnes to share non-architectural inspirations at the start of the project, the client brought pictures of hyper-real natural scenes, modern steel structures and dripping floral arrangements. Barnes explains, “Our client is a visual artist, so this project was about building atmospheres as much as spaces. The references were futuristic and natural, and our challenge was to make them physical in a way that could be lived in and grounded.”

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Source: Felix Speller

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The ground floor was unlocked with the addition of a half-metre rear extension and removal of a central structural wall. The space was reorganised around a small central room flanked by a pair of cave-like openings. Beyond one of these, to the front of the house, is a calm, minimal living room. Through the other, to the rear is a large kitchen dominated by a 4m serpentine stainless-steel island.

Here, the timber trusses in the glass roof to one side of the room have been reimagined as hanging foliage. The organic forms were designed in collaboration with the client, hand cut by the contractor on site, and stained green.

Contrasting with the grey roughcast of the kitchen walls, a bright wall of custom-glazed pink and orange Palet tiles extends to the exterior. In the garden stands a mock menhir, a “standing stone” shipped down from Cornwall.

Upstairs, it is all about the decor: bold colours, with a pinch of po-mo. The main bedroom has an alternate-tread staircase up to a mezzanine with a standalone bathtub. In the shower room, the striking green terrazzo shower wall with a “broken” edge echoes the organic feel found elsewhere.

A clear alignment between client and designer underpins the project, which was a natural fit for CAN, a firm recognised for its whimsical and imaginative schemes. The result is a fun, playful home that reflects the client’s confident, highly individual taste.