Situated in a convenient location on the edge of Wisbech and close to the River Nene, my clients' beautiful Victorian detached property demonstrated bold curb appeal from the front, but lacked coherence from the rear. Being a typical period property, it had been extended over the years with a mismatch of forms, and so when my clients wished to replace their kitchen with something brand new and fresh, the internal layout proved too dysfunctional even for the kitchen companies that they had approached.
My Cambridgeshire clients instructed British Home Design to formulate ideas so that they could realise their dream of a new kitchen whilst injecting a cohesive design to the rear of the property too through a new single storey rear extension. Through the concept design process, my clients and I explored several options to consider; not just in terms of potential layouts, but also aesthetic ideas for how the kitchen could be styled and also how the spatial forms could feel from within and be composed externally. Here at British Home Design our ethos is to work to an holistic vision so that means considering both interior design and landscaping design as part of the architectural design process. With so many extensions simply bolted-on with little consideration for its immediate external and internal contexts, we seek to investigate both the home and gardens true potential by incorporating all these multidimensional layers.
My clients finalised design created a bespoke kitchen space, with its own separate utility room and also, a new cloakroom, connecting the main house with the new extension and forming a practical new rear entrance; something that my clients hadn’t even thought of but that was suggested due to the observation that they often use their rear door instead of the front entrance door, and as dog owners, this proved a practical suggestion to enhance the way they live their lives as a family.
As the property is located in a flood plain and subject to a Medium risk of flooding, it was important to consider the internal floor levels to mitigate any unnecessarily adverse damage in the event of a flood and as my clients Planning Agent, I worked closely between my client, the local authority Fenland District Council and the Environment Agency to ensure that a pragmatic approach was undertaken with regards to undertaking the right assessments, as and when required, at the right time, to avoid unnecessary financial outlay for my client.
With the property sited on a corner plot, it was important to consider the landscaping as part of the intrinsic design. The levels gently fall away from the property and so with the internal floor levels seated a little higher than the ground level, and with a new entrance door planned into the scheme, both privacy and the circulation route needed to be also considered, and so the resulting scheme featured a new landscaped frontage to help separate the property from the road whilst bringing in light and not feeling fully closed off, and drawing the eyes towards the new preferred entrance.
My clients planning approval was recently granted in full for a new bold and contemporary extension, to visually contrast with the Victorian main house, whilst simultaneously bringing in subtle details that help tie the old and new together. CGI visualisations helped the planners to understand the positive impact that this design has on the property and its immediate context, and helped my clients to feel inspired and excited for the works ahead which are planned for early next year.
Both my clients and I couldn’t be more delighted.
It was heartwarming to read their positive 5* review, and upon thanking them for this, I recieved this lovely reply email.
It's working on projects like this, with clients like this, that makes what I do all that bit more special and rewarding.
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