A Japanese-Inspired London Townhouse Designed by Architect Hikaru Kitai

Opposite the lush green sweep of Victoria Park, a classic stock-brick townhouse on Gore Road hides an extraordinary transformation. Architect Hikaru Kitai has reimagined this five-bedroom home as a serene, sculptural retreat. It’s an interplay of light, texture, and material where Japanese craftsmanship meets London’s industrial vernacular.

Behind the understated Victorian façade lies 2,750 square feet of spatial poetry. Concrete, steel, cherrywood, and marble are combined with quiet precision, creating rooms that feel both grounded and expansive.

Light diffuses gently across surfaces, heightening the home’s already generous proportions and lending a sense of calm continuity from floor to floor. It is now a single home for the architect-owner Hikaru Kitai, but it has been designed in such a way that it can be divided into two separate dwellings.

Stepping through the front door, you’re met with an atmosphere of harmony, a meeting of Victorian charm, modern industrial accents, and Japanese minimalism.

Oversized internal doors open onto the ground-floor living spaces, where original sash windows with preserved shutters frame leafy park views. A built-in window seat anchors the room, while a log burner sits before a steel-clad feature wall,

The back area features a steel-clad wall with built-in ply storage.

A banister of rust-red steel guides you down cast-concrete steps to the kitchen and dining level, the heart of the home.

Here, Kitai’s architectural language is most vividly expressed. The kitchen resembles a Japanese cabin, defined by cherrywood ceilings and bespoke cabinetry topped with a raw concrete countertop. Industrial craftsmanship and refined joinery meet in effortless balance.

A floating double sink overlooks a sunken courtyard through Crittall-style glazing. At the same time, the dining area, anchored by a terrazzo-like polished concrete floor, opens directly onto the rear garden through Maxlight sliding doors.

Every level connects to the outdoors in its own way. The front garden introduces the home’s lush botanical theme, while the rear garden, ringed by mature trees, offers a secluded escape.

The basement floor features a guest suite with walls of concrete and cherrywood that are softened by organic hay insulation, creating a cocooning texture.

The sunken courtyard acts as an atmospheric lightwell for the lower floors. A spiral staircase links the garden to the upper levels, underscoring Kitai’s masterful choreography of vertical connection.

The bathroom here features a handcrafted Ofuro Iroko soaking tub and a wet-room shower, an homage to traditional Japanese bathing rituals.

A light-filled study connects directly to the courtyard, where potted plants thrive in the dappled sun. A laundry room and generous storage complete this level.

The first floor features a flexible living room that overlooks Victoria Park. With its sash windows, open fireplace, and built-in storage, it can also serve as a generous additional bedroom.

The main bathroom is a study in craftsmanship, featuring twin marble sinks, an oval bath set beneath a sculptural stone lintel, and a walk-in shower framed by warm, plywood storage.

The principal suite crowns the house, tucked away on the top level for added privacy. Here, dramatic ceiling heights give way to a mezzanine, an intimate loft accessed by an open-tread staircase.

Behind ply concertina doors lies a dressing room and a beautifully composed bathroom, complete with a concrete-topped vanity and concealed fittings.

The densely planted front garden, complete with a towering banana tree, offers a natural veil of privacy from the street.

The house is listed for £3,000,000 at The Modern House.