Extension with wrap around glazing and feature stove

This is a project that fully embraces the beauty of open spaces with warm tones and a gentle touch. Allowing a great deal of light in and giving a quality of scandinavian cool. The brief was to design a substantial ground floor extension that would work in both contrast and harmony with a traditional North Oxford house.

The development of this design was carried out over a long period of consultation with the clients, to get the maximum quality to the space whilst working within a specific budget. Architecture was devised working with Ifor Rhys, and the contract completed to a great standard by Stuart Barr Ltd.

Its a picture of restraint, and with the settling of this project late in the year it will be very exciting to see the garden and extension in full bloom giving the full picture to the original concept of outdoor / indoor extension.

The kitchen, hand made by Barr Kitchens links the Victorian house and its contemporary extension -

the post for this project is located here. 

The illustration below shows our early vision for the project. We will be posting a vimeo video of the sketch up model shortly. In brief, a small existing extension was removed, and the back of the house opened up to create a through kitchen an huge space for indoor/ outdoor dining and entertaining, linked externally by level threshold paving externally.

Wrap around sliding doors on the corner take in even the winter sun, and create a real sense of openness. These were commissioned and installed by fineline aluminium architectural glazing who's slimline profiles particularly suited the projects requirements. Detailing the exterior includes

Extension with Leicht Kitchen and Nigel Slater Inspired Folding Doors

A Victorian townhouse was brought into the 21st century with a new full width, 9 metre extension devised through collaboration with architect Keith Durham, that houses the kitchen and dining spaces. The premise of the project was to increase the ground floor space  giving better functionality to the house and to allow the family to experience a greater sense of freedom within it. Alongside the extension and kitchen shown here, our brief was to apply a smart townhouse aesthetic throughout in a refurbishment of the whole property.

The a wall of folding doors, and exotic and rich teak parquet flooring were integral to the clients wishes as they represented very strong and important aesthetics. Working with the charm of the original Victorian house, we wanted to produce a bright, modern, crisp space, that linked through from the original by using the warmth and detailing of flooring and joinery.

Victorian Porch, front garden design and bespoke iron railings in Oxford

Part of a series of Porches we have carried out this season.

The Porch is part of a larger body of work at the property that consisted of a complete revamp of the front garden bay window area alongside an overhaul of the driveway and its multiple levels. It is also the completion of the full renovation at the premises, including the basement extension

A planting scheme was also initiated that complemented the nature of the local environment.

In the summer of 2012 planning permission was granted and the project started in December later that year. We begun by excavating the whole of the front bay area to the start of the driveway.

light and spring...victorian house> extension and garden

This project was stage 5 and 6 of the complete overhaul of the victorian house: the extension and the garden.

the extension with planters

The extension was a longtime in planning. Although not a large extension it was a slightly problematic one, as a basement excavation. There were many issues to address in the design and during the build. The garden is long and relatively thin and the building is very tall (5 floors). This tends to lock out some of the light during the winter months. A leaky old conservatory was to be replaced, and the back wall of the house knocked out to lead into the new space. 

We recommended our clients commission Ifor Rhys RIBA architect to design a structure that would give a better aspect on to the garden, a space for dining, and incorporate an existing small utility room. Ifor is a great architect, fun to work with, and konws Oxford houses well. The idea was to open up the vista from the kitchen to allow some more light in and create a space that could work as a slightly more formal dining space. We also commissioned garden designer  Rose Lennard to plan a garden that would take into consideration the new building. With Charlotte as project manager,  Ifor and Rose, the design that was settled upon looked fabulous. There was an introduction of a roof that ran back towards the house, slightly curved, that allowed a view to the sky from the kitchen and a glass structure over the main area where the extension meets the old building. This light well designed to bring more light in. In tandem, a corner window assists in this endeavour. Rose created ideas around zoning the planting, creating raised beds local to the house for immediate drama, and in the garden, curves along a lawn that took in the old apple tree and reflected the curve of the steps.

gently curved copper roof with overhang

side view of corner window and cedar screen

A key part of this project was going to be the negotiations with the neighbours. One of the obstactles to overcome was the party wall ownership.  Over time the wall had become destabilised by invasive ivy and the washing out of the lime mortar by the elements. This mean't the wall closest to the house was leaning some 30 degrees over the neighbours garden. It took some time in agreements to gain the necessary permissions to rebuild it whilst the extension was taking place. This prolonged the project somewhat, but didn't affect the overall vision.

The beautifully restored wall

The building contractors, Blackford Builders, were very sensitive to the age and nature of the building and its surroundings and as such kept the wall looking authentic. They reused the bricks that were salvaged from the wall, cleaned off the mortar and reset them. In total 9 metres of wall was rebuilt. They also took great care

contemporary kitchen in Georgian house

Georgian house: kitchen 

features: minimalist Leicht kitchen, jerusalem stone tiling, cork flooring, corian and soaped oak worktops, artemide lighting

Our client for this project had taken on a big challenge: to transform a quirky and landmark Georgian townhouse from its slightly tired state into a sensitively 'modern' home with enduring design qualities. Along with local architect Richard Twinch she undertook major restoration and renovation works, including building a ground floor extension with a fantastic oval light-well as shown below. We were commissioned to work on the kitchen and bathrooms, which were required to be high spec but understated and timeless.

Working with Martin Williamson from In-House Design, we designed a beautiful Leicht kitchen that makes use of all available space. The kitchen is subtle, minimal and practical; all distractions are removed with handle-free doors and built in or concealed appliances, lending it a feel more of furniture than many kitchens.
The doors are lacquered in soft matte olive and vanilla, with a cream corian worktop and built in appliances including a gaggenau extractor and Leicht induction hob. The kitchen opens up into the new extension space with its spectacular roof light, and double doors link through to the garden.

The island unit is designed as a stand alone piece of furniture, reminiscent of a  trunk or chest with its soaped oak wrap-around worktop and finger joints. 

The architectural lighting (fixed on what was once a support beam for a dentist's chair that was located in the room above) is a classic artemide design by Michele de Lucchi, and spots built in to the cupboards and shelves provide valuable task lightning. The pale laquered cork flooring compliments the soaped oak, and this other natural element ensures the space is warm with character despite its clean lines. 

The corian sink  is inconspicuously incorporated in the worktop

functionality and colour in a kitchen - grandpont house

Victorian House: 

features: Lacanche gas oven, Island unit, slate grey porcelain tiles, lime green, oak lantern, Blanco inset sink.

This project was the second of 3 commissions by our client, after working with them on the design of loft with on-suite, and then later their garden.

This began life pre-extension and the remit was to design a kitchen that was highly functional and host various items like a large and rather special eurocave wine fridge (see photo) and also a smaller wine unit to be housed in the island unit. The list of appliances continued; there was the Lacanche range; a multi ring gas burner that was to stand centre stage in the kitchen. The owner being a very interested and extremely capable chef insisted upon this furniture, and why not! The extension was cleverly designed by architect Tony Reedman, making much of a slightly awkward space. The extension was carried out to a very good standard and so made the process of designing for the space much easier than it could have been. It is imperative that your builder is accommodating at this stage as various items will impact on the final design. Whilst some features had to be altered i.e.size of steel beams holding up the house, most of the structure and size was kept within targets. Working with an experienced design team at In House, we organised a design that fitted the needs of the client and made sense of the space: ample room for cooking, room for art on walls and a place where this family could be seated in an evening or entertain.

Kitchens are notoriously difficult to organise and generally work around very clear principles. However, every space is different and can ask different questions of the designer.

light and open kitchen - victorian terrace

living etc front cover rogue-designs

This particular project features on our main web site. However I thought I would share more photos with you.  The project itself featured in Living etc magazine (front cover no less) and also featured as one of their 50 best for that year. 

The whole of the interior was knocked through and opened up to maximise the level of light penetration from the back of the house.

The kitchen boasted 40mm walnut worktops that wrapped around 3 sides and at the end had a small breakfast bar area. Along the main wall through to the dining space there was another bank of units that carried a greater amount of space for food storage and prep.  The inset sinks add to the designs less cluttered aspect. Walnut insets were created to sit over the sink when not in use.

The walls were very exciting and somewhat experimental. They are of a concrete render which had black volcanic glass granules thrown at it in the last stages of its preparation. The whole thing then rubbed up and when dry, rubbed back slightly to reveal the penetrated glass. 

The lighting in the dining space in image 4 was sourced from a london antique centre that specialised in italian mid century lighting design.

The dining space also had space for an bubble chair to be secured to one of the main roof supports.

Bubble Chair by Eero Aarnio

basement living - victorian house

project: living area, kitchen, extension


features: reclaimed antique parquet muhuhu flooring, Silestone worktop, induction hob, wine storage

the kitchen with view to dining room extension (phase 6)

This basement conversion and extension was a huge project, and a fantastic space. A lot of work was carried out to turn what was a dark, and slightly dank basement area into a family space that is extremely habitable and stylish, and given its situation, filled with light. We tackled the project in stages, firstly creating a cosy living and play area in the bay window space at the front along with a central kitchen, and then a pause before the major building project of a light and airy new extension as a dining area, which leads out onto a same level outdoor living space.