The existing house was a 2 bedroom bungalow, decorated in peach tones.
The clients had purposely chosen the bungalow for its outside space so that they could build an annex and allow their mum to come and live with them.
The garden was more important – they stood at the back of the garden and thought it could work. it was hard to find a property with large spaces front and back. Off road parking is important because between them they would have 3 cars.
Places that already had granny annexes had been squeezed into a small space, so they decided to do it themselves.
They wanted their mum to be able to sit in the sun in her own courtyard and have privacy from the rest of the family. They also wanted her to be able to come and go as she pleased with out them knowing.
The workshop – they knew that they wanted an annex, knew where it would go – making use of one of their daughter’s bedroom. The workshop helped them to think through their storage requirements, including a walk in wardrobe to the new master bedroom.
Their mum had strong ideas about the design of her annex which we were able to incorporate, based on her existing flat in Spain.We also examined ways to link the annex with the house, allowing flexibility, privacy and independence. The chosen design created a shared utility room, which acts as a link from which you can enter the annex or the main house.
Once the annex had been designed, the key design help was to create a new teenager’s bedroom and office in the roof space.
The workshop helped them to work out how the loft conversion would work, how to configure the staircase and visualise the space that could be created. A hip to gable loft conversion was required to fit in the two rooms and we introduced a velux cambio balcony to the front bedroom to give added head height.
We had to negotiate with the planners regarding the size of the granny annex extension. It was made smaller and an acceptable compromise was achieved.
The building regulations changed during the project, necessitating more insulation in the converted loft roof space. This reduced head heights and required some rethinking of the bathroom layout.
The roof needed to be completely renewed which added some unforeseen costs to the project.
The eaves storage is brilliant and has freed up the garage for storing their car, and after being apart during the build it is lovely to be together again.
They are very keen to not need extra care but manage any future care needs of their mum by the family. They love that they have independent living spaces but can chose how much they will interact during the day. The teenage daughter will love having her granny on tap and will be the one who is in and out of the annex all the time
The family also particularly love the velux cabrio balcony roof light https://www.veluxusa.com/products/roof-windows/cabrio-balcony, which is great to watch the sunset from and brings the outside in.
'I feel so much better in myself because we have done this work to the house, I can't wait to go to bed because my new bedroom is so calm and tranquil.
Also we can entertain again, mum can have a gin and not worry about driving home!'
Laura was excellent from start to finish. She really understood our brief and designed an extension and loft conversion that we love.
Gary and Lynsey
Laura was excellent from start to finish. She really understood our brief and designed an extension and loft conversion that we love.
I love that this project had allowed an extended family to live together and have security and peace of mind over the future.
I love that this project had allowed an extended family to live together and have security and peace of mind over the future.
The client explained to me that with the original bungalow they had underestimated how much their environment affected them. before they felt that their mental health was very affected and they didn't want to come home.
These clients are social workers so they have busy stressful jobs. I love how they described that they now can't wait to go to bed in their new calm and tranquil bedroom and very much feel that their home is now their safe quiet haven.
Pride Road
