Open House Festival

‘Don’t Move, Improve! – Hands-on Home’

residence

, 2023

25a Kemble Road, SE23 2DH

Winner of the Cost Effective Prize in the 2025 Don't Move, Improve Awards, Hands-on Home is a hand-built transformation of a 1970s London property. Renovated slowly by its homeowners, it celebrates patience, resourcefulness, and the belief that process — and doing it together — matters more than the outcome. In this way, our homes can become powerful spaces of connection, care, and creativity.

Getting there

Train

Forest Hill

Bus

122, 185

Access

Create a free visitor account to book festival tickets

Drop in activities

Sat 13 Sep

11:00–16:00

Drop in

About

The Art of Slow Renovation

More than just a renovation, 'Hands-on Home' became an intergenerational living experience: grandparents passed down skills, children learned by watching, and the home evolved alongside the family. In a culture that prizes speed and perfection, doing things slowly — and with care — can feel quietly radical.
In a city where housing costs are a barrier for many, Hands-on Home offers a creative, DIY alternative — one that values process over outcome, function over fashion, and connection over perfection. It invites us to rethink what makes a ‘good home’ — not something polished or stylish, but something lived-in, loved, and layered with meaning over time.

Online presence

www.natalliatanko.com

www.instagram.com/natalliatanko

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