Miles Burden
Photographer
Single Storey Extension
Location
Cheltenham
Miles Burden
Photographer
As we continue to learn about the importance of being outdoors on our health, it makes sense to make the most of a garden space.
A conservatory is a blessing to some and a curse to others. This house had one when the owners bought the property and to them, it was an unhelpful barrier to their garden.
I feel it's important to 'sit' with a property for a while after you have moved in. What might not make sense when you first view the house might 'click into place' once you live there.
Equally, if you're looking to stay in a house for a good length of time then it makes no sense to 'put up with' parts that you have inherited and do not like.
In this instance, the decision to remove the conservatory was an easy one as this one was never used as it was either too hot or too cold.
The entire layout of the ground floor was altered to this house. The only thing which remained was the stairs to the first floor, every other room was either moved or reimagined to make the most of the space.
The new extension to the rear used the same footprint as the previous conservatory, however by removing a number of doorways and corridors to the house, the usable space now feels so much bigger, despite the house being no larger.
It's all too easy to think that we need more space, almost every property programme heads towards 'bigger is better'.
As someone who has been doing this for 25 years and counting now though, it might not come as a surprise to hear that the extra time spent in the initial design stages always results in a better outcome than simply bolting a 'box' on the back.
The property may simply need reconfiguring or occasionally it even ends with a smaller property than when I first visited the house as previous changes no longer make sense.
If you have a house which is full of corridors or has been changed several times since it was built, then the chances are that those making the changes never looked behind them to see how the new layout would 'flow' with the existing.
Question whether you need a bigger house, or just a better one. It's easy to just spend money on making something bigger, why don't we take more time to ensure that we're spending it where it's needed?
