“Betternest have completely exceeded our expectations. The space is so bright and airy and achieves the connection to the garden we have craved since we moved in fifteen years ago. The utility space contains everything, literally everything – it’s so clever” - Mandy

This Mock Tudor home has been beautifully renovated on all floors and in all spaces except the kitchen! Quite unusual as the kitchen is often the first place people start. The objective here was to turn the small (and dull) 1970’s kitchen area into Mandy’s dream kitchen – ‘a place where I can cook and still feel connected to family life’.

We have created a discrete side and rear extension that mimics the proportions of the existing property whilst making its own statement as the most modern part of the home – ‘Modern Chic’ as Mandy puts it.

The side extension includes a large utility and laundry space, room for two washing machines, a dryer, a large bath sink and masses of storage. It also houses the megaflow boiler and cylinders which can be sizable units if you want the added benefits of constant hot water and great water pressure. This top lit space is bright and efficient, taking care of all of the typical clutter associated with family life – the engine room of the house.

The main kitchen and sun space features a large bespoke roof lantern, the double doors to the rear and the side facades connect the internal space to the tiered rear garden. This was a big objective of the customers brief as the original kitchen really cut off access to the garden.

The extension employs reflective materials to fully maximise the natural light, which is important as the extended area makes the ground floor footprint some 14m long from front to back. Both Mick & Mandy wanted a bright and airy space that was markedly different from the traditional decor in the rest of the house. They also wanted a space that could be used as the main family space during the summer and winter.  However the debate goes on about the flat screen TV! Should it go in the kitchen? On the wall or in the corner....?  Mandy wins – no TV.

'We are a really busy family and we wanted a company that would take care of everything without charging us the earth. All I asked for was clarity on cost and timelines, and a great result - that’s what we got. Betternest provided us with a list of approved builders and a list of suppliers which helped immensely. We have heard all the nightmare stories from our friends about renovation projects but we honestly enjoyed the experience’ - Mick

TOP TIP: If you can see something it reflects light. Using bright or shinny materials for floors and walls is so important if you want to reflect natural light back deep into the house. Also remember that top-lighting (i.e. roof-lights, lanterns, veluxe’s) is three times as efficient at delivering natural light into your home than side-lighting (windows and doors). Wherever possible maximise the top-lighting opportunities afforded by rear and side extensions – it will enhance the new space and ensure that natural light feeds deep into the centre of your home.

“We had a great relationship with the Betternest team. They were professional and a sounding board that never made us feel stupid or silly.” - Andrew

A beautiful and imposing family home that sprawls over four floors, topping a massive 6,000 square feet. You enter on the ground level but the basement opens out to a garden that leads to trust grounds.  Drew & Iben plan to stay here for quite some time. They want to transform the house into their dream home and this property sure has the wow factor.

The basement level would have originally been used as the servants quarters, which explains the small and tight staircase down into the space. The ceilings are quite low in comparison to the rest of the house and Drew & Iben wanted to change this so that the basement level becomes the main kitchen and family room space.

The rear elevation originally had small windows and some simple double doors leading to the garden. The objective of the project was to make the basement feel bright and modern and to insert a large glazing element across the entirety of the rear flank. This was a big and complex structural task as there was a lot of house to hold up and the existing fabric of the house was over 150 years old. As Drew noted : ‘Its times like this – when the back of your house is off and its being supported by temporary props that you’re really glad you have a skilled builder you can trust  - Iben can barely watch!’

Apart from this large structural intervention the rest of the works are non-structural and involve re-working the plan and installing a modern heating system and integrated  lighting, communications and sound systems throughout.

The new staircase sought to soften and open out the threshold to the lower level so that the house flowed better. You now enter from the front lobby and your eye is immediately led  onto the bright basement level through the ‘feathered wall’ into the kitchen. The flooring in the kitchen diner is a poured white resin floor – not for the faint hearted as it requires a lot of cleaning but this was the one space they wanted to be ‘fancy’. The rest of the house is subtly decorated with beautiful dark woods and natural tones highlighted with bold artwork and furniture. This was merely phase one, phase two will transform the remaining floors of the property and kicks off in early 2011 – watch this space.

‘I took some convincing about the feathered wall, but we are glad we held our nerve because it’s one of our favourite features and our guests always comment on how amazing it looks  – it’s a real one off, and its ours!’ - Iben

TOP TIP: Old properties often hold more surprises that post war structures. Be prepared for additional costs once the property has been fully exposed. Wherever possible make as many inspection tests as you practically can before the work starts. This will give your architects, structural engineers, suppliers and building contractors more visibility on the existing structure and will allow time for changes which will enable smoother project management. Betternest offer a Structural Pre-Check Package which does just this and more. Ask Betternest for more details.

““When we first spoke to our local authority they advised us that we would be able to do a loft conversion, but only through two small dormers, one to the side and one to the rear.  When we heard this we didn’t feel the development would be worth our while. We heard about Betternest through a friend. What they have achieved for us is far beyond what we would have ever imagined!” - Paul

This 1920’s detached property was at bursting point – the family had simply run out of space. Their wish list was pretty simple, one master bedroom with walk-in-wardrobe, a second double room which could be used as a study and a large family bathroom... oh and a large/grand hall space so that the loft ‘doesn’t feel pokey’. Easy eh!!

We focused on using the dormant space in the loft as it was a great size(with a ridge height of over three meters – quite unusual) and a suitable way of getting a good sized staircase up into the space without affecting the 1^st floor layout detrimentally. Often the best potential for space is in the loft because of the opportunities for great views and the opportunity for natural light. The house has a big foot-print, roughly 10m x 9m!

We were able to bypass the conventional planning route by using the Permitted Development Rights attached to the property. This enabled us to design a ‘Wrap-around’ loft dormer which meant that we could combine the side and rear dormers into one large form (something that cannot be achieved under a full planning application). By taking the PD Route we were also able maximise the glazing on the rear elevation which had great views out to the surrounding landscape.

The loft conversion contains one large master bedroom with adjoining walk-in-wardrobe. A second bedroom/guest room which converts to a study by day and a large bathroom. We were very careful to design the staircase in such a way that it flows seamlessly from the 1^st floor to a separate landing space in the loft – this new spacious landing is also top-lit by way of two large sky-lights. The overall affect is one of luxury, a far cry from the pokey lofts we see far too often in the market.

The loft floor is heated by a wet under-floor system which helps maximise wall space for pictures, furniture and storage. The one downside according to the owners is that it makes the rest of the house feel cold as they can’t walk around in bare feet like they do in their new loft space!

“We were delighted with the space we gained, particularly the large master bedroom with a separate walk-in wardrobe. They have also managed to get a really large bathroom in with a separate shower and bath which many of the architects we’d had round before said would be impossible.” - Sarah

TOP TIP: If you have the chance to incorporate under floor heating, go for it! It costs about half as much to run as radiators and the affect is ‘warm feet – cool head’ as opposed to the ‘cold feet – hot head’ experienced by radiators. It’s also much more affordable than you might think.