When the owners bought this 1930s six-bedroom detached house in the Cotswolds in 2011, the rear of the property had an awkward layout and was rather dark and ramshackle. Fortunately, they had the vision to see past this.
The original kitchen was small and north facing with a separate scullery and a number of small annexes; originally used as coal holes and storage when the house was built (as a doctor’s surgery).
But Penny and her husband Charles, who have two grown up children and two cats, always wanted a large open-plan kitchen and area for family dining that was filled with natural daylight and opened on to the garden at the back.
They worked with a local architect who drew up plans for a single-storey extension with a vaulted ceiling. This involved knocking out the back wall of the scullery, removing the old buildings to create a new kitchen that faced south west to capture as much daylight throughout the day as possible.
The renovation work was carried out by local builders and tradesmen and took six months to complete. The homeowners could use their original kitchen during the work but the washing machine was kept outside plugged in to the greenhouse – luckily, the project was complete before the cold weather started.
To provide the kitchen with as much daylight ventilation as possible, Penny installed two VELUX INTEGRA® white-painted roof windows with the remote controls providing easy opening and closing of the roof windows and the blinds.
She said: “I always wanted VELUX roof windows to bring natural light in to the space. I don’t like extractor fans so as well as all the beautiful daylight, they also help to circulate fresh air and ventilate the kitchen by getting rid of the heat and cooking smells. We love sitting at our big wooden table as a family and looking up to the sky to see the clouds and the stars and to bask in the sunlight – it’s such a lovely way to spend the day.”
To help keep heat in, provide a cosy atmosphere at night and to control the sunlight on particularly bright days, Penny also installed blue/grey coloured electronic blinds to the roof windows.
Tri-fold doors were added to allow the family to access their beautiful garden easily. Inspired by the leafy view outside and the lovely garden, the owners have styled the space with oak wood worktops and kept it modern yet traditional to give it a homely, informal farmhouse feel in keeping with the space and style of the rest of the house.
Penny said: “Adding a single-storey extension to create a big open-plan kitchen has been a wonderful experience and something we are very proud of. The space feels a million miles from what it was like when we had our old small kitchen and now it really reflects our personalities and functions as a practical family home that leads out to the garden.”
Maximise daylight and space in extensions
Improve your home with VELUX® roof windows
For over 75 years, VELUX has led the way in designing innovative roof windows, developing an outstanding market-leading product range that has helped fill millions of homes with more daylight and fresh air. Which means when it comes to your project, you can perfectly tailor your roof windows to suit your home and your family’s needs.
Single storey extensions are becoming increasingly popular ways of expanding the home. Whether it’s to add extra living space, or to provide a larger kitchen, more and more homeowners are choosing to make improvements instead of moving house.
Natural daylight is the perfect ingredient for extensions and once added, has the ability to make extra space look and feel even bigger.
It can impact all aspects of interior design from making a room come to life by bringing the outdoors in, to providing a healthy environment to work and play in.
The best way of achieving more natural daylight in your home is by adding VELUX roof windows as they provide up to twice as much daylight as vertical windows of the same size, and reduce the need for artificial lighting.
VELUX INTEGRA® remote controlled roof windows are perfect for those out-of-reach spots making ventilating your new space smarter and easier thanks to the innovative control pad that lets you operate your windows at the touch of a button.
This range is also available in a white polyurethane finish that’s recommended for rooms prone to humidity like kitchens and bathrooms as the windows have no visible joints, ensuring a clean and moisture resistant finish.
More possibilities.
With 75 years of quality and innovation built-in, you can do more with VELUX roof windows.
• Huge range of sizes and features
• Create stunning interiors with different combinations
• VELUX INTEGRA® automatic roof windows mean better ventilation and are ideal for hard-to-reach spots
• Not only roof windows – sun tunnels, blinds and more
Search www.velux.co.uk/extensions