IN A COUNTRY KITCHEN

RENOVATION GUIDE

Done well, glass extensions on period properties can add a real, yet sympathetic, style statement Brick or stone extensions can blend seamlessly with the original parts of the property, so that the character of the house is maintained

Besides boosting your home’s floor space, an extension can help pave the way for a reconfigured layout that complements your lifestyle. But there’s a lot to consider before going full steam ahead with an extension project, so before anything else you should identify your needs. Do you need a bigger kitchen or living space? A separate bedroom or a laundry room? Once you’ve highlighted the key functions you want from your extension, the design process can begin and you can decide what type of extension best suits your requirements, as well as your budget.

Taking into consideration the age and style of your country property is important, so that your new extension will complement the existing structure. Work closely alongside architects and builders with experience on similar projects, and always ask to see examples of past work or talk to the firm’s previous clients before making your decision. Get it right and you’ll enhance the look and feel of your property, increase its value and create additional living space.

HOW DO I DECIDE WHICH TYPE OF EXTENSION TO BUILD?

The most common types of extensions are rear, side-returns, wrap-arounds and two-storey designs. What you can do to your property will largely be determined by the size and location of your house, the extent of your budget, and any planning restrictions.

DO I NEED AN ARCHITECT?

While it isn’t essential to bring a professional on board, a designer’s vision will help you make the most of the space you have available. Their insight on positioning, structural systems and building materials can make a huge >

A single rear extension is one of the most popular choices, as they tend to be the most straightforward in design

The pitched roof of this bespoke oak-framed extension by Oakwrights creates a vaulted, airy space inside

difference. An architect’s knowledge and experience can prove invaluable when dealing with listed buildings, or ensuring your new design is sympathetic to the period of your property. Having an expert involved can also help when construction begins – particularly if you encounter any unforeseen issues once you’ve broken ground.

DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION?

Many extension schemes can be achieved under permitted development rights, but anything that’s pushing the boundaries in terms of design is likely to require formal consent from your local authority. Likewise, if you live in a conservation area or area of outstanding natural beauty, you will need planning permission to go ahead. Working with an architect or planning consultant can increase your chances of success at this stage

The subtle ‘Verdi’ colour selected for this Montpelier Joinery project brings a sense of calm to the space

as they will be aware of local planning policy. It can also help to find similar extensions in your area, as these can serve as a precedent for your project.

WHAT ABOUT MY NEIGHBOURS?

Once your design concept has been drawn up, it’s courteous to touch base with neighbours and keep them informed. Should you need planning consent, their support could be crucial for the scheme’s success. Be aware, if you’re creating a new shared boundary wall or excavating within 3m of your neighbour’s house, you’ll need to send them a party wall notice.

WHAT MATERIALS SHOULD I CONSIDER?

Think about whether you want the extension to blend in with the rest of the property, or if you want to make more of a statement. Oakframed extensions suit country-style

This traditional-style bespoke kitchen design by Martin Moore, starting at £35,000, sits within a light-filled rear extension thanks to the full-length sliding glass doors and skylight

R E N O V A T I O N G U I D E

homes aesthetically and can be sustainably sourced, though you will need to hire contractors who specialise in this type of design. Bricks and stone are also popular if you are looking to match with the existing property, whereas glass designs make a striking statement.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

It vastly depends on the size of the build, though as a guide you could expect a straightforward single rear extension to take around three-tofour months. You will also need to factor in the design and planning stage, as well as lead times for commissioning joinery.

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT EXTENSIONS?

Rear extensions are a good option if you have enough garden space to spread into and are popular for those looking to create an openplan living space. Depending on how they are constructed, you can lose a lot of light in the middle rooms of your house.

Side-return extensions are commonly seen on terraces or semi-detached houses, as they can make use of the unused side passage alongside the property. They are generally small projects so don’t cost as much as other types.

A wraparound extension adds space to both the rear and sides of your property, so can substantially increase the square footage to your home. By their nature, these are extensive, costly, projects that create a lot of disruption.

Two-storey extensions provide you with more space overall, allowing you to add another bedroom or bathroom upstairs, as well as more space on the ground floor. However, they will require full planning permission, which can be difficult to obtain if the design drastically changes the view or impacts neighbours.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

As a guide, you should set aside between £1,100 and £1,300sq m for small, single-storey schemes, and between £1,300 and £1,500sq m for two-storey extensions. Allow at least £2,500sq m for large-scale projects or those featuring high-spec materials. It’s also a sensible idea to ring-fence a 10% contingency fund.

Sourcebook

Our pick of extensions experts

Wooden sleepers mark a curving grassy path flanked by snowdrops, hellebores and red dogwood winter stems

AT H O M E W I T H . . .

Owners John and Jackie Copping, a retired counsellor and textile artist. House Longyard Cottage, dating from the 1740s, in Nazeing, Essex. Features A large garden with broad lawns shaded in summer by willows, birches and beeches, and home to countless naturalised snowdrops in winter. The borders provide colour every season. Soil Clay sub-soil, but having been worked over a few centuries, now a neutral loam. Aspect Front garden faces east. T he first encounter with John and Jackie Copping’s garden presents a series of beckoning paths that wander idly through woodland, past borders, to linger in shady retreats or sunlit spaces. ‘I like things to flow — after all, there’s no such thing as a straight line in nature,’ says Jackie.

Her concept is based on the idea of a journey, which is depicted through the use of paths, some of which are clear, while others are more obscure. ‘I wanted the garden to be meaningful — everything has a deeper connection,’ she explains. Beneath a great willow lies a grass spiral cut into the turf in ever-decreasing circles. ‘Following the path, without needing to think where you are going, provides an opportunity for thoughts to emerge,’ she explains, ‘and, on reaching the touchstone in the middle, you can stop and reflect.’

While the paths, created from gravel, mown grass, bark, wood or stepping stones, form the garden’s structure, it is the planted beds and layout that create points of interest along the way.

Twenty-five years since the couple moved in, little of the original planting survives save an old apple tree, several birches and willows in the front garden. Today, it is John and Jackie’s seven grandchildren who frequent the garden, each new birth celebrated with the planting of a Betula albosinensis ‘Fascination’, creating a small spinney near the driveway.

The garden started to take shape when John meticulously shaved away the soil around the sides of the house to create gentle, sloping paths in place of pre-existing steps. ‘We wanted to create a smooth, unbroken transition from one area to another,’ she says.

Once the paths were laid, the borders fell into place as part of the journey through the garden. Each one has evolved according>

A sunlit winter garden with silver birch trees, box balls and naturalised snowdrops surrounding a lawn with decorative spiral design

to its conditions — shady, sunny, dry or wet. In winter, there are carpets of snowdrops naturalised in the lawns, while the borders are filled with coloured stems, hellebores, tiny reticulata irises and fragrant plants — witch hazels, viburnums and winter jasmine. ‘The strength of this garden in winter is its structure,’ she adds.

Jackie’s skill as a textile artist manifests in the clever use of colours and textures to create dynamic planting schemes in which individual plants come to the fore through the seasons. In spring, the garden becomes increasingly enclosed as leaves unfurl on limes, blackthorn, parrotia, willow and beech. Meanwhile, the woodland fills out with forget-me-nots, cow parsley and buttercups. ‘I love the relaxed looseness of the primroses and long grasses, although John would prefer more control.’ Forget-me-nots are a staple, filling bare gaps throughout the year. ‘They’re happy, undemanding plants that then make great compost,’ she says.

Jackie is especially drawn to the intense colour of plants. Summer heralds a succession of oriental poppies, ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas, hardy geraniums, verbenas, alchemilla and heleniums. Then, come winter, it is the coppery red flowers of witch hazel ‘Diane’, flaming stems of Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ or rich pink clusters on Viburnum bodnantense that stand out on the dullest day. However, the true stars of the show are the snowdrops that flower in the lawns.

The first snowdrops came from a neighbour. ‘Her garden was a mass of snowdrops, and she told us to help ourselves, so we planted them “in the green” in the front garden,’ says Jackie. Disappointingly, squirrels ate all but one, so the next year snowdrops were planted in the back garden where they readily established, spreading year >

CH&I loves... GROWING SNOWDROPS

• Available in single or double flowers, every one of 1,500+ named cultivars has distinctive markings in green or yellow on the inner or outer petals. • Try Galanthus G. ‘S. Arnott’ which has a great scent, multiplies quickly and is relatively disease resistant; or Galanthus ‘Straffan’ that bears two flowers per bulb. • Buy them in the green – they establish better, and tend not to be scrubbed up by squirrels. • Leaving the bulbs until the foliage has completely died down allows them to absorb nutrients and replenish for the next year. • To avoid the risk of virus infection, only buy or swap bulbs from trusted sources. • Plant twice as deep as the bulb is long, and 5cm apart in well-drained soil with added grit and organic matter such as rotted leaf mould. • Snowdrops won’t thrive beneath evergreens, so plant in light, sheltered positions with deciduous plants. • Good planting companions include winter aconites, Crocus sieberi, Cyclamen coum, species hellebores, and reticulata irises.

A frosty country garden with a rustic wooden dining set in front of a summerhouse and bed planted with brilliant red winter stems of dogwood

O N O U R D O O R S T E P. . .

Visit... Silver Birches, Quendon Drive, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1LG For opening times see ngs.org.uk Go for a meal at... ‘King Harold’s Head in Nazeing, which serves fresh, home-cooked food (newkingharoldshead.co.uk).’ Shop atÉ Matthew’s Plants, Hadley Nurseries, Roydon, is a pleasure to visit with very knowledgeable staff (matthewsplants.co.uk).’ on year. ‘Symbolising hope and rebirth, snowdrops are especially pertinent in light of the coronavirus epidemic’, says Jackie.

Being at the summit of a hill, the garden is windy, but Jackie finds the sound and sight of wind moving trees exhilarating. ‘I particularly love to see and hear the wind rustling the Miscanthus giganteus — it has a majestic feel as it bends and sways,’ says Jackie. Cutting this towering ornamental grass back each winter is a labour of love, but seeing the stripped, golden stems shining in a wintry sun more than compensates. Growing well over two metres tall, the line of Miscanthus giganteus separates the patio area from the driveway, forming a dense leafy screen in summer.

Originally the patio was shaded by one of two centenarian walnut trees. ‘Then, without warning, one of them fell down in front of my eyes,’ explains Jackie. The walnut lives on as slices of trunk, incorporated into paths around the garden, or tucked away as havens for insects. Inevitably, they are also home to slugs and snails, a constant challenge. ‘And the occasional deer takes the heads off whatever they fancy, but it’s such a privilege to see them in the garden,’ she adds. A compost heap is tucked away in a shady corner, generating as much as they need to regularly mulch the borders.

Over the years, Jackie and John have absorbed influence from many people and their gardens, but she especially recalls the Garden of Cosmic Speculation created by Charles Jencks in Scotland. ‘It felt like our own garden, but on a much larger scale, and reminded me not to lose sight of our concept.’

John and Jackie plant to open the garden in aid of the National Garden Scheme on Valentine’s Day. Visit ngs.org.uk