Strategist and content creator Francesca Swann is one of Ideal Home’s newest Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on the concept of ‘everything’ and what makes a home special to you. Check out the rest of his articles here.
At its heart, we bought this apartment because we had an overwhelming need everything Reaction – Absolute love at first sight.
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We weren’t just moving casually. We were looking for our forever home. We loved our previous apartment, but the space just didn’t work for our lives. We knew we couldn’t stay there long term, no matter how much we wanted to.
This property offered something we didn’t even set out to find: the opportunity to completely reshape the layout for our needs.
What we didn’t realize then was that the summerhouse – the very thing that would make the whole plan work – would also turn out to be the most complex and difficult part of the whole project.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Reality vs Vision
Knowledge is a wonderful and crucial commodity, especially for large projects. Of course, you do your research. Run the numbers. Talk to the experts. Sense-check what is structurally and legally feasible.
However, despite being equipped with all that, we still didn’t fully understand what it would take to turn our dream into a reality.
It’s been a very rocky road, to put it mildly.
Even the most seasoned professionals on board are truly amazed (and sometimes intimidated) by the scale, complexity and sheer volume of the obstacles we face.
And that, indeed, is the tension at the heart of this experience.
If we really knew what we were getting ourselves into, would we have done it? Knowing us, maybe yes. But I’m not 100% sure.
At what price does a dream house come? And is it better to know from the start, or to ball in half-blind and just keep going?™️
This dilemma does not only apply to buying a new property.
You already live in a place you love, but it just doesn’t work out. You may be ignoring – or resisting – change because of a cold hard fear of what it might mean. Logically, financially and emotionally.
If you could overcome that fear, what would it give you the confidence to do?
Do you make rational decisions based on value, time and cost? Or does yours everything Rule supreme emotion?
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Unlocking space
The summerhouse is the final piece of the puzzle—the point where our vision stopped being a fanciful idea and began to become reality. But it only makes sense in the context of what we have done.
We’ve already gone through the pains of phase one – completely reworking the interior layout to create a primary bedroom suite and making the existing footprint function for our needs.
However, it was still a one-bedroom apartment, and far from giving us the space we needed.
A separate guest space. A gym. Two offices. A kitchen and living space is exactly where we live and work. Garden with steps leading down from kitchen to terrace.
In the second phase, we set to work to unlock outer space Expansion and the summerhouse. This is when things became significantly more complicated.
But that was also the moment when it all started to come together.
Because without a summerhouse, the apartment will not serve as our permanent home. With it, we will never need to move.
Which is just as well, because I obviously never do any of this! So we continued…
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
value
First, a reality check.
Summerhouses are a little odd when it comes to property values. Because the structure is technically separate from the main building, it does not formally convert the apartment into a two-bedroom in the eyes of an estate agent or mortgage lender.
So if you’re considering something like this to increase resale value, it’s something to keep in mind.
For us, it didn’t matter. We are here to keep.
Value is how we live, not what it costs on paper.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
What type of summerhouse?
Forever home = forever summerhouse.
Opening up space isn’t just about adding square footage. It’s about making sure that anything you add works in conversation with what’s already there.
You could build a small town out of a variety of summerhouses there – from garden sheds to fully-fledged shepherd’s huts – there are plenty. We researched it all.
But none of them felt right. They didn’t feel permanent, and they didn’t feel like they belonged in a beautiful period building.
And that was the key.
So we went for full construction. proper foundation. Fully wired and plumbed, with equal flooring And hardware as the main apartment.
Clad in burnt larch with a sedum roof, it is designed to sit back into the surrounding beautiful natural landscape, respecting the period building, rather than competing with it. Contemporary, but cool.
It is not a garden structure. It is a permanent extension of the main building, only physically different.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Enjoy planning permission
This is where the summerhouse stopped being a cool idea and became a very serious undertaking.
Planning permission is a beast. A complex, confusing and often very long process. But obviously you can’t do anything without it, so getting it right is fundamental.
Ours was especially knit and fun. A conservation area, an extension and a garden building with interconnected dependencies including drainage, party walls, structure footprint and height.
Permitted development is not applicable. The structures cannot be seen from the street. And since we are in a designated flood area, the drainage strategy alone required a great deal of work, coordination and expense.
Party wall agreements and distance from neighboring properties also played a large role in determining what we could and could not do in terms of footprint.
Then there are the limitations of use. Adding a kitchen or sink can also change the classification of the building, requiring an entirely different level of planning permission. So for us, it made the most sense to have it as a guest bedroom and working space.
Privacy, rightly, also plays a major role. Window heights and glazing and orientation are all shaped by neighboring properties.
These are details that aren’t always discussed, but can have a big impact on what’s actually possible.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Flipping the building
One of the biggest shifts came from a single design decision.
Initially the gates of the summerhouse were set in front of the main building. But it also meant facing neighboring properties, which brought less-than-ideal privacy restrictions and limited glazing.
This meant solid doors – and a lot less light.
Party wall boundaries also require a 1m space between boundary walls, which will push the building forward and eat into the garden.
So we flipped it.
By moving the door backwards, we have achieved three important things at once…
The mandatory 1m dead space at the back became the access path, putting every centimeter to work.
This, in turn provides a more usable garden in front of the summerhouse.
Finally, it eliminated the privacy issue and allowed for fully glazed doors, dramatically improving lighting and making rooms feel more open and spacious, yet private.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Cutting space to suit our needs
Once the footprint was locked – 9m by 3.5m – it was about how we used it.
We worked backwards from what we needed most, creating our floor plans to scale using Furniture and equipment sizes to ensure we have adequate space and clearance.
First came the guest suite allowing for a king size bed and a functional en-suite.
Then the gym – equally important, considering the size of the reformer pilates machine and cross-trainer and the height allowance for ceiling light placement.
Finally, the remaining space became an office.
It sounds simple, but it’s one of the most important parts of the process, especially when building from scratch: carving out your needs from the space and ensuring you future-proof it for every eventuality.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
the garden
The garden is the final layer that brings it all together.
What was once overgrown and neglected gradually becomes something more immersive and considered – lush, layered and perfectly integrated into the house, extension and summerhouse.
Ultimately it will be an overgrown, yet deliberate urban desert. Tropical-style plants, sculptural forms and coastal natives, along with seasonal color accents, will create a space free of symmetry and neat borders. Wisteria, roses and jasmine will add to the landscape and blend the summerhouse.
Areas for dining and relaxation will be created by Mandarin Stone Mixed Dijon Limestone PaversCombining the tones of the original house and red brick garden walls.
This fusion will soften the architecture into the landscape, so it looks less like isolated elements and more like a complete environment.
That, ultimately, is the goal.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Thinking and accepting ‘everything’
This is a real shift.
It’s not always about buying a big house. If you like where you live, it may be worth building for the life you want, rather than moving.
Or buying somewhere that doesn’t work on paper, but you adore in every other way for no reason.
Don’t take things at face value. Take a holistic look at a space to envision what it could be and design your needs from that.
My ADHD and everything Instinct means I naturally see things in a bigger, broader way – what can change, what can be unlocked. It is an empowering, yet sometimes dangerous gift.
But it is something you can learn.
(Image credit: Francesca Swan)
Truth and lesson
Safe to say, we underestimated its scale. on a large scale.
We’re big, exciting thinkers – maybe slightly silly thinkers, in all honesty. Our reaction wasn’t just emotional—because we both immediately saw what it could be.
Five minutes into the extension we had, Summerhouse popped into our heads. The next day, with the fag packet budget in hand, our offer arrived.
If we fully understood the reality – that we are heading into possibly the most stressful and devastatingly expensive experience of our lives – I think we would run a mile very wisely.
Or shall we?
If you had asked me mid-project, I would have happily checked it all out. But now that the end is in sight, I know that we made the right decision and that it will be worth it in the end.
Sometimes knowing is what allows you to get started.
And that, to me, is the real lesson.
Don’t be afraid to do something because you don’t fully understand it yet.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Be brave. Imagine the impossible. Go for it.
Because that’s where the reward really is – the everything The feeling of building a home that works perfectly for your needs, and the satisfaction of winning a battle you didn’t even know you were starting.
