Victorian House Reimagined: How Light, Natural Materials and Oak Doors Transform Small Spaces

For Youngbin Shin and Tom Liang (Shin + Liang Architects), good interior design is not about following trends or filling a home with statement pieces. It is about creating spaces that make everyday life feel comfortable, considered and connected to nature.

We recently visited the couple in their beautifully renovated Victorian home in Fulham, London — their own family residence, where Korean and Chinese influences meet contemporary British architecture.

The Challenge of Making a Victorian Home Feel More Spacious

Victorian houses are loved for their character, yet their narrow layouts, limited daylight and disconnected rooms can present challenges for modern family living. Rather than simply modernising the property, Shin + Liang Architects reconsidered how the entire house should be experienced. “We wanted to create a place where you can walk barefoot, sit on the floor, enjoy the natural light and simply feel comfortable,” they explain.

A raised timber platform inspired by the Korean daecheong, a traditional space for gathering and relaxing, became one of the defining features downstairs. Generous glazing, carefully positioned openings and cross ventilation bring daylight and fresh air deep into the house while strengthening the connection with the garden. Integrated joinery and hidden storage keep everyday clutter out of sight, while uninterrupted sightlines create a greater sense of depth. Even practical details were reconsidered, including positioning the basin outside the family bathroom to improve circulation and introduce more daylight into the hallway.

Upstairs, extra tall internal oak doors continue this approach, drawing the eye upwards and helping the rooms feel visually connected. Together, these carefully considered decisions make the house feel considerably more spacious and generous than its footprint suggests.

Extra Tall Oak Doors as an Architectural Feature

For Youngbin and Tom, doors were never simply a finishing detail. Having studied architecture in London and gained experience at internationally renowned practices, including Foster + Partners, they had seen how something as functional as a door can significantly influence the proportions, flow and experience of an interior. This thinking led them to specify extra tall, full-height internal oak doors from the very beginning of the project.

In smaller spaces especially, door proportions can make a remarkable difference. Standard-height doors create a natural visual break in a wall, whereas taking a door almost to ceiling height draws the eye upwards and changes the perceived scale of the room. The Ecohardwood FLOW oak doors make the compact first floor feel taller and more generous, while their consistent height creates continuity between the bedrooms, bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. As Youngbin explains, “The full-height door makes the space feel much wider than it actually is.”

The importance of a door, however, goes beyond proportions. It is one of the most frequently touched and used elements in a home — often the first thing you open in the morning and one of the last things you close at night. Its scale, material, weight and feel contribute to these small everyday moments, bringing a sense of quality and intention to the beginning and end of each day. For Shin + Liang Architects, this is why doors form part of the architecture rather than simply separating one room from another.

Natural Materials and Engineered Wood Flooring

Timber plays a central role throughout the house, chosen for its warmth and connection to nature as well as its practicality and longevity. This philosophy extends to the engineered wood flooring, which Youngbin and Tom see as a durable choice for everyday family living.

Quality engineered wood floors can be maintained, repaired and refinished over time rather than simply replaced, making them well suited to a home designed for longevity. For Youngbin, who grew up in Korea, where wood flooring and walking barefoot at home are part of everyday life, there is also a personal connection to the material. “I like the feeling of wood and how warm and soft it is,” he explains. Compared with harder surfaces such as tiles, oak creates a warmer and more comfortable experience underfoot while remaining practical for daily use.

For the architects, sustainability is therefore not simply about choosing renewable materials, but about selecting materials that are practical, durable and capable of being enjoyed for many years. As Tom explains, “If a material is practical, that’s everything. Longevity is sustainability.”

The home also demonstrates how natural materials and new technology can work together. A bespoke 3D-printed ceramic screen, inspired by traditional Asian lattice patterns and backlit with concealed LED lighting, softly filters light in a contemporary interpretation of the diffused daylight found in traditional Korean and Chinese architecture.

The finished home brings together natural materials, daylight, fresh air, intelligent storage and carefully considered proportions to create an environment that feels peaceful without sacrificing practicality. Every detail responds to how the family actually lives, resulting in a home designed not simply to impress, but to be enjoyed every day.

About Shin + Liang Architects

Founded by Youngbin Shin and Tom Liang, Shin + Liang Architects combines Asian design principles with contemporary British architecture.

After studying at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and gaining experience at internationally renowned practices, including Foster + Partners, the pair established their own studio to create thoughtful homes centred on light, wellbeing and timeless design.

Ecohardwood FLOW Modern Oak Doors

The FLOW model is part of Ecohardwood's collection of bespoke modern flush internal oak doors. For this project, Shin + Liang Architects selected:

Model: FLOW
Style: Modern flush oak door
Colour: Walnut
Oak grade: Prime
Height: Bespoke extra tall / full-height

Ecohardwood oak doors are made to measure, allowing architects and homeowners to consider door height, width, finish and detailing as part of the architecture of the room. For projects involving full-height internal doors or extra tall oak doors, we recommend discussing the doors early in the design process so that structural openings, frames and finishing details can be planned correctly.

The FLOW model and Ecohardwood's wider collection of oak doors can be viewed online or the best option - at the West London showroom, where you can compare models, oak grades, colours, see and feel the quality.