Once a cramped flat with an outdated conservatory to the back, we have transformed this ground floor by using an extension to increase the square footage and create a modern open plan design. Here are all the scrumpy ideas that went into the gorgeous home design.
Goodbye conservatory
In a past life, this house suffered from a clunky layout and an even clunkier conservatory. Large amounts of space was dedicated to a dining room, which wasn’t being fully utilised and didn’t flow well with the kitchen. To solve this problem, we wanted to get rid of the conservatory that was going to waste and use it to create an impressive, open-plan kitchen diner that would offer both informal and formal dining arrangements.
Single storey rear extension
One of the problems of a conservatory is that the glazing poses a lot of challenges for space arrangement. Major appliances can’t be houses in this space, and the glass can often produce a greenhouse effect - whereby it is too hot in summer and too cold in winter. By switching this up to a classic rear extension, we were able to create a much more intuitive flow. Now with solid walls to play with, we can not only use this space to house a new dining room, plus a breakfast bar, there’s also space for a cabinet of storage that stretches from top to bottom!
Front to back style
Just because we lost a conservatory, doesn’t mean we’ve lost natural light. With our single storey rear extension, we included not only skylights but also a large sliding door to create a whole wall of glazing. And with the open plan design, the light is able to travel all the way through the kitchen diner to the living room. Our designers even took care to craft the staircase against the wall, to minimise its disruption of the light. And with those impressive glazed doors, even in the living room, the family can enjoy the view of their newly landscaped garden.
