The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
HIGH HOPES
Katie and Joe Pickwoad needed extra space for a home office with plenty of light for Katie, an artist. To gain maximum light into a new L-shaped, lead dormer on their Victorian terrace, large, bespoke Crittall-style glass windows and four large roof lights were installed, ‘To create an inspiring workspace, full of light,’ according to Harriet Phillips of Lorne Lofts (lornelofts.com).
As well as giving views down on to the garden, the large windows (which had to be craned over the property) allow a clever view from the garden up into
the house, and through the large roof light to the sky.
The space was also designed to house a large guest bedroom with a bath, and second shower room, which sits between the bedroom and the office.
Incorporated into the design are some thoughtful material choices and clever ideas, from the lead exterior to a space-saving pocket sliding door and concealed taps. The extension adds 40 cubic metres to the house.
One of the main requirements of this renovation of a two-bedroom period maisonette in north London, was to bring as much light into the previously dark interior.
As well as overhauling the property’s layout, the clients wanted a loft extension to add a master bedroom and shower room: ‘We wanted to create the feeling of being in a whole house whereas in reality we’re in an upper-floor flat.’
Architects Dhaus (thedhaus. com) designed a double-height space that allows light to flow through the flat from the top skylight. As well as this, a Cncfabricated plywood staircase lets natural light filter through all the levels of the flat.
The building has a turret roof, which was a logistical challenge. ‘To maximise space, we inserted a giant triangular roof light that gives a view along the length of the street below,’ says Daniel Woolfson of Dhaus.
The final piece of the puzzle was the 2 x 3 metre roof terrace, which opens from the master bedroom. ‘The first time the planner said no,’ says architect David Ben-grunberg, ‘but we submitted the plans again and we got it. I’d advise people not to give up and try again if you get a no first time around.’ The extension added 40 square metres.
When interior designer Justin Coakley wanted to create a hotel-standard main bedroom in his south London house, he decided to build the extra room in the loft. As well as the main bedroom and another bathroom, he and his partner factored in a separate walk-in wardrobe area. ‘We wanted easy access to our clothes, so we chose to divide the main space and make an additional dedicated storage space,’ he says. The extension has provided an additional 30 square metres of space.
Coakley, who documents his renovations on Instagram, where he has more than 80k followers (@design_at_nineteen), likes to blend minimalism and mid-century modern styles, and the new rooms are no exception.
The bedroom and walk-in wardrobe, designed with bespoke joinery to fit the sloping ceilings, is styled with natural wood and muted greys, while the bathroom, despite being small, has ‘that luxury spa feeling’, says Coakley, thanks to stylish tiles from Ca’ Pietra and a Velux skylight housed above the shower. ‘We love starting our mornings in there,’ he adds.
The main challenge with the build was the interruptions to work last year, due to the lockdowns. ‘It did end up taking longer than we had anticipated,’ Coakley says. ‘The actual build took 10 weeks, but we couldn’t get it finished internally due to delays on materials, so it took seven months to complete it.’
He also admits to struggling to stay within budget, as they wanted a stylish, high-spec look. He advises getting three to four quotes for all the bigticket items before making a decision.
However, despite the delays, ‘The process was a lot less stressful than we had anticipated,’ he admits.