Teatum+Teatum squeezes a new flat into the top of two Victorian homes
Architects Tom and James Teatum have reshuffled the upper-floor layout of two houses in west London to create a pair of double-fronted flats – one spread across the second floor and another squeezed beneath the newly extended rafters (+ slideshow).
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_21.jpg)
London-based Teatum+Teatum created Apartment 008 and 009 by extending and reorganising the upper parts of two adjoining properties, on the bend of a Victorian terrace in Shepherds Bush. The buildings had been carved up into a series of bedsits sometime between the 1960s and 1980s.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
The architects extended the roof to create space for Apartment 009, which they describe as "creating a new home from the unused voids of existing houses."
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_17.jpg)
"The project is an example of how the city can provide more housing on existing land with limited construction," explained the architects, who previously slotted a home between the party walls of two existing properties elsewhere in London.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_20.jpg)
The dormer roof extension has a lightweight timber frame and is faced in black-oiled cedar as a contrast to the tiled and pitched roofs of neighbouring properties.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
A stairwell rises through the centre of this home, separating the kitchen from the living room.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
Pale timber furniture has been built into its surrounding walls to provide a pantry for the kitchen, which has a grey-veined marble sink and countertop.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
A bench also made from timber is integrated into the wall of the living room. A light arches over its top like a fishing rod, while to one side, a floor-to-ceiling window looks out over the back garden.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_18.jpg)
An extra storey was added to an existing extension at the rear of the property, creating a roof terrace for this apartment.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_19.jpg)
Glazed doors leads from both the living room and kitchen onto this white-painted balcony that sits in the crux at the rear of the two buildings.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_12.jpg)
Downstairs in Apartment 008, a set of freestanding furniture made from Douglas fir and white-washed ash frames new rooms while maintaining the Victorian proportions of the plan.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Sliding wooden doors were added to create a "fluid relationship" between the use of each space.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_15.jpg)
Bedrooms and bathrooms are separated into units that have been conceived as small buildings, with closets, desks and lighting built into their outer shell.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
"The joinery is a spatial device, an interface that both connects and separates programmes," the architects explained.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
An unornamented fir wood dado lines the lower half of the living room wall and blends into the pale floorboards, giving the room's furniture the appearance of sitting within a timber tray.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
"Forming a material container, the Douglas fir allows furniture to contrast against the texture of the floor and wall," added the pair.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_23.jpg)
A study with a small brick balcony occupies the extension at the rear.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
Photography is by Lyndon Douglas.
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_3.jpg)
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_1.gif)
![Apartments 008 and 009 by Teatum and Teutum](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Apartments-008-and-009-by-Teatum-and-Teatum_dezeen_2.gif)