Sycamore Hall

John and Jean asked us to transform their small, dated bungalow into a future-proofed, sustainable retirement home. One that is full of light, warm, economic and easy to live in.

We fully reconfigured their home internally, added two small extensions and strategically placed rooflights to create the generous, light-filled living spaces they craved.

To make the most of their beautiful view we created three special windows. Two of these can be enjoyed from generous window seats giving you the feeling that you’re sat in the landscape.

An extremely thorough retrofit of insulation, triple glazed windows, air-tightness work and mechanical ventilation have made their home a wonderfully warm and quiet building to live in during their retirement.

We supported John & Jean throughout their project from planning right through to construction. We helped them to choose the right contractor, manage their costs and worked with their contractor to deliver this fantastic project to a very high standard.

“Much of the good design is summed up in the living room main window and box seat – economically enlarging an existing window space, and transforming it into one of the centre pieces of the building both visually and functionally. Young and old are drawn to it, they love it.”

John & Jean, Downsizers, Bolsterstone

Photo credit: Dug Wilders Photography

Location: Bolsterstone

Client: Private

Contractor: Terry Huggett Developments

Planning: N/A

Site: Jan 2016

Completion: May 2017

Energy consumption: 48 kWh/m2.a

Construction Cost: £1300/m2

Park Drive

Rear extension

This rear extension is conceived as a wrapping timber element that encloses a glass-backed open plan living dining space. This will give the clients a light-filled space that connects seamlessly with the garden.

Location: Doncaster

Client: Private

Planning: May 2017

Site: 2017

Completion: 2018

Energy consumption: N/A

Budget: N/A

Footgate Close

Low energy house retrofit and extension

This is a proposal to take a typical compact mid 20th century semi-detached home and extend it to create a generous family home with dramatically reduced energy use.

The side extension steps back and down with a pair of slate clad slices and these are complimented by a full width timber extension to the rear.

Proposed Enerphit energy performance.

Location: Sheffield

Client: Private

Planning: May 2017

Site: N/A

Completion: N/A

Energy consumption: 25 kWh/m2.a

Budget: £150,000

grindle cottage

Extension & retrofit to a detached Peak District house

We are adding an extension to a house in  Grindleford, where the land drops away steeply to reveal the house and the beautiful valley views. The extension and retrofit of the house changes the arrangement to be much more fluid and includes a therapy space with views to the sky.

The works including thermal, air-tightness and ventilation improvements are targeted to bring the performance of the house as close to AECB Silver standard as possible.

Location
: Grindleford, Sheffield

Type of project
: Extension and retrofit

Client
: Private

Start on site date
: Summer 2015

Expected completion date
: March 2016

Form of contract and/or procurement
: Traditional

bank head

Extension & retrofit to a house in the green belt

The original house sits above a long valley site, and the house only partially acknowledges the vast valley. A large part of the new proposal is to create large, light spaces that unlock the views out. The bedroom is situated first floor in the new 2-storey extension with views out on three sides, surrounded by nature.

The spaces facing the valley are flexible, consequently a long, fluid space can be created ending in a dining/living room with doors that open out into the garden.

Location: Bolsterstone

Client: Private

Planning: 2016

Site: 2017

Completion: 2018

Energy consumption: 31 kWh/m2.a

Budget: £250,000

northfield

Extension & retrofit to a family home

We were appointed to do a beautiful extension and retrofit in Menston, West Yorkshire. The new dramatic glazed link and extension will give a much improved kitchen, dining and utility arrangement that matches the impressive scale of the rest of the house, plus an additional bedroom to balance the first floor accommodation with the reception rooms downstairs. It promises to be delightfully light filled and warm, as energy performance levels are almost at AECB Silver.

Location: West Yorkshire

Client: Private

Planning: 2015

Site: 2015

Completion: 2016

Energy consumption: 42 kWh/m2.a

Budget: £180,000

carr road

Rear garden room extension

A small extension at the rear of the house. The extension is a beautiful additional living space between house and garden. The windows face out over the beautifully landscaped garden which itself works like a series of rooms down the hill. The sliding, folding windows allow the whole south elevation to be opened with benches that bridge the windows to give a seamless large seat hovering above the planting. The openable rooflights and generous eaves overhang help to give internal climate control and the space gives additional thermal comfort to the house in winter as it warms up quickly in the low sun.

Location: Sheffield

Client: Private

Planning: N/A

Site: 2016

Completion: 2016

Energy consumption: N/A

Budget: £ 35,000

bingham park road

Rear and porch extensions to a 1950s Sheffield semi

This is a project to extend a lovely semi in a leafy suburb of Sheffield. The steeply sloping site means that a ground floor extension gives the opportunity for a lower ground floor space.

The ground floor is extended to create a much more generous living and more formal dining area and the kitchen is moved to the lower ground floor to bring the every day kitchen and dining activities closer to the garden.

The extension also achieves a study / guest bedroom and utility and bike storage spaces.

The materiality responds very much to the existing house with a mix of brick and render. The design gives the impression of a heavy brick plinth that cradles a crisp, projecting render box (the main living space). This is ultimately a simple and economical construction, but it achieves an elegant solution that lifts the proposal above a normal extension.

Type of project
: Extension and retrofit

Client
: Private

Form of contract and/or procurement
: Traditional

Total cost: £150,000 + VAT

main road

Extension, remodel & retrofit of historic building in Holmesfield, Derbyshire

This project involves a complete renovation of the old village post house and some associated workshop buildings to create a contemporary, comfortable and sustainable home.

The collection of buildings has been a single home for some time but feels mostly uninhabitable and is a warren of poorly arranged spaces with multiple sets of narrow, steep stairs and no sense of continuity. The new design reorganizes this circulation to create a generous entrance core that provides the hinge between the original post house containing a snug, utility and two bedrooms and the workshop buildings that contain the main living, dining and kitchen spaces, a third bedroom and guest quarters.

Apart from the introduction of a new porch to signal the new entrance and that highlights the reorganization of the spaces, and a rebuilding of a small lean-to extension, little work is proposed for the exterior of the building to facilitate these changes.

It promises to be a beautiful, spacious and enjoyable family home.

Norwich Road

Lou and Jon asked us to extend their beautiful home to accommodate their growing family.

A simple, pitched roofed garden room was added to the rear of their house to provide the couple with the additional space they craved.

The garden room is separated from the main house by a lower, flat roofed link. The link forms a threshold between the existing kitchen, existing family room and new garden room. This provides separation between the spaces whilst still allowing the family to feel connected.

We also creatively incorporated an additional bedroom at attic level.

Alongside the extensions we outlined ideas for a full thermal retrofit of the house and made sure that the extension and loft conversion worked with this strategy. This will allow Lou and Jon to make incremental improvements to their home’s comfort as and when money becomes available.

“Paul Testa Architecture are very professional, have great ideas and are willing to listen to their clients. We are so happy with the finished result of our extension & loft conversion…”

Lou, Jon and Family, Upsizing, Norwich