It's a Jungle in Here, Peckham
This large Victorian house in Peckham has lived many lives: once a single-family home, then a church hall, a social club, and later an independent school. Each change left its mark, carving up the spaces in a haphazard way and stripping out the building’s original character. By the time we began work, it was ready for a new chapter — this time as a home for Matthew Giles, his wife, painter Liza Giles, and their two sons, Elwood and Arlo.
Designing your own home is always a labour of love. Every decision carries the weight of daily life, future memories, and the rhythms of family. Here, the ambition was to return the house to its original purpose while creating a place filled with warmth, light, and personality — a home for living, working, and showing art, but above all for raising a family.
Internal partitions were rationalised and generous openings introduced, creating long views and free-flowing circulation throughout the house. Natural light became a central theme, flooding the interiors and giving Liza’s paintings the space they needed to breathe.
What looks effortless — rooms flowing into one another, walls doubling as gallery surfaces, spaces framed by greenery and daylight — is the product of rigorous planning and thoughtful detailing. A palette of tactile materials and soft planting blurs the threshold between inside and out, creating a house alive with art, love, and the calm drama of natural light.
- Architecture
- Matthew Giles Architects
- Interior Design
- Matthew Giles Architects
- Landscape Design
- Matthew Giles Architects
- Photography
- Ray Moon