The exterior of ’s White Rabbit House features a traditional brick facade and a typical looking green door. From the street, the building seems polite and restrained, images of a refined lady lounging within its walls springs to mind. However, the experience of opening that doorway can only be related to that of falling down the rabbit hole into Alice in Wonderland’s mystical world. Every inch of this London home has been treated as if it were an opportunity for play and exploration, resulting in the creation of an atmospheric and visual feast.
The house opens into a three-storey void, soft light from an overhead skylight slips down the light green walls, dancing as they make their way down. Architects explain that the whole house has been designed around the “cantilevered pill-shaped staircase” which stands with a demanding presence as the first character presented in this home. A bespoke mix of creamy terrazzo laying beside dark marble forms a chequer-board floor, the magic carpet which transports visitors into the newly inserted interior space at its end. The volume of the entrance begins to shrink, the arched tunnel above hugging ones body as they move toward the arched garden window at the rear of the property.
The experience of walking through this home can only be compared to that of an unfolding narrative, each space using its material palette, colour choices and the contrast of geometric and curving shapes to create so much visual interest it’s hard for occupants to look away.
The architects have used largely green, baby pink and white throughout the home, in some areas the force of the colour becoming the main focus of a room. However, despite this boldness, there is a sense of sensitivity and refinement in the choices and details, a level of which is most likely achieved through designers’ dedication to exploring the skills of highly specialised craftsmen. The repetition of motifs such as the arch and a clean rectilinear grid is the element which, despite a playful and different interpretation of contemporary living, ensures the home doesn’t become too overwhelming, transitioning into a theme park rather than a home.
There is an ever-present relationship between interior spaces and their surroundings with constant slight lines throughout the building maintained. From each point an occupant can watch over other activities within the house while admiring the gardens, which surround the property. Curated placement of glazing allows for light to climb into interior spaces, the connection between the kitchen and living space with the back garden becoming blurred.
Gundry & Ducker have created a beautiful home which celebrates the Neo-Georgian heritage of the original structure, whilst respectfully injecting a new modern interpretation of its exterior into additional interior living space. The design is bold and playful, a refreshing and sensory stimulating interpretation of contemporary living.
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