Nicola Thomas gives one couple’s home the modern update they’ve been waiting for

This week we wanted to write about what happens when a house is almost perfect, but not quite. That’s what happened with Emma and Keith: they found a great house in a perfect location, but… “The house had great space and exactly the open-plan layout we were looking for but it wasn’t our style,” explained Emma diplomatically. The house that Emma and Keith found in Hove had the right layout and a great many other positives. Sadly, the developer had compromised the design by using cheaper materials.

The couple sensed the house had more to offer, and they were right… enter ARCH-angels! Emma and Keith moved into the guest room while the house was being modernised. Whilst staying there, they realised that the low eaves caused a challenge. “The Toblerone shaped roof meant that the room felt cramped. We approached ARCH-angels asking if we could have a dormer on the back instead” said Emma. However, due to permitted development restrictions on new houses such as this, permission was denied.

Identity crisis
All was not lost as permission was granted for a gable instead. Although this adds more bulk to the roof, it’s more in-keeping with the original plans for the building and the couple have ended up with a larger and more attractive space.

The couple were delighted, but there was another niggle; although there were a few tweaks to be made inside the property, the layout and space were pretty much ideal. Some of the outside, however, didn’t match the modern space inside. This property had an identity crisis.

Together with Emma and Keith we decided to add sweet chestnut timber cladding and render to the external walls. This look was far more what they had in mind when starting their property search, and the couple were surprised at how cheap and easy it was to transform the property and give it the appearance that it was originally intended to have.

Emma and Keith’s contemporary home is unrecognisable from the standard developer new build it once was – both inside and out – and is now exactly as they want it to be.
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