Client Brief

Our client’s property featured a conservatory which had limited use, being too cold in winter and too hot in the summer. The client chose us to help them replace this with a large reception room, and their requirements were as follows:

• Useable all year round
• Master bedroom suite above
• Big open plan spaces, contrasting with the rest of the old farmhouse which has smaller, traditionally proportioned rooms

Planning Ideas

Agricultural look
Ordinarily an extension of the size required by the client to an already large and previously extended house would have been difficult. However the planners understood the concept and the contrast created with the existing house and were happy to support the application.

Our plans included giving the extension a barn-like feel which was appropriate to its location near other traditional farm buildings and the farmhouse itself. Our experience with traditional buildings helped us achieve a successful blend of the old and new. The contrasting stone of the house and dark weatherboard of the extension make for an attractive composition which appealed to the planners.

Creative approach
The design approach was in many ways quite bold and contrasting, and a sizeable increase on the existing floor space. The planners were very positive about the planning application concluding that “The design of the proposed extension is very different to that of the host building, but in this instance, I consider that that would actually work.”

Collaborative design
We worked with interior design company Trindade & Bird, who collaborated with us on light fittings and lighting, bespoke furniture, soft furnishings, accessories, curtains, paint colours, bathroom suites, radiators and fireplaces inside. Outside, they selected the patio slabs for us to lay.

On budget
We kept the overall design to a simple two storey block which whilst very attractive, is an efficient way to build. The budget was then able to include some real bonus features such as air conditioning, and photovoltaics which matched existing ones already installed in the main part of the house. They are recessed into the roof coverings, and so are more discreet in design than other systems.

Challenges

The existing courtyard garden to the rear included a feature tree at its centre which the client was keen to keep. We were able to retain this within the proposed scheme, albeit with some slight pruning.