Meet Harish, a software engineer, and Jyoti, a dietician, who live here in Hounslow with their ten year old daughter Shivani. After years of renting together, Harish and Jyoti marked their entry onto the London property ladder with this house back in 2011. Harish and Jyoti welcomed us into their home to show how they have injected their family's personality into their new build, go watch their episode of Resi Renos on our YouTube channel.

The house had just been built as part of a new build development, sparing them the challenges typically associated with purchasing older homes that need a lot of work done. The main issue they faced was that their downstairs living space just wasn't very big. The kitchen dining space was cramped, leaving little space for entertaining guests or hosting family visits, and Shivani didn't have much room to play indoors. So, they decided to extend.

Once they started exploring how to extend their home, they realised there were a few challenges ahead. Their neighbour shared that they had attempted the process twice, yet both planning applications were rejected. With no other attempts on the street to draw insights from, the couple found themselves lacking direction. They also found out that the builder had relinquished the permitted development rights for all the houses on the street, meaning the council was inclined to reject any new proposals due to the builders having already maximised the use of available space. Finding themselves stumped on what to do next, they decided to seek expert advice, eventually landing on Resi to be their partner for the project.

The previous ground floor plan contained a modest kitchen which was tucked into the corner, with a combined dining and living area beside. We designed a simple and functional 3x5m extension to the rear of the property. This addition provided ample space to expand the kitchen to twice its original size, complete with a breakfast bar, adjacent dining area, and a spacious lounge for family time. We navigated a tricky planning process on this project, facing a refusal in the first instance. Our Senior Planning Consultant, Danielle, compiled a Statement of Case rebutting the Council’s report to submit an appeal of the councils decision to the Planning Inspectorate. Following a site inspection, the Planning Inspector agreed wholeheartedly with Resi’s case, winning the appeal for Harish + Jyoti and allowing them to progress to build.

This house was our first step on the property ladder. Once we decided we wanted to go ahead with an extension, it was quite an experience. We always knew that we weren't the experts, and we've heard nightmare stories about builders coming in, doing work and leaving projects midway, so we wanted to take a structured approach. Given the history with the neighbour's rejections, we said we wanted a proposal that would have the best chance of going forward. And I think that's where Resi's expertise in designing and developing a plan for an extension of this nature was really helpful.

It was a really good experience working with our designer Pedro, it was great to see the different designs and options that he was showing us so we could understand how the house would look on paper.

Recently we celebrated Christmas with our close family members, we had around 15 people in the house. Whenever we had these kind of events in the past, we often found that it was quite congested in our living space. We tried different layouts with what we had, you know, by moving the furniture around, but we always felt that space was a major constraint. So for the first time, we were able to have a social event where the kids were able to run around, and the the adults were sitting down and having their conversations. Everyone was able to really relax and enjoy themselves.

People often look at property as an investment. For us, your home is a home. You spend most of your time there throughout your life. I think this is definitely our forever home.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire Resi team for their invaluable support and prompt assistance throughout this rather lengthy endeavor. They were instrumental in addressing all queries raised by Jyoti and me.

Photography by Peter Furlong.