Contemporary Living in an Old Home: Case Studies

How do you blend modern living requirements – light, open plan, large rooms – with an old house? In part three, we examine the case studies of some people who have done just that

Manor House Made Over (MAIN IMAGE)

This moated manor house in Norfolk, which dates back to Saxon times, has been totally renovated and extended to add a spacious party room for entertaining. The design solution from Snell David Architects was to create a simple copper-clad curved roof that hovers on a glass clerestory above old garden walls, built from the same clunch and brick as the house. Set well back it is unseen from the front elevation. The external walls are clad in oak on a brick plinth, and glass. The extension is linked directly to a deck area for access to the natural swimming pond which forms part of the former moat.

Contemporary Breakfast Space Meets Period Home

This project, by Snell David Architects, adds a spacious open plan kitchen breakfast room with living area to a detached period house in Dorking, Surrey. The project combines both a traditional pitched-roof section, built in carefully matched materials and detailing as the original house, with two light grey rendered, flat-roofed contemporary sections that form the link, and a modern inglenook fireplace.

"It Looks Completely Different"

John and Helen Anderson have added a striking contemporary-style extension to the rear of their Arts & Crafts-style semidetached home in Glasgow. Clad in cedar with large areas of glazing and folding sliding doors, under a low-pitched zinc roof, their new living space took six months to complete, at a cost of £54,000. “Helen said that if we can’t make it look like part of the original house then we should go for one that looks completely different, at the opposite end of the spectrum, and opt for a very contemporary style,” says John.
Reid Architecture: 0141 552 4555

Rear Window

A dramatic contemporary rear extension coupled with an internal remodelling scheme to introduce open plan interiors – designed by Thomas de Cruz Architects – means that Chris and Megan Witty’s London home looks elegantly Victorian from the outside but still meets their needs as a family on the inside. Externally, the family kept all the original features they could but have transformed the rear of the house to create a home full of light.

Listed Extension

Anne Katrine Dolven has extended her listed, semi-detached home in Hackney with a striking contemporarystyle extension in glass, timber and metal cladding. The new space forms an enlarged kitchen dining room at basement level, plus a new ground floor study and first floor bathroom. Thanks to the glass roof (Master Glazing: 020 7720 7466) and an open plan layout, the space is beautifully light. The scheme was designed by 51% Studios (0845 612 3991) and cost £200,000.
Read more about this project.

In Spite of the Planners

Architect Henning Stummel and his wife Beatrice added a bold three storey extension to the rear of their former (Grade II listed) Georgian terraced home in London to add a new family bathroom, en suite and ground floor cloakroom. To overcome the planners’ insistence on traditional sash windows – which he did not want – Henning decided to include no windows at all, opting for translucent Perspex slits instead, combined with horizontal timber cladding. Henning first got consent for a seamless extension of the same dimensions using reclaimed brick and sash windows and then reapplied for the more contemporary cladding, eventually winning on appeal.
Read about one of Henning Stummel's other projects.

• Contemporary Living in an Old Home: Part One
• Contemporary Living in an Old Home: Part Two

Further Reading:

• Extending Cottages