The challenge in restoring this Grade 2 listed building lay in ‘inventing’ a legitimate new form that would project its layered history and distinguished architectural roots. We proposed restoring the Georgian element around an artist’s studio volume, and replacing the Victorian wing with a contemporary addition. This reconfiguration generated a generous building that combines spaces with Georgian proportions and details with a contemporary architecture that exploits its magnificent setting at the top of Richmond Hill and tucked into in the Petersham Woods.