This suburban house in Limavady has been refurbished and extended to better suit the owners’ changing needs and allow them to express a contemporary design aesthetic they felt represented who they are.

With a quickly growing family this young couple needed additional bedroom space and just more room to breathe. The location of the house suited them so they wanted to stay if they could find a design and the space they needed. Following on from a previous refurbishment to create an open kitchen living dining space, this renovation involved a move up into the roof space to create 3 bedrooms (2 with ensuite) and a social reading space.

Situated on the very edge of a large green park to the North and with views towards the mountains to the South, the solution was to elevate and replace the existing roof with new, introducing large contemporary dormers to frame the parkland and mountain views.  The renovation included installation of a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system as well as wrapping the building in new external insulation. The new external skin and dormer windows allowed a fresh aesthetic for the building, but one that still belonged in it’s context. The original houses on the estate all have large horizontal window openings so the introduction of the new dormers was a contextual response to the Street Scene, a fact not lost on the local planning department.

This project illustrates how a smaller house can be adapted to meet its new purpose, offering its owners the chance to stay in an area they loved, but in a house that expressed who they were and  mindful of the effect their development had on their street scene. Bringing space and light and people together while capturing the best views made the project a success.