What style...? House extention/renovation
Edward Barry
7 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I am in two minds as to how to go about finishing my house... It will all be rendered, re-tiled with new windows and doors... option one is to go for white windows gray render and slate roof. or white render with gray windows? All ideas welcome... Many thanks
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PROCroydon Window Company Ltd
7 years agoHi Edward, it's down to personal preference, but either way sounds fine, personally I would go for neutral or white render with grey window frames... heres a few examples we have completed... as you can see the popular choices with our clients have been the grey frames with a white render.
Daisy England
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Bungalow Extention
Comments (17)Excellent comments by Justin earlier, just a couple of things to add. You may not strictly need an architect, so weigh up what you genuinely need. People like me (a house designer) are often scoffed at by true architects, but the fact of the matter is that if you are simply replacing a garden room and you are nigh on certain about what you want, paying full architects rates may be unnecessary and an architectural designer could easily produce plans and get it through planning. In my mind, for a project like this, an architect may be overkill, and you could strip some money away by using a house designer / architectural technician. However, if you are going for a full on remodel with a focus on creativity then certainly, an architect is where you would want to push your money as the net results could be better, there is no arguing that the extra training they receive carries benefits. I'm not suggesting you discount or discredit either option, just do your homework. To reiterate, an architect will probably offer up more diverse and creative ideas, but that assumes that they are needed, so just be very sure about what you're trying to achieve. Large bungalows are notoriously tricky to design to avoid feeling like rat runs, far too many are simply large rectangles with a spinal corridor which makes for a long, dark and frankly depressing building. The question you need to ask yourself is "what do I want from the building?". Don't look at it and think "what can I do" because if you do that you start designing to original buildings constraints, rather than what you actually want from the alterations. The bedroom which is accessed via the rear boot room is a little odd, and there's a part of me that would rather see the living room turned into the master bedroom / en-suite, then open up the the dining / kitchen / utility to become a triple aspect living area and finally open up the bedroom / en-suite and boot room to have a dual aspect kitchen / dining room, which accesses the garage and rear gardens. Its a case of how much you want to spend and how far you want to go with it....See MoreWhere to start for our house renovation - help! ;(
Comments (11)Many thanks for all your comments. Really good food for thoughts. I had a few “loft specialist” quotes and we almost went for it. But the reason we did not is that all those specialist lofts companies were not willing to do the rest of the house (eg electric and plaster/painting in living room/dining room, installation of wooden floor in ground floor, reroofing...) so we would have to employ a separate company for this; which obviously make the project more expensive and not streamlined. I think our project is “small” but maybe it is not :) And does deserve a proper architect /design to start with... I will keep you updated ;)...See MoreHelp with house design/ renovation
Comments (2)Hi Rachael, Yes - this is possible (assuming there is enough head height in the bedroom that you want to be on the same level & you can do an upstairs extention over the rest of the existing foot-print of the house). Here is how to get everything you want. 'Lower-level' Bedroom: Again - assuming you have enough head-height in that room. You may have to re-jig or enlarge the window opening if it is no longer high enough - which can give you more light in the room and better views. Put a false floor in (which you can also engineer to have hidden storage in it - bonus!) Board up the current doorway and plaster. Bedroom 4 = convert into a family bathroom Current Bathroom = convert into an ensuite for Bedroom 2 Bedroom 2 = make this your master bedroom this will now have access into new ensuite (shower, toilet, sink) enlarge the window area in this room to make a statement and make the most of your views out into the garden (assuming this is possible with a nice garden and view) Current w/c - toilet closet = convert this into a hallway which leads to the upstairs extention and also will give you access to the bedroom that you put a false floor into. Upstairs Extention: If you do a 1st floor extension over the rest of the existing groundfloor footprint of the house - this will give you the 4th double bedroom that you want. This extention will also allow you to gain access to the false floor bedroom too. Something to consider: Check the height of your loft space. If there is enough room with building regulations for you to do a loft conversion with large dormers or just an extended flat roof (I don't know what your roof-line looks like) - then you can sacrifice a bit of space on the 1st floor for stair access, and gain a whole foot-print which can serve you as a large master suite with ensuite, walk-in closets and great views (if done right). Or you can convert this area into an extra den-playroom area or office or more bedrooms. Lots of possibilities! Ground Floor: By adding the back porch space to your internal foot-print & knocking out the wall between the current kitchen & breakfast area, you can create a large open plan rectangle kitchen-diner space which you can open up with sliding or concertina doors to the back garden. You can add a ultility closet in the space opposite the w/c closet & hall. Adding these walls will make the kitchen - diner a perfect rectangle. If you also knock down the wall between the breakfast area & the living room, this will give you a large open plan kitchen - diner - lounge space, which takes full advantage of your garden space. Lastly, by keeping the current dining room enclosed and separate, this will give you an extra TV snug / grown ups room or reception area where anyone can get away from the hustle & bustle of open plan living. Hope this helps. Good luck & best wishes!...See MoreVictorian home renovation - living room help!
Comments (1)What a fascinating space and stunning view! I wouldn't worry too much about what's behind the cabinetry as the bulky bits on the right are probably the chimneys and so those will be solid with solid wall behind. Also they look quite new so shouldn't hide any old damp or rot issues. I think you should really accentuate the alcove and so I would suggest putting the sofa against the other wall and remove that cabinetry, saving or replacing the alcove cabinetry. This could be TV or drinks or display but lighting and pretty contrasting paint could make this stunning. I would also suggest looking at painting right up to the top of the arch and so haige blue although dark, would make a very cosy space but you may want to consider something lighter and brighter if this is more of an everyday space to enjoy the view from. cabinetry could be hague blue with lighting....See More
joanna pearson
7 years agoEdward Barry
7 years ago
PROArchitectureLIVE
7 years agoHi Edward,
Clients of ours have mostly chosen white render with black/grey frames but also green - just to throw a different option into the mix!
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