This imposing Georgian home, previously a house and a basement flat, has regained its original four-storey layout and been given a calm, relaxed and sophisticated scheme that combines the classic with the contemporary

Imagine a four-storey regency house in Bath on the market at £256. that was the price of this home when it was first sold in 1822, its latest owners discovered. the historic family house required a complete overhaul with a further brief to reincorporate the self-contained basement flat and create an ensuite bathroom for the main bedroom.

It took id homes 12 months to transform the property. although structurally sound, it was ‘cosmetically challenged’ and listed planning consent was required for much of the work. luckily, many of the original features, such as fireplaces, shutters and elaborate cornicing, were still intact but the basement was another story.

a bad flat conversion in the 1970s and its use as a doctor’s surgery in the 1980s resulted in all the period features being stripped out so the basement was where most of the structural work took place. ‘We opened up the space between the two basement rooms to create a more open-plan space,’ says Lisa Davies-Evans, director of id homes. ‘When we are commissioned to redesign a period home, we always start by looking at the detail — what can be renovated and what can be reinstated in an authentic and credible way. In this instance, as the overall style was to create a classic contemporary theme, we specified beautiful cast-iron radiators and ironmongery

sympathetic to the period.’

This environmentally sympathetic philosophy was in keeping with the client’s views. ‘Our design ethos tries to incorporate, reuse or recycle wherever possible, preferring to avoid

synthetic materials,’ says Davies- Evans. ‘Most of the fabrics used here are wools, linens and velvets. And for nearly every room we found a piece of furniture that was renovated to fit in

with the scheme.’

Another of Davies-Evans’ passions is mirrors and lighting. ‘I think a room feels dead without a mirror,’ she says. ‘With the mirrors and the lighting, getting the right scale was really

important because the ceiling heights in the main rooms of this home are upwards of 4m. We sourced oversized mirrors and lights from Abigail Ahern, which is one of my favourite stores,

and found vintage chandeliers in local antique shops.’

‘I have a passion for designing period properties,’ says Davies-Evans. ‘It is a real privilege to work on such naturally beautiful historic homes. So we are looking forward to our next big project, another Georgian house in Bath.’

This article was first published in idfx Magazine.