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The top 10 home extension designs to transform your house

18 January 2023

House Extension

 

Ideas for house extensions offer an opportunity to refresh both your home and your way of life in addition to being a practical answer.

One of the most common home renovation projects is house extensions.

If you plan your home addition properly, you won't only end up with a large open space with room for seating and dining. If you decide to sell your property, creative extension ideas can raise the value of your property and add additional desirable room to your house.

The best house extension ideas have been compiled below to fit a variety of property sizes, styles, and budgets. You have a variety of material options to think over, as well as professional advice to guide you in the proper direction.

Ideas for Home Extensions

You'll be motivated to start working on your project after seeing these home extension ideas. Always choose an expansion design that either complements the current materials and era of your property or entirely contrasts with it when constructing a kitchen addition.

1. Take Small House Extension Ideas into Account

In a Victorian terraced house, a&es Britain initially operated out of a modest but nicely sized one-bedroom apartment. But with the help of this brilliant home improvement plan, the area was expanded to become a two-bedroom apartment.

According to a&es Britain, "the new eating room, above, creates an immediate visual link to the yard." We used only natural and raw materials to keep the material palette straightforward. A custom dining seat made of stained Douglas fir joinery extends from the kitchen. The dining table, which is made of blackened steel, was also our creation.

Making the overall color scheme warm, muted, and simple throughout the entire flat helps it feel cohesive.

2. Show consideration for current home design trends.

The Parchment Works was built for its clients from a disused cattle shed, which might not seem like the ideal place to start for a new house. However, architect Reza had other ideas. The historic parchment factory was originally going to be demolished, according to Ali, but she persuaded the owners that the ruins might instead be honored.

In Reza's design, two lightweight volumes were installed between the ancient walls to create "a building within a building." I made the new components' steelwork and the cow shed's beams visible. The kitchen's sleek lines served as a contrast to the older building's unevenness, creating a modern intervention inside a historic setting.

3. Increase the ceiling height.

The owners of this opulent country mansion from the Victorian era in Dorset asked interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch of Sims Hilditch for assistance in coming up with ideas for a new kitchen addition for the home. Owner Sarah Ainsworth adds, "The solution was to conserve the original, large elements of the house while opening up and rationalizing the secondary spaces that had been built later on."

The rear addition was removed and replaced with a sizable open-plan kitchen, dining, and seating area. The room's ceiling is covered in rough, whitewashed boards to give texture and enhance the room's acoustics.

4. When making any home additions, choose natural materials.

Planning a home expansion is an excellent chance to showcase materials. The centerpiece of this Somerset house, which David Salisbury refurbished, is oak. Instead of two smaller shelters, he created one room that can be used all year round in place of the earlier structures. A new chimney built of brick and stone to match the original construction has been added to a fully glassed garden room.

According to a&es Britain, "Our client desired a rustic aesthetic, therefore we used natural, unfinished timber." Perhaps the most common request we receive is for an open-concept living room. We were able to capture the essence of contemporary living by fusing the functionality of a kitchen expansion with a living and dining area.

5. Increase sustainability and efficiency

By adhering to "passivhaus" principles to improve energy efficiency, Mole Architects ensured sure sustainability was considered during the renovation of this Grade II-listed Cambridgeshire farmhouse. The customers requested a home that was both exceptional and modest, utilizing uncomplicated finishes that improved the existing structures and matched the new, in addition to checking off the environmental boxes.

The home, which was saved from near abandonment, now has a garden room, kitchen, and master bedroom, all in structures next to the 17th-century cottage. A fresh connection to the garden has also been made thanks to the renovated design, which also provides stunning views of the neighboring water meadows.

6. Make Room for Light

Consider how natural light will enter the area and travel throughout the day when planning your home addition. Glazed doors, windows, and skylights can be game-changers when it comes to light, which is a crucial factor for extensions.

If you choose a glass ceiling over a skylight, light will pour in, giving the room a bigger, brighter effect. Glass isn't just for ceilings, though; installing a glass partition wall will also serve to unify the room as a whole while providing a sleek aesthetic element.

7. Reconnect to nature

When building an addition to your home, you should keep in mind the trend of combining indoor and outdoor life.

To give this challenging Victorian mid-terraced home in north London new life, a&es Britain had to perform some significant juggling. The end result is an eye-catching, zinc-clad back expansion that resembles a garden pavilion and has a cantilevered frame with bifold doors that open completely onto the garden.

Knowing where the light is coming from and how it will change with the seasons is crucial, as demonstrated by a&es Britain: "Our client's brief was for the space to be used comfortably during the day in summer and in the evening in winter." According to the analysis, a glazed roof would function well in the summer with the help of shade equipment, but it would be difficult to maintain without excessive heating. In order to use smaller roof lights and increase the amount of cloth that could be insulated, we rebuilt the roof to include conservatory-like features. The roof lights were still substantial, but they were standard goods with unique opening mechanisms, which provided a better solution with lower costs.

8. Avoid obstructing garden views.

Don't let a shortage of room limit your sense of style or obscure your view of the outside. A compact kitchen plan that packs a powerful punch can be produced by taking an ambitious approach to the design and equipment.

Architect Alex Michaelis built a modest wall to divide the kitchen and dining areas while preserving views of the yard. Additionally, it provides a sense of security while seated on the banquette, enabling it to run longer and accommodate more people.

9. Select an Interesting Design

A tremendous lot may be accomplished with vision and thorough planning. The plan for this home's addition began as a straightforward rear addition and roof terrace but quickly escalated. To create a striking double-height atrium that gives light and views to all floors, four stories of the staircase were shifted, and one floor was removed.

10. Keep the current materials, design, and structure.

Extensions are not, by definition, constructed in isolation. The design must consider the impact on the environment as well as the connected building.

This 1981 Dublin home's existing addition was reclad and given its original brick shape by a&es Britain. This results in a more modern home that incorporates materials and vernacular from the area, as Reza puts it.

"Working with what we have or starting over was one of the crucial options for this house addition project." Of a&es Britain, Reza Clarke concurred. By preserving what is already there, "we believed we could work with the historic house as a way of constructing a highly sustainable solution."

Reza's clients were eager to keep the current structure if it was more affordable, but they also saw the long-term advantages. Once the choice had been selected, insulation was installed on the roof, first and second floors to lessen thermal loss. The heating system was overhauled, and all single-glazed windows and doors were double-glazed.

Is extending your home a good idea?

Adding on to your house is undoubtedly a smart move. Being careful of costs can help you add more desirable space to your home and raise the value of your property if you decide to sell it.

Architect Ali asserts that "cost containment begins at the beginning." Keep as much of the current framework as you can, says the speaker. This prevents some rooms from being dark and unnecessary and ensures that every space in the house is used to its greatest potential. Get ongoing cost updates on your design as it develops so you may correct it before putting it out to tender. This will enable you to recognize where the financial risks are and assist you in resisting the need to make costly changes on-site.

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