This grand and elaborate Arts and Crafts house deserved an extension that matched its scale, finish and quality. Instead, it had a 1970s addition that didn’t reflect the same ambition. Our clients engaged us to design an extension for the family ’s primary kitchen, dining and living space; one that flowed effortlessly from the house and connected seamlessly to the garden. They also wanted a new garage, bar and other functional spaces, as well as an X factor—something indescribable at the time of the brief.

Upon exploration, that X factor would evolve into the impressiveness fostered by the scale and volume of the extension. Sunlight filters through the 6-metre-high oculus roof lights capping the pyramid-form ceilings, and the finely engineered glass walls create a sense of expansiveness into the garden.

We designed the extension with two asymmetric pyramid red-tiled roofs to complement and balance the original house. The two differing ceiling volumes and floor level change create a subtle division between the kitchen/dining and the living room without interrupting their connection. Amplifying the experience of the space, the concrete floors flow outside to the terrace, and the Sky-Frame sliding doors and windows maximise the glass walls and garden view. The precision detailing is softened by brick walls and timber joinery, providing richness and tactility that nods to the Arts and Crafts house.

While the original house and new extension are grand and impressive, in different ways, the vestibule and hallways are more intimate, with brick-lined walls and framed views to the garden, courtyard and reflection pool. Alongside the extension, the existing property was fully refurbished for modern family life. Now the contemporary extension and Arts and Crafts house complement each other through their scale, quality and ambition.