The Trellis House A unique extension transforms a suburban home

TheTrellisHouse HOW A MODERN EXTENSION AND STATEMENT TRELLIS TRANSFORMED A SUBURBAN HOME INTO SOMETHING FAR MORE EXCITING

Photography by David Barbour

When Daniela and Duncan Forbes first moved to the pretty coastal village of Cramond, their home looked very different to the way it does now. The threebedroom 1950s house was in many ways a generic, suburban home, but with an unusual stone-effect facade that had been grafted onto the building to create a grander street frontage. “Located five minutes’ walk from the beach, the house had a lovely feel and a large south-facing mature garden which had obviously been very well loved by the previous owners,” says Daniela, a professional cook and catering consultant. “The decor was dated and the layout required a bit of reconfiguring to suit the lifestyle we were looking for but we could see the potential and could instantly imagine living there.”

“We knew we wanted an extra bedroom, a snug and an open plan kitchen / dining space, which would be the heart of the home and, importantly, a connection between house and garden,” explains Daniela. Enlisting the help of friend and architect Neil Taylor, managing director of award-winning Leith practice TAP, the couple were thrilled to discover their ideas were possible and worked closely with Neil on the plans for their family home.

“We developed a design for a new facade, which wraps around the back of the house, including a new ‘L’ shaped extension, that addresses the large, south facing garden,” explains Neil. “The existing house was insulated, refurbished and reconfigured, with two conservatories removed. An additional bedroom was accommodated on the ground floor and the kitchen was moved from the dark, north east corner, into a central position,

WE KNEW WE WANTED SOMETHING WITH A BIT OF WOW-FACTOR AND WE LOVED THE IDEA OF CREATING BEAUTIFUL LIVING WALLS USING PLANTS”

with views through an internal glazed screen to the extension living/dining space and the garden beyond.”

“We were lucky that Neil shared our vision and excitement for the project,” says Daniela. “We had loved his previous home extensions so knew we could trust him to bring his architectural and creative flair to our project.” Nonetheless, when it came time to sign off on the turquoise Pantone for the huge powdercoated aluminium mesh trellis which would wrap around the entire back of the house, the couple were a little nervous – but only for a second. “We did have a little wobble but we knew we wanted something with a bit of wow factor and we loved the quirkiness of the trellis’ colour and materials, along with its unique ability to ultimately create beautiful living walls using plants.”

“I was inspired by the idea of making the garden part of the home,” says Neil of the quirky design. “Just as the street elevation has an applied facade, so the new facade is similarly legible as an applied surface, attached to the rear of the building. Over time

the connection between garden and building will become stronger as plants grow to cover the new facade.”

From concept to completion, the project took around 10 months, with four to five months spent on the actual build during which time the couple and their two children moved out to minimise the stress of living in a building site.

The project was completed in August 2019, when the family moved back in to enjoy their stunning new home. “We just love it,” says Daniela. “There isn’t a thing we’d change. I particularly love the glazed partial partition between the kitchen and extension. We had originally imagined a completely open-plan space but Neil advised us to create some separation and we’re so pleased we took his advice.

“With the outlook to the garden, the new extension and kitchen are a joy to be in. As a family, we spend most of our time in the kitchen/dining area and during lockdown we were so grateful of the space. The flow of the house now works so well and suits us perfectly. We’re super pleased with the results and are looking forward to seeing the plants colonise the trellis as they mature and grow.

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