Future perfect
Needing more space and a modern dwelling to suit their needs, Richard and Tory Benson opted to buy a detached mid-century house and transform it into the high-tech family home of their dreams
In pursuit of more room for their growing family, Richard and Tory Benson transformed a dated mid 20th century dwelling in north London into a spacious, high-tech house
Richard and Tory Benson had been looking to upsize to cater for their growing family. Location was key to their search. e couple wanted to stay in their preferred area of north London to raise their two daughters, as it’s close to both transport links and the countryside to enjoy family walks.
However, they soon realised their only option in the area was to buy an existing property and substantially remodel it by adding a large extension to the rear and redesigning the interior layout.
“ere weren’t many houses to suit us,” says Richard. “But this property had an amazing feel and we knew we could transform it into what we needed, which was a family home.” e pair felt ready to take on a big project and agreed that a renovation was the best way forward. “It was still a cheaper option than a move-in-ready house, and we knew we would’ve changed the property anyway.”
Challenges ahead
It took the family two years to move into their home after securing the house. e first year, the Bensons found themselves waiting for the property chain to move forward – they had to sell their dwelling and the previous owner had yet to find somewhere to buy.
Once the transfer was complete, however, several more months elapsed before works began. “e council was minded to refuse our project plans,” says Richard. e main issue arose due to the size of the proposed addition, since the property had already been extended in the past. Secondly, a neighbour was opposed to the idea of the Bensons extending and had asked other locals to object, too.
Richard engaged consultants DP9 to review the case. e firm’s specialists helped the Bensons prepare extra documentation for the officers, prompting them to change their minds. However, due to the number of objections from the other residents, they were still called to committee. “We argued the case and secured consent, albeit with some concessions to keep the neighbours happy,” says Richard.
Moving forward
From the start, the scheme was very much a team effort. e pair hired Michael Bell of Pure Design to lead the project, along with
Point 5 Kitchens to create storage throughout the dwelling and Griana Construction, who acted as the main contractor.
Michael and the Bensons made the best of the long delays with planning to improve the home’s layout and keep family at the heart of every decision. “I wanted to apply logic to the drawings,” says Richard, who gave a great deal of thought to how the home would be used by everyone on a day-to-day basis.
e substantial works that followed included adding a new 6m deep extension to the ground floor – which comprises the kitchen and family TV zone, as well as dining and sitting areas. Most striking of all, this space has 12m of glazing overlooking the vast garden.
e Bensons also created a new master bedroom with an ensuite, dressing room and kitchenette on the second floor, while the middle storey has four bedrooms and a laundry zone. e remainder of the ground floor is now divided into a home cinema, a study and a gym.
When making such massive changes, however, there’s always a chance of encountering issues with the structural fabric. In the newly extended open-plan family space, the removal of a wall made it necessary to fit a massive steel RSJ that affected heights across the area. e Benson’s solution was to create stepped ceilings with inset lighting in the different zones. It brought added benefits, too. “Leaving it flush would have made the area feel stark,” says Richard.
e couple chose Lightwave for the insets, a smart home system which is programmable via their phones and required only a simple swap out from the regular switch. “I love my gadgets,” says Richard. He also installed a Sonos wireless sound scheme throughout the ground floor, which can deliver music and TV via wifi. e home cinema – a family favourite – can be switched on or off remotely, too, thanks to the AV Lounge high-tech scheme. Heating and CCTV security is also managed with their phones. “Tory was worried that it would be too complicated,” says Richard. “But I think it’s just stuff you would expect to see in a modern house.”
Well-planned zones
e care that went into designing the lighting and audio schemes is indicative of the Benson’s attention to detail throughout the project. inking ahead about how they’d be using the spaces, Richard and Tory chose to add a boot room with a shower where they can wash their dog’s paws to avoid muddy marks in the house.
is feels like our forever home, where our children will come back to
Formerly wasted space in a corridor between the cinema and the culinary zone became a small bespoke bar built by Point 5 Kitchen.
e team also created the clever pull-out storage under the stairs on the ground floor for the family to keep their coats and shoes.
With all these changes, the Bensons have proved it is possible to get a home tailored to one’s needs without building from scratch; it just requires extra thought, creativity and careful planning.
Similar processes went into the family’s decision to repurpose the garage. e original was too small for contemporary vehicles, so they sacrificed it and divided the space into three zones. e front section is now used for storage of larger items and the middle was made into a utility room – accessible from the kitchen. e rear section houses the new central heating system by Heatmiser.
Made for success
e kitchen itself is central to the family-oriented design of the dwelling. Sleek cupboard-style doors conceal a walk-in larder, while the standout feature is a 3m long breakfast bar with LED lighting around the worktop edges. Both this and the upstand are made from Corian, a unique acrylic polymer blended with natural minerals that is hard, non-porous and easy to clean. “We’ve had it before,” says Richard. “It’s a material that will really last.”
Tory was heavily involved in designing the culinary zone, along with Joe from Point 5 Kitchens, whose work throughout the house the couple describe as excellent. In fact, the Bensons chose all their contractors well. ey called in for quotes from various experienced traders for the building work, but went with Goriana Construction, as they had used the company in the past.
Richard maintains that the key aspect to the project’s success was communication – both between themselves and the contractors, as well as between the different trades. To aid this, the couple set up a Whatsapp group that enabled everyone to keep up to date with progress. An indication of how well this idea panned out is the lack of any serious delays in the seven month build schedule.
Staying on top of finances
Although the scheme ran smoothly, Richard admits he did dig into his contingency. “I tried to apply the budget as rationally as possible,” he says. is involved spending on good quality items where it mattered – such as going for poured resin floors throughout the ground floors, bathrooms, stairs and landings.
“I had tiles before,” says Tory. “e grout gets really dirty and it never looks finished. I just love the one piece, pure clean lines of the resin. It’s so easy to clean and it feels soft and warm when you walk barefoot.” Elsewhere, they chose the more affordable option of laminate flooring from Kronospan.
Another area where the couple saved money was the windows. ey used ultraslim, 22mm frame units for the sliding doors across the back of the new extension but decided to go for conventional replacement products elsewhere on the property. “e most difficult part of the project for me was keeping control of costs,” says Richard.
“ere was a finite budget, but we’re glad there were no awful compromises.”
e glazing is something of a triumph, as it is the focus of the central family area. Richard and Tory resisted the idea of bifold doors, despite their popularity with selfbuilders and renovators, and chose sliders instead. “is is England, not LA,” says Richard. “We needed plenty of light in the back of the extension and you can barely see the 22mm frames. ey allow the maximum amount of natural light in and views out to the garden are unobstructed. We do a lot of entertaining there. Everyone loves it.”
Final thoughts
After a two-year wait from exchange to moving in, Richard and Tory finally have the family home they have always wanted. “Sometimes I can’t quite believe it’s my place,” says Tory. During the works, the couple lived in rented accomodation nearby and only settled into their new dwelling once all works had finished.
Richard, who thoroughly appreciated the renovation process, says they have no plans for any more building work in the future. “I enjoyed taking a blank canvas and constructing a dwelling that’s the right fit,” he says. “is house was built for us to be a family. It feels like our forever home, where our children will come back to.”