After what has almost been a year since we moved in, we have finally received our planning permission and ready to start this renovation journey! I didn’t want to share any of the plans before now, as until it was confirmed there was a chance they could all have to change – but I can now push forward with the designs and keep you updated with progress along the way. This is a long term project and with myself and Paul being very particular about the details – it won’t be a quick makover – but one I am certain we will thoroughly enjoy…
Let’s start with the existing floorplan and how the house looks now:
It is an Edwardian house – originally two cottages that have been previously knocked through into one house – and over the years has been extended slightly to be more in proportion to accomodate modern living. You can still see where the second front door would have been in the elevation above, which acts a second porch currently. We are very keen to keep any original features (and put back those that have been taken out) whilst creating a bit more space and making the layout more functional for us. This means we plan to extend it further, with a double storey extension on one side and a single storey on the opposite side.
Downstairs we would like to add on a living room (to make the most of the views on the left hand side of the house) with a new master bedroom suite above and then add a utility room and boot room to the right hand side (single storey) – to create a separte space for utilities and muddy paws. This will then also allow us to have a separate pantry and large food storage area, meaning the kitchen can stay the same size – but will be utilised better for us.
The layout will change with the exsiting living area becoming a large dining room with access through to the kitchen (by knocking through an entrance between the two spaces) and the existing doorway from the hallway to the kitchen being closed up. It was important to us to have this separate entertaining space – but still feel connected to the kitchen. Keeping the traditional cottage feel (not having an open plan kitchen diner) but creating a better connection between the two spaces, with the added bonus of all the additional light it will allow in.
These are the proposed plans and how we hope the final house will look:
The internal layout will be slightly different to how it is shown (just a few doorways and openings moved) but this should give a good overall idea of the new space.
We have started renovating the office space downstairs (which needs to have it’s own separate post to properly introduce it) and one of the bedrooms upstairs, with the idea that when the messier building work starts we have a space to work and sleep in that is clean and tidy. Now we have the plans confirmed, it means we can finish these two spaces first and then concentrate on co-ordinating the renovation in the New Year.
For anyone that doesn’t know, Paul works as a (very talented) Carpenter and Joiner, and runs the successful business, PGC Carpentry & Joinery. We plan to take on a lot of the renovation work ourselves (comes in handy having a live in Carpenter) not only because we love it – but also because it’s another oppotunity to learn and develop our skills. With the help of our little black books with all the best local tradesmen, I am more than confident that this house is going to be a very special renovation.
Another part of the project that is going to take a lot of work is the landscaping. We have an acre, of which a lot is wild woodland (which we plan to keep and bring back to all it’s glory) whilst adding in some new spaces for us to enjoy. This is larger than any outdoor space we have tackled before, so will take a fair bit of planning before we can update the progress, but it’s a huge part of why we love this house so much – and are so excited to get stuck in. (I’ve already had more bramble scratches and stinging nettle stings than is probably recommended for a human being). Once we have the landscaping plans drawn up, I will share those too, and hopefully all the progress along the way.
For now we are still celebrating and day dreaming about how things will look and work for us – and I am in full mood board mode creating a different one for each room of the house. Cannot wait for this next part to begin properly!
