Estimated Budget: under £350,000
Workstage: Completed to Stage 5, with ad hoc site visits
Farmhouse renovation and extension, Alne near York
Demolition of outbuildings, complete house renovation, double storey side extension, rear single storey kitchen dining room.
Project was completed in Spring 2019.
The works have involved design from start to finish to update, modernise and extend a vacated historic farmhouse.
Renovations have included removing the existing floors, installing new damp courses, replacing the chimneys and the roof, replacing all the windows and installing new doors. Demolishing the former lean-to outbuildings and replacing them with a double storey wing to house a new garage, utility room, cloakroom and at first floor a luxurious bathroom, shower room and two additional double bedrooms.
To the rear the property has undergone structural alterations to facilitate an open plan feeling and a connection with the garden from the new kitchen and dining room.
Located in a conservation area, this project has come with many constraints however, working with the local authority the scheme is nearly complete and demonstrates the use of an air source heat pump in conjunction with underfloor heating and thermal improvements to provide what should be a warm and cosy farmhouse for many years to come.
Project budget: over £250,000
Work stages undertaken:
Feasibility
Planning
Building Regulation
Detailed Design, Tender
On Site
This cottage is a period property located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The owners wanted to create an open, comfortable and modern home whilst retaining the character of the cottage. The brief was to create a new first-floor master bedroom suite and a guest suite with a new bathroom. To the ground-floor the accommodation was to offer a comfortable garden room, a cosy snug, a study and a modern functional kitchen with dining area. A luxury shower-room completed the ground-floor facilities.
Throughout, the finishes were to be of the highest standard and the property was to be easy to maintain.
The main contractor, Bird Homes Ltd, worked hard to ensure the materials throughout the cottage, both new and existing were treated with the care and the skilled workmanship that they deserved.
Due to the property being in an AONB on the outskirts of a National Park, the planning process took time, several different scheme options and amendments and, finally, an appeal to get permission for the inclusion of dormers to the property, which were essential to create a useable space to the first-floor.
Access to the first-floor level is via a stunning, bespoke staircase, developed with the help of a local design team, Bisca, who are famed for their spectacular staircases.
With its oak treads, floating structure, wrought iron balusters and hand-stitched leather-clad handrail, this one does not disappoint. Moving up from a shared bottom step, the staircase branches to serve the two separate wings of the house.
A new kitchen, designed by Harvey Jones, and a utility room in a matching style have been painted in Farrow and Ball colours to create a calm yet functional working space.
Oak doors, made to the client’s requirements, give the property a timeless, solid feel. Some of them are glazed with hand-made stained glass to the client’s design. The finished home is truly beautiful, reflecting the exquisite taste of the owners whilst retaining the cottage’s character and offering functional, comfortable accommodation
Estimated Budget: under £80,000
Duration on site: approximately 4 months,
Workstage: completed to Stage 4
Located in Pocklington, with views towards the town centre and the church spire - this Victorian property was in much need of some design help. With a keen eye for interior design my client knew what she wanted but needed a little help from us to get through the planning and building regulations stage.
With a small family and a business to run, the house needed to be updated to suit open plan living, with clever storage and utility space, an inclusive dining area, an updated kitchen and separate study space.
The most obvious first step was to remove the poorly placed South facing conservatory which only led to overheating in the summer and a cold kitchen in the winter.
This led us to a whole range of feasibility ideas which looked at reorientating the kitchen, the access from the side or rear of the house, forming a utility room, creating a separate ground floor WC and then exploring how this looked from the outside of the property.
Initially the use of a pitched roof at quirky angles was submitted to the planning department, however, in a bid to simplify the roof for a client managed on site phase, this was transformed to a flat roof with lots of roof glazing and the submission of a planning amendment.
The next phase of the works will include a loft conversion – planning permission is in place for this, and we look forward to my client embarking on the next stage of the scheme very soon.
Estimated Budget: under £30,000
Duration on site: approximately 3 months,
Workstage: completed to Stage 5
The brief for this scheme was transform the kitchen and to create a safe space that the family could use. The existing layout of the kitchen had the hob located on an island that was far too close to the dining table and presented a hazard for small children. The other issue is that the back of the house is South facing and was just far too hot on a summer’s day. The glazing needed to be re-considered but still provide a connection from the house to the garden.
The scheme looked at three proposals including re-locating the back door, reducing the glazing, incorporating a roof with an overhang to reduce the direct solar gain.
The Final proposal uses a large French door and a small window, reduced the existing kitchen window and removed the back door from the side elevation.
The noisy appliances are in a sound proofed cubby that houses a washing machine, tumble dryer and cleaning products, freeing up the under stairs cupboard to now be used as a pantry.
The kitchen has been created to form a U-Shape layout, and this allows the dining table room to breathe, and be rotated when needed.
Estimated Budget: under £200,000
Duration on site: approximately 5 months,
Workstage: completed to Stage 6
The initial brief for this project was to: create a warmer ground floor kitchen; install a ground floor wc; provide more connection between the rear garden and the house; remove the out-of-character rear porch; re-configure the first floor bathrooms and bedrooms; create his and hers walk-in dressing area.
The scheme required some works to update the first-floor family bathroom and shower room and totally renovate the existing driveway. The space that now exists serves the family well.
You approach the rear of the house from the newly cobbled driveway and enter via the cedar clad rear extension, with architect grey aluminium framed double glazing and offset by the aluminium-clad parapet above.
The central kitchen island sits well in the large kitchen area, with the aga and range being retained in their former positions and the fridge freezer now located in the room where it is required rather than the pantry.
With several mod cons this is now an entertaining space, with the former utility room re-configured to provide a downstairs WC, new plant room, considered utility space and fully shelved pantry.
Estimated Budget: under £60,000
Duration on site: approximately 3 months,
Workstage: Completed to Stage 6
The project was for a previous client.
They contacted us and asked us to assist them with converting the rear garden room into a sun trap.
The rest of the property had previously been renovated and improved, and this was the last room to consider. The brief initially was to create privacy and warmth. The design evolved into a bespoke and unique glass structure – designed by Crescent and implemented by a bespoke glazing manufacturer and installer.
Crescent then developed a bespoke pergola to connect the glass extension to the outside and offer privacy from the road. The meet all requirements a purpose made garden room and storage area was intended to complement the garden, maximise on the sunlight available and create screening and protection from the elements to the boundary fence.
“We were extremely pleased with their professional and helpful attitude to our project. Highly Recommended”
“Suzanne was just the Architect we needed, she produced a number of options to match our brief and guided us clearly through our selection process without trying to push her own agenda. Her proposals were exciting, innovative and sympathetic to the character of the original house.”
“Suzanne introduced a very professional and impressive architectral practice. The only barrier to using Suzanne’s services on this occasion was that her quoted fees were a bit more than we had budgeted for on our small project.”