Cotswolds Lifestyle Jan - Feb 2021

MAXIMISING
Space
With more of us working from home or putting off
a move, we need to maximise every inch of space
in our homes. This issue, we look at a real-life vault
conversion which has given the homeowners ample
new living space and room for guests...
WORDS Katie Thomson
PHOTOGRAPHY Lydia Booth Photography
I
f you’ve never ventured into the belly of a Georgian building,
the term ‘vault’ might be an unfamiliar one to you. During
what was a hugely prolific building period, Regency
architects created many of their characteristic town houses
with an interconnected series of rooms below ground level, with
vaulted ceilings. All houses except the poorest had basements
containing a kitchen, scullery and other stores such as a pantry
and larder. More generally, these allowed for the services of the
household to operate without needing to use the front door.
In the intervening years, many of these properties have been
converted into flats and remedial works have been started on
these vault spaces - so was the case with this room. Before
work commenced (with relevant permissions), the vault was
dark and the previous tanking system had failed entirely, leaving
blown patches of plaster on the walls. The flooring was a thick
carpet laid over a concrete substrate, only adding to the issues
with damp.
Unlike some spaces, this room had the benefit of a window,
so for owners Dan and Kate, it made sense to be able to make
it more habitable as a ‘snug’ with an option to accommodate
The side table is both practical and allows for cosy
candlelight. Table and vase, jysk.com; candle, Pecksniffs
Aromatherapy; cushion, hauslife.co.uk
Left: prints lean against the wall, covering sockets, and
giving visual depth - both Desenio
guests. “The project was a daunting one, but the damp issue
was getting worse and I knew we needed to take some action”
explained Katie, “we wanted to make the space both dry for
storage and somewhere we could actually use - but as you can
see, the shapes of the walls made sure it wasn’t a standard
project. The number one priority was getting it dry.”
The first steps were removing the failed tanking and applying a
new membrane. Where possible, Kate was very conscious not to
harm the fabric of the building “I was adamant that I didn’t want
wires channelled into the walls or any harm done to the building
itself, so together with our builder we devised the panelling - the
batons are secured to the walls and hide the myriad of cables
to supply socket points and the LED up-lighting. The power for
these comes from the original power source already in place in
the room.”
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