When we first saw the house it was a traditional three room cottage with a basic extension (1980s) off the central room to the back to provide a small kitchen, basic bathroom & scullery area. The middle room, a sitting room was really just a throughway serving the bedroom on one side and a second sitting room on the other. There was hardly any storage space.

The brief for this project was to develop a new plan that would add an extra bedroom with en-suite, good storage, proper bathroom and utility rooms, storage while creating a warm, energy efficient home that maximized on natural daylight and had a connection with the huge garden that was barely visible from inside the house.

As always, the budget for the work was an important consideration as we were seeking to do a lot of work and building in the countryside comes with its own set of considerations and requirements in terms of achieving planning permission.

The decision to build parallel to the existing 1930s mass concrete cottage means that only the entrance is visible as you approach the house.  It is not until you are inside or at the back that you discover how the house unfolds be much larger than anticipated. 

The design created a new entrance area, moved the existing bedroom door so that the bedroom is accessed off a new enclosed hall serving the bathroom and both bedrooms, (the new one being en-suite).  The door to the middle room was widened to make a big opening onto the extension giving through views to the garden and the addition of large roof-lights means that the hithertoo gloomy room is now lovely and bright.  Removing the bedroom door also makes it easier to furnish and less of a throughway.

French doors from both the dining-kitchen room and new bedroom allow for al-fresco dining and instant access to the garden and bring a sense of the outdoors in.  The house is now full of light as rooflights were employed throughout to take maximum advantage of available light and add height.  The resulting bright interiors with garden views give a feeling of well-being.

The extension is highly insulated and the existing roof area, (the walls had already been done), was insulated as part of the works, new high quality energy efficient windows throughout, underfloor heating in the extension, heating system upgrade, new boiler and hot water cylinder.  Built in fitted storage was included throughout the design of this project. All of which combine to make for an extremely comfortable home.

We provided a full architectural service on this project which included a successful planning application.  We worked closely with the clients to ensure that the end result met their vision for how they wanted to be able to live, enjoy and use the house.