“We are not the kind of people who do up homes,” says Ben Bignall, sitting with his wife Jen in surroundings that strongly suggest otherwise – a curved glass extension that echoes the Victorian shopfronts that once stood nearby.
The ground floor of their Victorian terrace is now a series of open-plan yet distinct spaces, one flowing into another: a sitting room at the front, then a dining room, then the kitchen, which has a generous living area filled with modernist furniture. This opens on to more seating in the small garden beyond. The layout is perfect for people who love to entertain. “We like the way you can see across the whole space,” says Ben.
The couple – she’s an illustrator; he’s a vice-headteacher and education consultant – moved here in 2018 from a nearby flat in east London in search of more space for themselves and their dog, Gus (they now also have a baby due). When they first saw it, the house had orange radiators, brown bedroom carpets and a tiny, bright-blue kitchen. “There was only room for one person in that kitchen, and I could touch both walls at the same time,” says Ben.
