ADDING SPACE
Most homeowners fantasise about having more space, and extending is the obvious way to achieve it. However, enlarging a period property can present numerous design challenges, and be a potentially controversial endeavour. You are uniting a heritage structure with a modern addition, built to different standards, regulations and possibly using different materials. When the house was originally constructed, it was intended to be the finished article, perfectly placed next to the surrounding properties and garden. But living standards have evolved so dramatically that many older homes no longer lend themselves to modern family lifestyles, and so extending can sometimes be the only way to secure their future as a home in the decades, and hopefully centuries, to come.
SHOULD I EXTEND?
If key areas of your home function poorly and feel cramped, or you could benefit from having one or two extra rooms then, as long as you have enough outdoor space to accommodate it, it’s an option worth considering. Sometimes just adding on a very modest extension, such as filling in the side-return, and reconfiguring the room’s layout, can be transformative. But if you would need to add on an oversized
