A couple with two young children appointed FPA to refurbish a large semi detached Victorian house in Wimbledon Park. The property, arranged on four split levels, had already been extended in 2007 by the previous owners. The clients only wished to have the interiors updated to create a contemporary family room. However, FPA interpreted the brief as an opportunity also to refine the appearance of the existing side extension overlooking the patio and devise a new external family room, framed by red cedar clap boards, laid to suggest a chevron floor pattern. The refurbishment of the interior creates an internal contemporary family room at the lower ground floor by employing a simple, yet elegant, selection of materials as the instrument to redirect the focus of the house towards the patio and the garden: light coloured European Oak floor is paired with natural Oak and white lacquered panelling and Lava Stone to produce a calming and serene space. The solid corner of the extension is removed and a new sliding door set is put in to reduce the separation between inside and outside. Photo by Gianluca Maver