In recent years we’ve often been asked to design large extensions on modest houses – up to 6m deep in some cases, or a combination of rear single storey, two storey at the side and a loft conversion. Although it’s not always necessary to build the maximum to get the amount and quality of space and light needed in our clients’ homes, it did give us a lot to play with in the design process, and the finished builds have looked spectacular! However, in this economic climate, with rising build costs and interest rates, the priorities have changed on some projects and now we are looking at how to achieve the maximum impact with smaller and more considered alterations and additions to a home.
The motto of our director, Holly’s, home county of Rutland is ‘Multum in Parvo’ which translates to ‘much in little’ – very apt for the smallest county in the UK. Perhaps this can be used as a mantra for building projects going ahead in a context of stretched finances as you can still create big impact with smaller changes. Large extensions aren’t always necessary to create a feeling of more spacious living, increasing natural light, effective storage, and creating a home which works for your needs. Instead, we can consider options such as modest additions, refurbishment of existing structures (such as garages), and remodelling the footprint – eking out every bit of usable space and making the most of your budget.
As well as considering the space and function of your home, we can also think about how to improve its performance. The recent huge increases in gas and electricity costs have made a large dent in family budgets, so if you’re planning to make changes to a house this is the perfect time to build in ways to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce your ongoing bills. Simple features such as installing a thick blanket of loft insulation, insulating walls and floors, considering upgrading windows, and replacing old boilers, can make a big difference to how much energy is needed to heat a home (and therefore your bills). The best time to do this is when you’re already knocking down walls, building an extension, or undertaking major renovations such as rewiring or installing new floors as you only want to make that much mess once!
The projects below are a few examples of some where we’ve designed to create maximum impact with a smaller build or internal changes. A few changes you could consider to your home include:
- Moving the kitchen – sometimes a dining room offers a much better space for a good sized kitchen-diner, with the old kitchen being repurposed as a garden room, study, utility or bathroom.
- Converting existing areas, such as a garage, basement or attic space. Dormers aren’t already needed to provide good bedroom space in some roofs, and this can be much less expensive. Integral garages are often a step down from the main floor level, so this offers the perfect opportunity to insulate the floor as well as the roof and walls, to provide a useable living space – once you’ve emptied it of junk of course!
- Removing internal walls – in the classic 3-bed semi that we’re very familiar with, a rear extension can completely transform the kitchen and dining areas. However, if the budget doesn’t stretch to this, changes can be made to the existing structure by removing the internal wall between the two rooms. It can mean losing a few wall units, but in some cases you can keep the existing kitchen and add storage into alcoves elsewhere. This solution works very well as an stop-gap while saving up for an extension, as it creates connection and flow in the home for much lower costs.
- Upgrading a conservatory – depending on the existing structure and foundations, it can be possible to build an extension off the low walls or reuse the footprint, leading to savings compared to a new extension. Replacing enough of a leaky, poorly insulated conservatory, notorious for being too cold in the winter and hot in the summer, with ‘solid’ insulated construction can often allow you to open up the wall from the main house and treat it as you would an extension.
- Squeezing in a loo – near the top of many of our clients’ wish lists is a downstairs loo. They are often lacking from older properties but incredibly useful to have in any family set up – whether you have children, older relatives, friends visiting or guests staying. Under the stairs can be a good place to fit this into many homes, but in others we need to find a clever solution which doesn’t compromise the living space or the areas with the best natural light.
