A new level of fun
Bungalows are making a comeback – Greg Toon suggests an extension to make the most of dramatic vistas
This expanded bungalow has a whole new outlook
From the outside, the bungalow that Karen Renner, a charity worker, and her husband,
Andy Leng, a teacher, share with their two teenage children looks very ordinary. But its location, near Eglingham, Northumberland, is fabulous, and offers extraordinary views.
Since moving in a few years ago, the couple has invested time and money to change the internal layout and update the decor, but they’ve yet to tackle the unexciting exterior.
THE SET-UP
Karen and Andy’s home shows little regard for its majestic setting with views out over surrounding countryside. In addition to making the bungalow more stylish, Karen and Andy would like to make the most of the views, add a conservatory, address the crumbling terrace on the sloping garden and create a proper entrance – at the moment, the way in is through a utility room at the side.
THE SOLUTION
Britain’s bungalow-style homes offer great potential for dramatic transformations. They can have some design flaws, but their linear layout is the perfect canvas for crisp, modern architecture.
Karen and Andy should start with the garage, which is oddly located at the rear of the house. It’s away from the road, so it takes a bit of manoeuvring to get the car into. Worse than that, it takes up a prime position overlooking the garden, blocking the best of the views. Converting it would give the family useful extra living space – they could relocate the dining area, for example – and a new garage could be affordably built on
land to the side of the property, with a roof in keeping with the one on the main house.
Leaving a gap between this new structure and the existing utility side wall makes space for an entrance hall, which, with tall glazing at the end, will provide stunning views from the moment people walk through the new front door.
Ideally, I’d want to integrate a conservatory into the building line. There is space behind the new garage for a room and, if the walls and part of the roof were glazed, it would make a beautiful glass-fronted conservatory that would connect with the rest of the house. A part-solid roof and a solid western flank wall will reduce the chances of the space overheating in summer, and a tall vaulted ceiling will allow rising hot air to be collected and vented out.
Karen and Andy, also want to improve the terrace area. I suggest that it should run the length of the house and be stepped, creating a couple of levels. This way, the table, chairs and other objects on the terrace won’t block views from the house to the countryside.
I’ve proposed swapping the window in the main bedroom for French doors that open out onto the terrace, and providing a larger corner window in the main living area to create a panoramic vista.
Overall, the views have been improved vertically by lowering the main terrace and providing high-level glazing to the entrance hall and conservatory; and horizontally by moving the garage, widening openings and introducing corner glazing in the living room, dining room, entrance and conservatory.
Now the extended bungalow is wider, dividing the site into an unremarkable road side and a dramatic back facing the garden, with visitors having little clue of the vista that awaits them beyond the front door.
THE VERDICT ‘Converting the garage makes sense, and the construction of a tiered terrace running the length of the house is an exciting prospect’