Perched on a quiet street in South Tottenham, London, an unassuming 1970s house undergoes a striking transformation—from a home perceived as cold and uninspiring to a warm, low-energy abode, rich in texture and intention. Dubbed Nina’s House, the project is the culmination of a collaboration between two London-based practices: interior design studio Nina+Co and architecture firm ROAR. The residential design employs a natural and regenerative approach to retrofitting using local and recycled materials, resulting in a future resilient fossil fuel free home. “The house is incredibly comfortable and because we work from home, this really matters. I hope sharing our experience encourages more people to explore natural materials and retrofitting—not just for comfort now, but for the benefit of generations to come,” Nina Woodcroft, founder of Nina+Co and owner of the home, says in an official press statement.

Woodcroft’s Nina+Co, established in 2014, has built an oeuvre of texturally rich interior projects that foreground circular thinking. ROAR, on the other hand, founded by Craig Rosenblatt and Shaun O’Brien in 2017, investigates the transformative power of architecture in place and purpose through the lens of retrofit and reuse. Nina’s House emerges as a reflection of their synergy in realising design solutions that are performance-led, materially sensitive and deeply human in execution. “Nina’s House is a warm and welcoming home. It is a brilliant example of prioritising performance over footprint, and it’s sparked an amazing response—changing our studio’s approach to retrofit,” Rosenblatt relays in his statement.

The transformation of the house is evident as one views it from the street. Enveloped in a 100mm-thick skin of dark expanded cork, the exterior shell flaunts soft, rounded corners and a blotchy façade. Although small in scale compared to the neighbouring buildings, the residence piques the curiosity of passers-by, inviting them to interact with its textured walls. The old concrete driveway is replaced by creeping thyme growing between salvaged stepping stones to soften the transition between the street and the home’s premises. The greenery continues to the rear, where a previously barren garden now harbours trees and edible plants, creating a sensory landscape.

As one enters the house, the interiors appear as a smooth balmy composition of forms and surfaces. The original footprint of the ground floor remains intact while it is spatially reconfigured into a more fluid plan encompassing zones for dancing, reading and sharing meals. Along with the interior spaces, the porch and a small garage are included in the thermal envelope to maximise efficiency. The material palette is honest and intentional. The walls are donned in exposed lime plaster sealed with a VOC-free transparent glaze, and the floors feature cork. A monolithic kitchen island, crafted from a fallen London plane tree rescued from Soho Square, anchors the spaces as a sculptural centrepiece. A Smile recycled plastic countertop offers durability around the sink, salvaged timber offcuts are repurposed for the built-in storage and ceiling cladding, and custom joinery is designed by Woodcroft and fabricated locally by Craftworks Productions using UK-made triply board from British Douglas Fir—all reaffirming the renovation project’s circular design approach.

In addition to the natural finishes that define the home’s character, the architects directed a significant share of efforts and budget towards improving the project’s overall performance apropos of the technical strategies and in making it fossil fuel-free. Removing the initial gas supply entirely, the team introduced an air-source heat pump and underfloor heating to maintain steady warmth. The extensive insulation work makes use of cork cladding, PIR board under floors, graphite-coated polybeads in cavity walls and recycled plastic in the loft for a sturdy thermal envelope while sheep’s wool provides acoustic insulation throughout internal walls and ceilings. Special tapes, paints and plasterwork in the ceiling voids reduce heat loss and enhance the airtightness of the shell. The equalising ventilation is achieved through an MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) system that maintains indoor air quality and comfortable temperatures.

Revived as a full-time family home and workspace, Nina’s House subtly yet radically redefines comfort, sustainability and sensitivity within a humble architectural footprint. Natural, recycled and locally sourced materials assume tactile forms to fuel sensory experiences throughout the home. But above all, each intervention speaks of a deeper ethic of care for the environment. From its energy-efficient ethos to the textural warmth it exudes, the house becomes a sanctuary for its residents and a working prototype for regenerative retrofit, offering a model for existing homes to evolve with purpose.

Project Details

Name: Nina’s House
Location: South Tottenham, London
Client: Nina Woodcroft & Joe Hutchinson
Area: 112 sq m
Design: Nina+Co
Architect: ROAR
Team: Nina Woodcroft, Craig Rosenblatt, Makbule Karadag