House-hunting in London demands persistence, and living in a cemetery requires a certain mindset. Nick Horowitz and Sophia Tran-Thomson had both.
The couple searched for a home they could remake.
But the post-Covid market kept pushing them out of bidding wars, especially for houses with gardens.
Then they found a Grade II-listed Victorian lodge inside a 24-acre woodland cemetery near Queen’s Park.
“When we first visited the area, it felt as though everyone here had either a pram or a dog,” Nick recalled. “Luckily, we had both.”
Walking through the site’s gates, the city noise fell away.
The lodge sat in a wide garden wrapped by high hedges, offering total seclusion.
The tenants had lived there for years and told stories about life within the grounds.
That conversation mattered.
“We weren’t the highest bid,” Nick said. “Instead, the tenants’ recommendation carried weight with an owner mindful of the property’s next chapter.”
The building had been a vicarage, then a registrar’s lodge.
It had been cared for, but time took a toll. The layout no longer worked, and original details had softened or disappeared.
Still, Nick and Sophia saw potential.
They brought in Studio Hallett Ike, an architecture and interior-design practice recommended by art adviser Louisa Sprinz and interior designer Diana Farberov. The firm’s co-founder Jonty Hallett said the key was balancing old and new without forcing things.
“Letting those elements speak for themselves makes for more interesting interventions,” he said.
Related: Holiday magic captured in our latest issue
“Maybe it’s not everyone’s thing, but it’s certainly atmospheric.
You can see why they fell in love with it.”
The homeowners wanted Moroccan and Californian references woven into the house.
They wanted the social spaces to feel connected.
The original layout was a rabbit warren of small rooms.
The team realigned everything along a central axis, creating what Hallett called “see-throughness” from the front door to the back garden.
“It gives a feeling of space as soon as you enter,” he said.
A new double-height extension holds a living room, kitchen and dining area on the ground floor. Upstairs are the couple’s bedroom, an en suite and a room for their son.
Downstairs, shifting floor levels and ceiling heights help the old and new parts flow together while subtly marking different zones.
“It’s a more structured arrangement.
With a semi-open-plan nature,” Hallett said.
An arch motif nods to the gothic style of the building and the Moroccan influence the homeowners wanted.
Repeated finishes on walls, floors and joinery tie everything together.
“Spaces feel like they’ve sat together.
For a long time,” he added.
Related: A modern twist on Mallorca’s finca style
The tonal palette provides a quiet backdrop for colorful objects the pair picked up while traveling.
Sophia said she cherishes waking up to sunlight through the lancet windows and the sound of birdsong.
“It feels surreal,” she said.
“Our own tranquil sanctuary in the heart of busy London.”
Nick writes in the guest bedroom at a gothic oak Overseers desk.
It is early afternoon.
“It’s a small, calm space.
In the best way – it feels unchanged,” he said.
“I’m drawn to rooms that carry a sense of continuity.
That feel as though they’ve existed long before you arrived.”
He recalled Sophia’s first reaction to the property.
“It must be haunted – a house this unusual felt almost too good to be true.”
If there are ghosts in this warm family home.
They seem to be gentle ones.
Leave a Reply