Newmarket Road Home

Renovation and extension of large character homes is a tricky balancing act to get right, particularly when they are locally listed and within a conservation area. Does your extension aim to blend in or stand apart? Both can work, but getting it right is important. This property, a c.19th building with an earlier core was a case in point of the benefits of a complimentary approach, the house already had some charming details which helped inform our design.

This ambitious extension was commissioned by our client to replace a rather ugly 1960's "Studio" style extension which somewhat blighted the front elevation of the property. The annexed extension is entered through a separate front door, with an impressive entrance hall, opening up into a generous open plan ground floor lounge and kitchenette. The galleried entrance hall holds a feature staircase rising to an open seating area within the bay window, and a generous first floor bedroom, with a tasteful en suite bathroom. An additional en suite, to serve the front bedroom of the main dwelling, was cleverly added above the link to the main dwelling. Our design hit the nail on the head for the client, creating tasteful and substantial accommodation in an under used wing of this delightful property.

The design drew on the main features and proportions of the existing property, particularly in respect of the decorative capitols, and ornate barge boards above the wide pitched roofed dormers. The overall scale and form of the building were carefully considered to ensure that the extension did not dominate the dwelling, and also provides some variety of accommodation which is absent from the main house.

This was particularly true of the lovely cloistered and jettied first floor to the rear elevation was carefully designed to provide a fantastic covered seating area to the rear, for entertaining on those all too rare barmy summer days and evenings, but adding a little cover in the event of a scattered quintessentially English shower. This detail also provides important solar shading for the West facing French doors, allowing copious light to flow into the recessed ground floor, but preventing afternoon and early evening overheating from direct sunlight.

The specification for the extension was very high, incorporating SMART technology, including an integrated sound system, and Rako style lighting.

This project was a pleasure to work on, as the building has a certain charm and style, which needed to be tastefully enhanced, with an appropriate extension that really worked for the client.