Upstairs Downstairs
A Project By: jkt architecture
Location: Roundhay, Leeds, UK
Project Summary:
When jkt architecture took on the renovation of this period property in Roundhay, Leeds, our main goal was fixing its awkward flow. By flipping the layout upside down, underpinning the semi-basement, and adding new glazing, we turned a dark, disconnected house into a bright, practical home for our client and her daughter.
Project Detail:
When jkt architecture was first brought on to renovate this period house in Roundhay, Leeds, the building had plenty of original character, but the internal layout simply didn’t work for day-to-day life. As soon as you stepped through the front door, the home felt divided into separate, dark rooms with awkward corridors connecting them. Getting from the main living spaces out to the back garden was completely unintuitive, and the whole property lacked any kind of clear, logical flow.
The main challenge throughout the design process was dealing with the steep slope of the site. Because the land drops away significantly from the front of the plot to the back, the lower ground floor sits as a semi-basement. Before our intervention, it was dark, low-ceilinged, and felt completely shut off from the rest of the house. Rather than trying to force a standard residential layout onto a sloping plot within the built environment that clearly didn’t suit it, we decided to turn the organisation of the house upside down.
We moved all the bedrooms and main family bathroom down to the lower ground floor, where the naturally lower light levels and enclosed feel actually work very well for sleeping and quiet spaces. We then placed the primary living, cooking, and dining areas on the upper floor. Elevating these daytime family spaces to the higher level instantly solved our light problem, letting natural daylight flood the room while giving the main living areas a much better view across the rear garden.
Getting the building to support this new arrangement required a substantial amount of heavy structural engineering. We underpinned the existing basement to dig down and increase the ceiling height, turning what was once a gloomy secondary space into comfortable, proper living quarters. We also completely opened up the old split-level entrance hall, replacing the cramped, restrictive entryway with a much wider, straightforward landing that links the two levels clearly as you enter. Along the rear elevation, we altered the original wall openings and added larger glass panels, bringing daylight deep into the floor plan and creating a direct, physical path straight out to the garden.
The finished house is a complete contrast to the dark, congested building we inherited, but it avoids feeling like a sterile, modern insertion within the built environment. We made a point of keeping and carefully restoring the original period trims, doors, and mouldings so the house keeps its historical identity. Ultimately, the project was about making the space work practically and comfortably for our client and her daughter, giving them a modern home that still respects its past.
