Project Location : Long Ashton, Bristol

The client had recently purchased the property, knowing that the layout was far from ideal. Although a large extended home, the conservatory to the rear had the common issues of 'too-hot-in-the-summer' and 'too-cold-in-the-winter' and was separated from the living space by internal sliding doors that originally opened onto the garden.. a common dislike when conservatories are added.

The solution was to replace the conservatory with a full-width rear extension. By removing large sections of the original rear wall of the house, the entire space created was then opened up. The result is a large, bright and airy living space, with sliding/folding doors opening onto the garden.

With the dining table now under several roof windows and overlooking the garden, light can now flood into the once dark dining room making it an integral part of the living space. The former dining room is now a much needed playing area for the younger members of the household, with a WC conveniently located in the corner. With a large kitchen/dining space and additional family room, the ground floor has been transformed completely.

Project Location : Yate, Bristol

A small one-bedroom home was the 'blank-canvass' for the this project.

It is immediately apparent the amount of space that the integral garage occupied in this compact home. Coupled with the poor location of the stair and the lounge at first floor, meant that a great deal of space was available in the 'foot-print' of the house, but was not being utilised well because of the original design of the house.

Although often wrongly seen as a radical approach, the solution to the layout issues was to re-design and re-locate the stair. This allowed the stair to finish at first floor in the centre of the house, using the existing landing, rather than the current layout where the stair finished directly in the lounge at first floor.

With the stair in a new location, a WC was created near the front door and the space 'under' the highest section of the stair could now be used as living space, rather than the commonly located 'under-stair-store'. By removing the wall that separated the hall from the garage, a lounge was created in the former garage space.

At first floor, the stair rises to a more conventional landing, with doors to the newly created large double-bedroom to the front, existing double bedroom to the rear and bathroom.

From a one-bedroom, integral-garage, first-floor-lounge house to a 2-bedroomed open-plan layout, the home has been completely re-designed to result in a far more attractive, practical and valuable home.