The design takes shape

Up and down the land are thousands of perfectly sound properties – often bungalows – waiting for the right person to breathe new life into them. For one nondescript 1920s dormer bungalow in rural Derbyshire, those people were Martin and Gill Sutcliffe, who set out to enlarge the property, create light-filled open-plan spaces, and make the home accessible for their adult son Henry, who uses a wheelchair.

What makes their story so remarkable is that they’d previously lived in the same bungalow for 20 years. They sold it to a good friend when they relocated to Bristol for Martin’s work, before retiring back to the area a few years later. In a neat turn of fate, it happened that their friend was ready to sell the bungalow back to them.

Both enjoyed living in the bungalow and knew every skirting board, door handle and light switch. “It was my little stronghold,” says Gill. But moving back after so long was strangely unnerving. “When you come back, you see it with a fresh eye. On my first night back, I looked around and thought — what have we done?” says Martin.

“Like many houses of the era it had been designed to a pattern design and plonked on the site. But these old buildings are built well, and they’re adaptable. I do believe that these buildings can change with time.”

Fortunately, Martin is a retired commercial architect and Gill has some clear ideas about interiors. Neither wanted to demolish and rebuild, so instead they sketched out their ideas to significantly extend and remodel the bungalow. They worked through the concept with Leicester-based Feldmann Architects;