THE EXTENDED GROUND FLOOR APARTMENT

Incorporating the side return into the interior of their maisonette gave alex Depledge and Dave cockle and their children, harper and evan, the room their home needed

‘We extended because my husband, Dave, wanted to leave London but I’m not ready to say goodbye to the city just yet, so we compromised,’ says Alex. ‘The extension gives us the extra room he was looking for, and allows us to extend our time in the city for a few more years.

‘Using the side return was the only option, as doing a rear extension would have eaten up our garden. And, as a

maisonette, we don’t have a loft or second floor to play with.

‘The best word to describe our home is long. We’re on one floor, and it just stretches all the way back.

What our side return allowed us to do is reconfigure the whole space to work better for us. Before, we had the bedrooms dotted about with the bathrooms, and there wasn’t any division between living and sleep space. Now we’ve moved all the bedrooms to the front of the house, and have the kitchen and living room at the back.

It’s a lot better when we’re entertaining as it gives us enough distance from where the kids are sleeping.

‘Before, we didn’t have a dining room, so we were mostly eating our meals in front of the TV. Now we make sure all our meals are around the table and we actually talk to each other. We’re also better connected to the garden. It’s perfect for the kids in the summer, as I can leave the doors open, they go off playing, and I can still keep an eye on what they’re up to.

‘Doing the project really changed the way we treat our home as well. We moved out during the construction, and this really gave me a kick up the bum about what we should and shouldn’t keep. I just got rid of all that old clutter. Now everything in our home has a place. It’s just made our home life so much easier, which is a blessing with a baby and a small child.’ cost AND contacts Project cost £55,000

(not including decoration and furniture) Design resi, 020 8068 4811, resi.co.uk interior design My Bespoke room, 020 3904 3800, mybespokeroom.com