Hipped House extension is focused on space, light, and materials
Oliver Leech Architects’ Hipped House, a redesign and extension of an Epsom house in the UK, draws on light, space and natural materials

Stale Eriksen - Photography
Oliver Leech Architects has created a substantial overhaul of an inter-war house in Epsom, Surrey, transforming one of the UK’s most widespread housing typologies into a contemporary space that’s rich in detail and craft. The south London-based studio managed to negotiate strict planning conditions in order to successfully add a new rear extension, as well as integrate an existing garage into the main ground floor living space of this new project – Hipped House.
Hipped House extension and redesign in Surrey
The new kitchen opens up to the garden, with a polished concrete floor throughout
Upstairs, the house contains a master bedroom and bathroom suite overlooking the rear garden. Here, you’ll find high, vaulted ceilings and seamlessly integrated storage. A new oak floor is paired with a highly crafted oak staircase, which maximises the sense of space on the ground floor.
Outside, Siberian larch cladding at ground-floor level is paired with dark grey Danish clay tiles on the upper floor, setting the structure apart from the conventional.
The generous ceiling in the new master bedroom, along with bespoke cabinetry
Although the restrictions stated that only existing materials could be used on the new volumes, the choice of timber, tiles, and render was carefully considered to make a strong, contemporary statement that stands out from its neighbours.
The tiles, from Danish manufacturer Petersen, were handcrafted, and carefully hung to conceal a hidden gutter. The big dormer window overlooking the garden in the master bedroom has a chamfered timber panelled reveal, creating a decisively different rear façade that combines geometric rigour with natural materials.
The kitchen features porcelain and wooden work surfaces, with a clear glass support on the island unit
The new kitchen is expansive, with a dining area and a physical connection to the rear garden and a new outside space. These spaces are unified by polished concrete floors that extend out to the sunken courtyard.
A set of cast concrete plinths rises up to join this part of the garden with the rear lawn. The intersection of these two spaces is signalled by the poured concrete at floor level, with shuttering patterns made from the same timbers used for the cladding.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
The sculptural concrete steps leading up from the sunken rear courtyard
The new plan provides a substantial increase in floor area, transforming the flow of the house and creating an entrance sequence that steps down from the front hall to the kitchen, living space and garden beyond.
Sliding doors connect inside with outside in the summer, while floor-to-ceiling linen curtains create a gauzy privacy screen when needed. Internal sliding doors can be used to close off the dining room and create a more formal interior.
Hidden sliding doors allow the dining room to be screened off from the open-plan kitchen and living space
Throughout the home extension project, materials have been used sparingly and cohesively, creating solid blocks of texture that expand the perception of the space.
‘The choice of the external materials was our biggest design challenge,’ says Leech, who set up his studio in 2016. ‘We spoke to every tile company in England to find something bespoke. The Hipped House is one of the first projects in the UK to use Petersen’s lovely handmade tiles, which add to the sense of calm that exudes throughout the interiors.’
A view through to the internal courtyard
The alignment of the house allowed the architects to create what they describe as “small moments of joy”, particularly in the downstairs internal courtyard, which contains a solitary acer tree, and also in the skylight in the new master bedroom, perfectly placed to catch the morning sun.
The master bedroom
The architects designed a new oak staircase for the project
INFORMATION
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
At Milan Design Week, 'Material Alchemists' marks the Wallpaper* Class of '25
Our own exhibition brings together 20 emerging designers from around the world giving matter form with magic
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Introducing Wallpaper’s new video series, The Stuff That Surrounds
In The Stuff That Surrounds, Wallpaper* explores a life through objects. First up, we go inside the eclectic Barbican flat of creative director and designer Veronica Ditting
By Anna Solomon Published
-
A new London design show explores material magic with medieval melancholy
Inspired by deconsecrated monasteries, curator Jermain Gallacher takes us on a journey through time and mood in a London exhibition at The Ragged School
By Billie Muraben Published
-
A Norfolk bungalow has been transformed through a deft sculptural remodelling
North Sea East Wood is the radical overhaul of a Norfolk bungalow, designed to open up the property to sea and garden views
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A new concrete extension opens up this Stoke Newington house to its garden
Architects Bindloss Dawes' concrete extension has brought a considered material palette to this elegant Victorian family house
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A former garage is transformed into a compact but multifunctional space
A multifunctional, compact house by Francesco Pierazzi is created through a unique spatial arrangement in the heart of the Surrey countryside
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A 1960s North London townhouse deftly makes the transition to the 21st Century
Thanks to a sensitive redesign by Studio Hagen Hall, this midcentury gem in Hampstead is now a sustainable powerhouse.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
'Bold and unapologetic', this contemporary Wimbledon home replaces a 1970s house on site
This grey-brick Wimbledon home by McLaren Excell is a pairing of brick and concrete, designed to be mysterious
By Tianna Williams Published
-
This modern Cotswolds home draws on its ancient woodland context
This contemporary Cotswolds home, designed by NCA Architecture with interiors by Echlin, is a slice of the Mediterranean in the English countryside
By Tianna Williams Published
-
A Danish twist, compact architecture, and engineering magic: the Don’t Move, Improve 2025 winners are here
Don’t Move, Improve 2025 announces its winners, revealing the residential projects that are rethinking London living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Hampstead house renovation in London transcends styles and periods
The renovation of a Hampstead house in London by Belgian architect Hans Verstuyft bridges the classic and the contemporary
By Harriet Thorpe Published