This is an example of a medium sized contemporary kitchen/diner in London with a submerged sink, flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, composite countertops, ceramic flooring and an island.

Design ideas for a medium sized modern single-wall kitchen in London with flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, mirror splashback, stainless steel appliances, an island, white floors and white worktops.

Medium sized contemporary open plan living room in Perth.

This is an example of a medium sized traditional conservatory in Essex with marble flooring and a glass ceiling.

The brief for this project was to create a multifunctional space that included a kitchen, dining and living area. The property did not benefit from a large garden so it was important that the depth of the extension did not significantly compromise the outdoor space. We therefore extended the kitchen into the rear reception room, which created a much larger open planned area and allowed for the installation of a small WC. Open planning the kitchen to the rear reception room also provided this area with some much need natural light via the skylights and doors in the new extension. The fact the extension was not excessively deep enabled us to obtain planning permission for a good external wall height, which is complimented internally by the vaulted ceiling. The back of the extension has been finished with a large set of slim profile sliding doors, providing uninterrupted views of the beautifully designed garden. The final result is a light and airy space which accommodates the kitchen, living and dining areas that the client required.

credit photo - Stephane Durieu
This is an example of a small contemporary u-shaped enclosed kitchen in Paris with stainless steel appliances, ceramic flooring, no island, flat-panel cabinets and white cabinets.

Dmax Photography
Photo of a medium sized contemporary back patio in Perth with an outdoor kitchen and a roof extension.

Photo of a medium sized contemporary open plan living room in London with light hardwood flooring and a standard fireplace.

The space under the stairs was cleverly used to create a downstairs w.c
Design ideas for a small contemporary home in London.

Medium sized open plan living room in Melbourne with white walls and medium hardwood flooring.

Periscope House draws light into a young family’s home, adding thoughtful solutions and flexible spaces to 1950s Art Deco foundations. Our clients engaged us to undertake a considered extension to their character-rich home in Malvern East. They wanted to celebrate their home’s history while adapting it to the needs of their family, and future-proofing it for decades to come. The extension’s form meets with and continues the existing roofline, politely emerging at the rear of the house. The tones of the original white render and red brick are reflected in the extension, informing its white Colorbond exterior and selective pops of red throughout. Inside, the original home’s layout has been reimagined to better suit a growing family. Once closed-in formal dining and lounge rooms were converted into children’s bedrooms, supplementing the main bedroom and a versatile fourth room. Grouping these rooms together has created a subtle definition of zones: private spaces are nestled to the front, while the rear extension opens up to shared living areas. A tailored response to the site, the extension’s ground floor addresses the western back garden, and first floor (AKA the periscope) faces the northern sun. Sitting above the open plan living areas, the periscope is a mezzanine that nimbly sidesteps the harsh afternoon light synonymous with a western facing back yard. It features a solid wall to the west and a glass wall to the north, emulating the rotation of a periscope to draw gentle light into the extension. Beneath the mezzanine, the kitchen, dining, living and outdoor spaces effortlessly overlap. Also accessible via an informal back door for friends and family, this generous communal area provides our clients with the functionality, spatial cohesion and connection to the outdoors they were missing. Melding modern and heritage elements, Periscope House honours the history of our clients’ home while creating light-filled shared spaces – all through a periscopic lens that opens the home to the garden.

Fine House Photography
Medium sized traditional open plan kitchen in London with a belfast sink, shaker cabinets, blue splashback, metro tiled splashback, light hardwood flooring, an island, beige floors, beige cabinets and beige worktops.

Dmax Photography
Medium sized contemporary back patio in Perth with an outdoor kitchen and a roof extension.

Megan Taylor
Inspiration for a small contemporary home in London.

Our clients have always loved the location of their house for easy access to work, schools, leisure facilities and social connections, but they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the form and size constraints of their home. As the family has grown and developed their lifestyles and living patterns had changed. Their three bedroomed link detached house was starting to feel small and it was proving to be increasingly unsuitable for their lifestyle. The separate downstairs living areas were dividing the family, they were struggling to fit in a room big enough to accommodate them all to sit down and eat together. As a result of the small separate living, kitchen and dining spaces they were spending little time in each other’s company. They desired to create a long term solution for their young family to grow into and enjoy. Rather than moving house or self-building from scratch, they decided to stay in the location that they loved and to add a modern extension to their existing home. They aspired to create a modern, functional space for everyday family life, whilst improving the curb appeal of their home to add value. We were appointed by our clients to create a design solution to replace the old, cold, and leaking conservatory to the rear of the property, with a modern, light filled, open plan home extension. The intention for the new large open living space was to break down the room barriers and respond to the needs of the family to support their home life into the foreseeable future. Delivering on time and within budget were essential. With a young family and pets at home it was essential for minimal disruption to their daily lifestyle. The family needed help from our team at Croft Architecture to swiftly and successfully acquire Planning and Building Control Approval for their project to progress rapidly, ensuring project completion on time and to their determined budget. In Context A families, needs, wants, and desires are constantly changing as they mature, yet our family nests stay static, and can obstruct the ease and enjoyment of everyday life if they don’t adapt in line with modern living requirements. Our Approach The client’s home is located in a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire. Their original house is a three bedroomed link detached family home that’s located on a mature housing estate close to the Trent and Mersey Canal. The original home is immediately connected to the properties on either side via the garage link, with a neighbouring property flanking wall also located at the base of their rear garden too. Before progressing with the project we advised the family to inform all of their adjoining neighbours of their intention to extend. It's often much better to take the neighbourly approach and to inform neighbours of works in advace, so that they can express any concerns,which are often easily resolved. Other matters to discuss with neighbours may be the need to have a Party Wall agreement. For more details about Party Wall Regulations click here to take a look at our blog. To create the space that our clients aspired to achieve the neighbouring properties needed to be taken into consideration. Design Approach The site available was compact so a balance needed to e struck to provide a generous amount of floor space for the new extension. Our clients needed our help to create a design solution that offered them a generous amount of extra space whilst bearing no visual impact on the neighbouring properties or street scene. The development of the design for the home extension referenced the style and character of the homes in the immediate neighbourhood, with particular features being given a contemporary twist. Our clients had done their own research and planning with regards to the required look, finish and materials that wanted to use. They liked oak beamed structures and they wanted to create a light space that seamlessly opened into the garden, using a glazed oak beamed structure. However, oak comes a price and our clients had a determined budget for the project. Numerous companies were contacted for prices to reflect their budget and eventually perseverance paid off. The oak structure was sourced locally in Staffordshire. The design of the newly extended family space complements the style & character of the main house, emulating design features and style of brick work. Careful design consideration has been given to ensure that the newly extended family living space corresponds well with not only, the adjoining properties, but also the neighbouring homes within the local area. It was essential to ensure that the style, scale and proportions of the new generous family living space to the rear of the property beard no visual impact on the streetscape, yet the design responded to the living patterns of the family. The extension to the rear of the home replaces a conservatory spanning the full width of the property, which was always too cold to use in the winter and too hot in the summer. We saw the opportunity for our clients to take advantage of the westerly afternoon/evening sun and to fill the space with natural light. We combined the traditional oak framing with modern glazing methods incorporated into the oak structure. The design of the extension was developed to receive the sunlight throughout the day using roof lights, with the evening sun being captured by the floor to ceiling grey framed bi-folding doors. The pitched roof extension creates an internal vaulted ceiling giving the impression of a light, airy space, especially with the addition of the large roof lights. The updated light grey, high gloss kitchen and light grey marble countertops help reflect the light from the skylights in the ceiling, with a zesty lime grey block splashback creating a perfect accent colour to reflect the family’s fun personalities and to bring life to their new living space. The extension is an open room with the kitchen and dining room all sharing the same space. White walls have been combined with wooden flooring and oak structure to create a sense of warmth. The oak beams really come into their own in this large open plan space, especially with the vaulted ceiling and large folding doors open seamlessly into the back garden. Adding an oak framed extension with the floor to ceiling glazing has enabled the family to get the ‘wow factor’ within their budget. Externally, our team at Croft Architecture have created a clean, traditional addition to the existing period property, whilst inside the dwelling now has a new, sleek, light and spacious family ‘hub’ that seamlessly connects with the existing home and the garden. Our team has also worked closely with the client to consider the project as whole and not just the home extension and new additional garden space. The design of the external space has been carefully remodelled to ensure that the ground not only, works for the family, but also successfully enhance the visual appearance. A strong working relationship between our team, the client and the planners enabled us to gain the necessary permissions promptly, rapidly propelling the project forwards within a short time frame. We enjoyed working with the project team and we’re extremely pleased to successfully deliver the completed project in accordance with our client’s timescales and budget.

This is an example of a medium sized contemporary galley kitchen/diner in London with a double-bowl sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white splashback, integrated appliances, engineered stone countertops, ceramic flooring and an island.

Photo of a medium sized contemporary l-shaped kitchen/diner in Paris with flat-panel cabinets, blue cabinets, grey splashback and an island.

Gorgeously small rear extension to house artists den with pitched roof and bespoke hardwood industrial style window and french doors. Internally finished with natural stone flooring, painted brick walls, industrial style wash basin, desk, shelves and sash windows to kitchen area. Chris Snook

Design ideas for a medium sized contemporary galley open plan kitchen in Lyon with a submerged sink, beaded cabinets, pink cabinets, white splashback, integrated appliances, light hardwood flooring, an island, beige floors and white worktops.