Designing for the long term
A considered extension and remodel for a young and growing family, creating more generous living spaces, practical everyday accommodation and an improved principal bedroom suite within the home they plan to stay in for years to come.
Wrap-Around Extension & Remodel
Fetcham, Surrey
Type: Detached
4 Bedrooms
Starting on Site
The Brief
For this young and growing family, the aim was not to find a bigger house, but to make their existing home capable of supporting family life for the years ahead.
The property had the potential to become their long-term home, but its existing arrangement needed to work harder. More generous living space was needed at ground floor, together with the practical accommodation that becomes increasingly important as family life gets busier.
Upstairs, the brief also included improving the principal bedroom accommodation with a new ensuite, creating a little more privacy for the adults while allowing the rest of the house to continue evolving around the family.
Design Response
Rather than relying on one large addition, the design brings together a series of carefully considered changes across the existing house.
At ground floor, a single-storey side extension works alongside the conversion of the existing garage, bringing previously underused space into everyday use and creating a more generous arrangement for family life. Existing outbuildings are removed as part of the proposals, allowing the new accommodation to relate more coherently to the main house.
Three new rooflights bring natural light into the converted garage, while changes to the existing windows and doors help the remodelled spaces feel connected rather than simply added on.
Upstairs, the layout is adapted to incorporate a new ensuite bathroom, improving the principal bedroom accommodation without unnecessarily increasing the first-floor footprint.
At the front of the house, a new porch, apex window and pitched roof detail above the existing first-floor window give the entrance greater presence and allow the external changes to feel part of a considered update to the whole property.
Planning & Context
The proposals were developed as a collection of complementary interventions rather than a single dominant extension.
The planning scheme included a new front porch and apex window, conversion of the existing garage with three rooflights, a single-storey side extension following demolition of the existing outbuildings, a new pitched roof above the first-floor front window and alterations to the existing fenestration.
Together, these changes allow the house to gain the space and functionality the family needs while maintaining a coherent relationship between the existing building and new work.
With planning secured, the project is now preparing to start on site.
Outcome
With works about to begin, Badingham is moving into the next stage of its transformation from a house that works for the family today into one designed around where family life is heading.
The additional ground-floor accommodation will provide more generous and practical everyday spaces, while the garage conversion makes better use of an area already contained within the property.
Upstairs, the new ensuite adds privacy and flexibility without requiring substantial additional building.
It is a project shaped around longevity: making thoughtful changes now so that, as the children grow and family life changes, the house can continue to grow with them.