‘We reinvented this dark old house’
A mega extension gave the Leipers’ gloomy Edwardian villa loads more space downstairs and up, and filled it with glorious light
When Scott Leiper decided to change the position of the kitchen in his Edwardian villa, it was the start of a much bigger project. ‘The original idea was to move the kitchen from the dark, north side of the house to a sunnier spot,’ says Scott. ‘One thing led to another and the project became a large-scale undertaking.’
scott and his wife anne approached Nikki Ritchie of Stonehaven-based Hyve Architects to design a larger kitchen and dining area. Her solution was to build a fully glazed, zinc-clad extension on one side of the building. It has a double-pitched shape that repeats the gable form of the original house. ‘I was keen to reflect the original Edwardian character of the property,’ says Scott. Architect Nikki says, ‘It’s designed to sit comfortably in a conservation area and demonstrates that modern buildings can enhance traditional settings.’
the extension has two parts: a two-storey section and a double-height section. With the space they’ve gained, the couple have replanned their rooms, so that as well as a new kitchen-diner and living space downstairs, they now have six bedrooms (formerly seven small ones), three with en suites and dressing rooms, as well as a games room in the attic.
the extension maximises light and views to the garden through the Skyframe glazing and roof windows. The interior design is contemporary, with white walls and simple grey tiled floors, in contrast to the more traditional finishes in the original part of the house.
‘the project didn’t start out ambitiously but I’m glad we did it this way,’ says Scott. ‘Our first objective – to bring in light – couldn’t have worked out better. The house is now flooded with light in the extension, hall and south side. And changing the layout means we use a lot more of the house than we did before.’
what we learned “It’s worth taking time at the space-planning stage to make sure that all the utilities can be fitted in discreetly and effectively. The extension has a piped underfloor heating system and we had to factor in a large utility room for the new boiler and hot-water tank we needed”