110 homebuilding.co.uk
havebeenquitenice.Thecoloursandtexturesare
reallyinteresting—thekidslovespottingshapesin
them,”Lauracomments.creating an illusion of space
Even with the extension, Laura admits the house is
relatively small so she kept the interior bright, clean
and simple. Functionality was important, but the
family needed a space they wanted to come home to
and that the kids would enjoy.
For instance, because of the odd shape of the
living room and thanks to the staggered extension,
the couple were able to create a small reading nook.
“The kids love to pick out a book, and Sam plays his
trumpet in here,” says Laura.
One of the key elements of the living room is the
built-in storage, which the architects designed. As
the family enter through the front door there’s a wall
of storage which runs all the way under the stairs
and right up to the back door, as well as in the utility
room and larder — perfect for a home with two
young children.
“We had conversations early on with the architects
about what we could afford, and we broadly stuck
to our budget — even if it meant staggering some
things, like the carpentry. There were ideas along
the way that they’d come up with – like zinc roofing,which was more costly than standard roofing – that
forced us to weigh up where to splash and where
to save,” reflects Laura. “We would have loved
to go into the roof and create a skylight above
the stairwell, but it would have added on another
£30,000. It would’ve been lovely, but we definitely
didn’t need it,” Laura explains.
In the master bedroom, the windows either side of
the room flood it with light and make the grown-up
space of the house a relaxing sanctuary. This doesn’t
mean it is out-of-bounds for the kids though: “The
kids love standing at the window and pushing their
noses up it to make funny faces,” Laura laughs.
“Because the kids were sharing a bedroom, we
had to find a way to please both of them while giving
them some individuality. The bright green paint ties
the room in with the rest of the house and makes
their space feel fun. We knew they’d eventually have
rooms of their own so we didn’t feel we needed to
spend too much time or money. Despite that, they
still got the biggest bedroom in the house — it’s
lovely and spacious,” she explains.
In summer, the bifold doors are the stand-out
feature of the house and, although the already small
garden was reduced by the extension, the couple
comment it feels bigger now, as if the wholeof the
ground floor and garden is one big room.extending
intothegarden
lauraandmatt love
the addition of bifold
doors to the ground
floorastherooms
insidefeellight,airy
andspacious.the
exposed brick wall has
been continued inside
to blur the boundaries
between inside and out.BEFORElivingsPaCe andhall
the couple have
adopted a semi-open-
plan layout throughout
the ground floor, with
thehallwayseparated
fromthelivingroom
bya partialwall.the
hallway features
bespoke built-in
storage; ideal for a
family with young
children.