Single-Storey Homes:
From introducing natural light to connecting to the garden, we share our design secrets to creating a great single-storey home
The Ultimate Design Masterclass
Single-storey living can offer a number of benefits — accessibility, futureproofing and the opportunity to connect to the garden being among them. But despite the many plus points, the word ‘bungalow’ still throws up negative connotations for some.
“People tend to think of post-war, poorly constructed properties, and even I was paranoid about building a ‘bungalow’!” admits architect Stephen Blowers of Designcubed, whose clever London-based, single-storey self-build was covered in the pages of this magazine some years ago. “In order to stop my self-build feeling like one, I specified big windows and plenty of rooflights, and adopted a split-level living area, where the lounge steps down by 0.5m from the open plan kitchen diner.”
Building a new single-storey house or renovating an existing bungalow presents a opportunity to create a unique home, tailored around your needs.
The secret to making single-storey living work for you is a clever design scheme. Here, we set out the top design considerations and solutions, with a little help from design experts well versed in the art of designing ‘bungalows’.
separating living spaces from bedroom accommodation
“In the UK, it’s part of our culture that we like to feel that we’re going somewhere to go to sleep, which is easily defined within two-storey homes,” begins Stephen Blowers. “In Europe, single-storey houses are more common. Quite often bedrooms will lead straight off the main open plan living area — in this country we feel uncertain about that as it’s not what we’re familiar with.”
As such, creating separation between the living and sleeping quarters is a priority for many when designing a single-storey home. Your layout will be dictated by many factors, including the site, but the form will have one of the biggest impacts on where you position the bedrooms.
“A lot of linear buildings [such as longhouses, found on the coast and in Scotland] will have a corridor running down one length of the building, with all the bedrooms leading off, while the living accommodation is positioned to the other side of the house,” begins architect Darren Bray of PAD Studio. “This arrangement can also help dampen sounds coming from an open plan living space. For ultimate privacy, position the master bedroom at the end of this corridor.”
L, H and U-shaped floorplans offer opportunity to separate out public and more private space. “When separating the living and sleeping accommodation in our own single-storey home, we did it in blocks, with a door between the two to keep the public and private areas separate and create a clear transition from daytime to nighttime,” explains Stephen Blowers of Designcubed.
Strom Architects has taken a rather different
approach in some of its projects, as architect Will Mathers explains: “While some houses will have the bedrooms to one side and the living spaces to the other, in projects I’ve worked on we tend to centre the open plan family space – the kitchen, dining, living areas – and bookend this with the other accommodation. The Quest, for example [shown on page 102], has a master bedroom suite at one end of the home, with the guest bedrooms and home offices at the other end of the long living space. If there’s only two people living in the house, this format allows the guest bedrooms to be closed off when not in use.”
As these examples go to show, there are various methods of separating bedrooms from living spaces. Your architect or designer will be able to work up a floorplan which works for you, while also factoring in privacy and practicality.
enhancing security
“When it comes to security, you don’t need to make any more or less measures than you would with a two-storey house,” says architect Martin Bell of Transform Architects.
“However, I think some people can feel uncomfortable with bedrooms on the ground floor. For those who like a window open at night, you can specify night vent systems which open to a maximum of 99mm. Sensors on the windows can also be added for security measures, along with the usual alarms and locks on the doors.
“For clients with disabilities, we will also put a smoke alarm in every room. This might sound extreme, but smoke has to travel 3m before an alarm is raised and by this time the room with the fire could be causing serious damage; an alarm in each room will alert the homeowner at the earliest opportunity.”
introducing natural light
“One of the key design principles for successful single-storey new builds is avoiding overly deep floorplans,” begins Michael Holmes, Chair of the National Self and Custom Build Association. “This will inevitably lead to rooms ‘locked’ within the footprint which do not have external walls — in turn, the opportunity for windows and/or doors to the garden is lost.”
Avoiding box-like forms and opting for long, linear floorplans or U, L or T-shaped arrangements will enable most rooms to benefit from a view of the outdoors. The latter could also allow you to create a sheltered courtyard garden.
Where you do have a courtyard arrangement, be sure to take privacy into account when positioning the glazing — inward-facing rooms may inevitably overlook one another. In this instance, you might find architectural as well as landscaping devices can help to screen off rooms from view, including
remote obscured glazing, shutters, and even trees or planting which still provide a pleasant outlook.
On some sites, deep floorplans and internal rooms or circulation space will be inevitable. But there are ways of enhancing these spaces. Rooflights can bring in light from above. Lightpipes are another means of introducing natural light into the heart of a floorplan.
connecting to the landscape
Glass is a fundamental material for allowing lateral homes to feel connected with the outdoors. Importantly, glazing can help rooms feel larger, too, as Will Mathers explains: “To make open plan family spaces feel more generous in single-storey homes, a great tip is to have one side of the space completely of glass.
“It’s a great visual effect as it feels like you’re borrowing space from outside and that the outdoor areas are part of the room.”
breaking up the façade
One challenge when building a long, linear property is how to add interest to the façade. “Designing a horizontal plane is not that dissimilar to designing a vertical plane,” says architect Martin Bell. “If you’re looking to combine materials, say render and timber, where you might have different materials for first and ground floor on two-storey homes, you can relieve certain elements of a singlestorey building to provide interest, such as gables and projecting elements of the building.”
“In terms of elevation, by creating a couple of planes it is possible to add interest,” continues Will Mathers. “A porch, for instance, jutting out from the rest of the elevation could be clad in one material, while the rest of the home is wrapped in another material — almost like a drawer coming out of a cabinet.”
It is important to remember that the choice of your cladding materials will also be affected by the local vernacular, and perhaps your local planning authority (more on page 125).
the importance of roof design
One major decision is whether you’ll opt for a pitched or flat roof; the latter tends to lend itself to more contemporary designs.
“Flat roofs are ideal for keeping the property low-profile too, and avoid impeding on the neighbours’ views if you’re being overlooked,” adds Will Mathers of Strom Architects.
“We used solid concrete as the flat roof material on The Quest; however, traditionally a single-ply membrane would be used,” he says. “The flat roofs of the past with their leaky membranes put a lot of people off; however, these products have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Companies such as Bauder also offer a green roof system where you could have anything from a sedum to a wild flower meadow over the membrane, and helps embed the property within the surroundings.”
Internally, your ceilings can help transform a single-storey home into something rather special
— allowing opportunity for vaulted ceilings under pitched roofs, for instance.
You can add drama with varying ceiling heights too, as Alan Dickson of Rural Design points out: “Taller ceilings in living spaces work effectively and create a sense of volume, while bedrooms and bathrooms could have a lower ceiling height. If you’re going to make the most of the height of a building, however, you’ll need to decide on this early on as your roof structure will inform this — a trussed roof, for instance, isn’t going to be suitable for creating a vaulted ceiling; your architect will be able to inform your decision.”
consider proportions
When it comes to proportions, there are general rules to follow in terms of practical living space. “Think about how many people will be using the rooms, and look at standard furniture sizes — you don’t want to have a room so large that you need eight sofas to fill it, and likewise you need space to accommodate your furniture with room to move around,” explains Neil Stephen of Dualchas.
“Think of focal points too; a 5m x 3m room might feel long and narrow, but it’s how you dress
the space, where you choose to position windows, the TV, a fireplace and so on.”
“If you’re also designing your internal spaces with accessibility in mind, you’ll be working off a wheelchair plan,” adds Martin Bell. “For circulation areas, door openings and rooms, you’ll need to make sure spaces are wide enough to accommodate turning circles for wheelchairs. Corridors spanning 6ft wide is also recommended, and level thresholds are a given.”
discreet parking
One of the challenges when positioning the home on the site is where to position the parking. After all, you don’t want to feel like you’re overlooking a carpark when sitting in the living room, or from bedroom windows.
In order to screen the parking from the building, introducing trees, hedges and borders as part of your landscaping scheme can help to provide the interiors with a more pleasant outlook. Better still, include a garage or carport to the side or away from the main house itself.
“As for driveways, try to use more organic materials such as shingle, gravel or stones found from the local vernacular instead of a harsh tarmac,” says architect Darren Bray of PAD Studio.
creating the illusion of space
In cases where you’re limited on space, incorporating various areas (kitchen, dining, family room) into one open plan area will help the room to feel larger. Tall ceilings can also create the illusion of a larger, more generous space.
“The key message we try to get across to people is that spaces can be flexible — and to also consider rooms you actually need. Just because you’re used to having five bedrooms doesn’t mean you still need five bedrooms, especially if the kids have flown the nest and you don’t have guests over all the time,” explains Darren Bray. “Some clients forget they’re in a position to downsize, and when you’re restricted on space you have to prioritise what you need instead of what you want.”
a final note on build costs
Single-storey buildings are inevitably going to be more expensive to build per m2 than two-storey homes. “If you’re looking to achieve the same footprint as a two-storey home, you’re going to incur the costs of double the foundations and double the roof — not to mention wider wall spans,” explains Martin Bell. “People also forget that two-storey houses save on space. A 300m2 house will ordinarily be 150m2 over two floors — a single-storey property will need a plot large enough to accommodate a 300m2 property, ideally with outdoor amenity space.”
One way to help save on groundworks costs, however, is to work with the landscape. “If there is a slight change in level, incorporating this into the design with a step down can solve the costly issue of having to level the site, and can also be used to zone spaces too,” explains Alan Dickson from Rural Design.“The most cost-effective layout will be a simple box, and it’s compatible with most sites. It’s when you introduce turns and corners with L, U and T-shaped floorplans that the cost increases,” concludes architect Martin Bell.