People often assume that as architects we design whole buildings, which we do, but we are often asked to re-design just the interior.
Very often people still love the house that they live in or its location, but the flow or the feel of the building no longer suits their needs. Growing families, or the way we live means that our needs often change.
Some people may choose to move, but others, like the ones we work with, decide to change their building to make it work for them. Sometimes this may mean adding extra rooms, or choosing multi functioning rooms which can be more useful than defined spaces. Sometimes changing windows and doors can update the look of the building and have a dramatic effect, whilst re-ordering of the interior layout can change the feel. Although this does obviously involve significant investment, it can eliminate costly moving expenses.
Modern living has certainly changed the way we currently live in our homes. Gone are the days of individual rooms, with numerous corridors and rooms off of rooms. More ‘in vogue’ are open plan living spaces, which encourages social interaction with family and friends. Walls are being removed and ‘rooms’ are being defined by the placement of furniture, rugs and colour schemes.
We are currently working on a number of re-ordering schemes, including a barn conversion that was originally converted 10 years ago. It required a new scheme to re-plan the internal layout. We have moved internal walls and doorways, adapted the trusses in the upstairs rooms to remove low hanging beams, enabling ease of movement in the bedroom spaces and added an addition en-suite bathroom.
New windows and additional roof lights have been added to improve lighting. The staircase has been reconfigured to provide a large entrance hall which leads into a large open plan ground floor space that includes a lounge, dining area and a large kitchen in the central hub of the house. The large entrance with double height glazing has become an ‘indoor conservatory’ and the upper area has a large balcony.
The new design received full planning permission and works were completed November 2017.