When Charlotte and Aaron Cool were looking for a bigger house, the property itself wasn’t the main priority, it was the need to be in the same area of West London where their three children grew up and went to school.
Luckily, the couple found a gorgeous four-storey semi-detached property around the corner, so it didn’t take them long to decide this was the home for them. And they weren’t daunted by the need to convert from a multi-occupancy house to a family home.
“Each bedsit had a kitchen and a bedroom – this was a huge job to pull off so we knew we needed to get an architect involved who could show us the possibilities,” says Charlotte. “Coincidentally, while I was complimenting a friend renovation duplex, he told me that his sister, Kenny Ash, was the designer, so she was one of several architects we invited to submit plans.”
Project details
- location West London
- house Victorian semi-detached
- Size 2,400 sq.ft
- project Expansion and renovation
- Build costs £750,000
- Architect Ash Sakula
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Open to ideas
Aside from knowing the number of bedrooms and bathrooms they needed, Charlotte and Aaron didn’t have strong opinions on how the house should be rearranged, but they did it together. Think renovation A scrapbook that was more about the style and vibe of the house.
Of the shortlisted architects, it was Kenny’s practice, Ash Sakula, who came up with ideas particularly aligned with his own.
A key consideration was always that the needs of the children, including the need for Iris, 18, Leon, 17, and Romilly, 13, to each have their own bedroom, had to be considered.
“I remember Kenny and his partner Robert telling us that they too had three children and how it had influenced the design of their own home, so we immediately felt they understood and sympathized with us and our needs,” says Charlotte. “As children grow their needs change so any design has to be flexible to cope with that.”
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Planning problems
Reconfiguring the two middle floors was a fairly simple process – more about taking down temporary partitions rather than any heavy structural work.
The most transformative aspect of the proposed renovation was the rear where Kenny designed the full width. The idea of rear extension To replace the small kitchen block added earlier. But there was a strange issue with it Planning permission.
“We were eager covered up The exterior of the extension with Douglas fir, a material we used extensively for the interior, but we were getting resistance from the planners. Fortunately, Kenny and his team did a great job of persuading the council to do something different,” says Charlotte.
Other planning problems involve features away from the actual house, including a protected tree in the front garden. A larger and more expensive obstacle was the wall that spanned the length of the 100-foot garden—and which formed the end Garden wall For a number of houses running perpendicular to Charlotte and Aarons. Being “slightly obscure” the wall was considered to be in need base with concrete to a depth of two feet.
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Design inspiration
About the build project itself, it more or less went into planning and scheduling with it Project Management Conducted by Ash Sakula. For Charlotte and Aaron, having a kitchen that spanned the full width of the back and looked out onto the garden wasn’t something they originally envisioned—it was another architect’s brainwave.
“Like many London houses, the basement floor was accessible only by a dark, narrow staircase,” says Kenny. “We’ve rearranged the plan so you can see straight through the house from the front door and go straight under a new door. staircase Bringing you straight to the bespoke kitchen.”
The result is a large partly double-height kitchen with a set of worksurfaces, benefiting from the abundant natural light that only two levels of glazing can offer. With slender, elegant wooden window frames, the view out to the garden is virtually uninterrupted – and the views are even more impressive from the floating study area. Mezzanine above
Another area that Charlotte and Aaron are delighted with – and Kenny is grateful for – is their newly installed bedroom, upstairs suite and dressing room, which includes a large expanse of glass above the shower.
“Opening the upstairs shower to the sky was something we’d always wanted to do, and these clients were there to see the Mediterranean glamor of that move,” says Kenny. “The Skylight One side completely slides out on rails so there’s this surreal feeling that the house has a courtyard, albeit with a heated floor in what’s really a modest shower room.”
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Transformation of the Garden
Recycling also plays its role in this project. “When we got here, the garden was a mess and for some reason there were about 150 old car tires strewn about,” says Charlotte.
“Aaron’s father, who is a gardener, was kind enough to come and completely transform the space, including cleaning up the old bricks and breeze blocks that existed here, and using them to create something unique. Patio idea.
“Six months before the build started he was sending us cuttings from the gardens he tended for 45 years on the Isle of Jura in the Hebrides. It’s lovely to think they now form the basis of our garden.”
“I have to admit that in this house we have no shortage of room to spread out,” concludes Charlotte, “but here in this new section, we can all be in different places – at the table, in the kitchen, watching TV, relaxing on the sofa, working in the study – while still being connected. That’s one of the real achievements with this project.”
For more inspiration, take a look around A converted chapel in Bristol city centre Or see how this The ‘ugly ducking’ house received a modern makeover with two timber-clad extensions.
