The stone-built house that David and Jenny Hewitt bought from new in 2016 was ideal – with a generous garden and a compact kitchen-diner, it had ample room for the professional couple.
That is, until Henry, now seven, and Rex, five, came on the scene and reached an age where space started to become more of an issue for the family.
Upsizing might have been an option had David and Jenny not loved the area so much, so instead, they decided that extending was the preferred way to go, with the plan being to relocate the kitchen from the front to the rear of the house.
Article continues below"There was a particular spot in the garden, beside the existing garage, where it just made sense to extend as we wouldn’t lose much of the garden space that we tended to use regularly," says David.
Project details
- Location Worrall, Sheffield
- Age of property Detached stone-fronted house, built 2016
- Extension size 35sq m
- Project Single-storey kitchen extension
- Build cost £120,000
- Architects Brightman Clarke Architects
Moving forward
The couple spent time researching extension styles online, and after seeing several ‘glass-box’ extensions, they decided that this was the way they wanted to go, and so David put together a PowerPoint presentation of how and where they envisaged the new structure to be.
To find an architect’s firm they simply looked online and came across local practice, Brightman Clarke.
"We wanted to find someone who could come up with something a bit more interesting – and perhaps more technical – than the norm and needed a firm that didn’t lose all sense of proportion when it came to cost," says David. "And we struck lucky."
With costs in mind, the Hewitts stress the importance of dealing with architects who are both transparent and flexible in this respect, pointing out that with Brightman Clarke each stage of the process had a set cost and that at any time, they could have opted out and "parted as friends".
David says that as well as helping with the design side of the project, the practice also helped them with the tendering process. "Having someone beside you who has that wealth of experience and who can make sure that you’re comparing like with like, is invaluable," he says.
Addressing the issues
Project designer Jonathan Clarke acknowledges that from the outset there were a few obvious issues that needed addressing.
"The existing house had a kitchen at the front and the dining area was situated to the rear, yet it had limited visual and physical connection to the rear garden, creating a sense of isolation and claustrophobia," he says. "Meanwhile, a large separate lounge also felt disconnected from the garden, despite having French doors leading directly out into it."
As David explains: "Jonathan duly refined and changed some of the impractical suggestions we made and introduced his own ideas. For example, where the living room opens up to the back garden, he suggested replacing the poky white uPVC French windows with wide glazed doors that match the style of the extension and which now give the whole rear of the house a feeling of unity and connection to the outside."
Another means of creating a feeling of oneness was to remove the rear wall of the old kitchen-diner, which also had the benefit of allowing added light into the internal space.
It is perhaps testament to the knowledge and experience of Brightman Clarke that the project got through planning at the first attempt because, while it is only a modest-size extension, being so heavily glazed meant the design had to comply with strict regulations regarding the percentage of glass it could use.
"Other considerations included how to make the space cosy given the small amount of solid wall we had in there," says David.
But warmth – or lack of – certainly didn’t pose a problem thanks to Kingspan insulation being placed under the floor’s screed, which, paired with the underfloor heating, ensures the room is ideal for year-round use.
"The ceiling has a similarly high level of insulation, too," he adds. Thanks to contractors who regularly worked with Brightman Clarke, the build went smoothly, with only one hitch – the discovery of a huge manhole close to where the foundations were due to be laid.
"It was the kind of hole you could live in," laughs David, "and the size of it even took the structural engineer aback." Luckily the day was saved without much delay by a slight amendment to the design of the concrete raft.
Money well spent
With the whole process taking around a year from planning to completion, the Hewitts have no doubt that the extension was an investment worth making, and that as well as all the benefits the new interior space brings, they can take equal pride in its very considered external appearance.
Jonathan says: "While materials, such as the black timber, have been selected to respect the property’s rural location, a slim, flat roof cantilevers out over the extension, providing a modernist finish that offers shelter from high levels of solar gains, and enhances the transition between inside and outside spaces."
And the couple feel equally pleased with what they achieved a few feet away from the build, too.
"One of the areas we were able to save on time and cost was the garden," says David. "We realised it wouldn’t make sense to complete a new pristine extension, only for us to then start again on landscaping work, with the inevitable resulting mess," says David.
"So towards the end of the build, the contractors used the designer’s precise plans to level the lawn and create a paved seating area with pergola."
Such was the success of the project, there’s already another one in the pipeline. "Brightman Clarke are helping us with plans for a loft conversion," says David. "If it goes as smoothly as the extension has gone, we’ll all be happy."
Enjoyed this tour? Take a look around this copper-clad eco-home in Oxford or this ultra-modern self-build in Surrey.
