Basement Conversion in Mayfair

Let There Be Light

If you would like to free up more space in your home, a basement can, as spaces go, be a great candidate for conversion – especially if that basement is currently underutilised and you live somewhere like Mayfair, where residential space can be in short supply at any rate. However, there remains the question of how you can get enough natural light into that converted space to prevent it from feeling like an oppressive cave. While having a lightwell installed is one way to let the sunlight through, it’s not always a practical option for London homeowners.

This was the issue experienced by one Mayfair resident who approached us because they wanted to convert their basement into a usable – and, with sunlight, well-illuminated – space. The problem here was that their house was on a sidewalk.

Consequently, this resident couldn’t opt to have a lightwell built. A lightwell is an unroofed external space that, on a residential site, allows natural light to enter. In this instance, though, any lightwell would have to be built on a public walkway – and, therefore, for this reason alone, obviously wasn’t a viable option. How else could the client get natural light into the basement? We were up for finding a solution to this tricky conundrum.