Victorian extension

A three-storey extension has transformed the frontage of Lucy and Robin Galloway’s period home while maintaining its charm and character.

Lucy and Robin Galloway’s one-bedroom flat in south London was an ideal base for the young couple who worked in the City and enjoyed a busy lifestyle.

‘When our son Blair was born, our priorities changed to focus on the family and we decided to look for a house with more space, somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of the capital,’ says Lucy. ‘We sat down with a map and looked at locations in a circular radius within an hour’s train journey to London, so Robin could commute easily to work.’

Their search included several counties, and the couple eventually fell in love with the city of Winchester in Hampshire.

‘Once we’d walked around this lovely old cathedral town, we knew it was perfect for us, so we registered with the local estate agents,’ says Lucy. ‘Almost immediately, we received an email alerting us to a house that was about to come on to the market.’

The property details suited the couple, so they arranged for the first available viewing that weekend. It was a classically proportioned Victorian villa with a dated interior and a rather unattractive frontage. There was also a conservatory that had been added more than 25 years ago, but they could see that there was potential so they offered the full asking price.

‘We looked beyond its faults and were keen to turn it into a comfortable family home,’ Lucy explains. ‘In fact, we weren’t looking to take on a project – it was the last thing I wanted with a nine-week-old child.’

Once the sale had gone through, they moved in and started making plans, which turned out to be more major than they had originally planned.

Lucy and Robin outlined their vision to local architect Huw Thomas (huwthomasarchitects.co.uk), who produced the plans for the property, which included a three-storey extension at the front. This was designed to create a larger hallway with a downstairs cloakroom, a new master en suite on the first floor plus a double bedroom on the second floor.

‘We submitted the planning application to the council – but they rejected it, preferring instead a two-storey extension with a flat roof,’ Lucy remembers. ‘But we wanted to create a symmetry to the house and felt that a compromise structure wouldn’t work visually.’

The couple didn’t give up, however, as Lucy explains: ‘I found out that if we could obtain seven letters of approval from our neighbours, the council would have to look at the planning application again.’

Lucy, delighted with her discovery, began knocking on doors and was thrilled by the reaction from their immediate neighbours, who were happy to support the couple’s planned extension.

‘One of our neighbours actually took a day off work to come with us to the appeal session and spoke on our behalf. Robin and I were so grateful to them,’ says Lucy. ‘Huw, our architect, was brilliant as he outlined the planned structure – he even produced a beautiful watercolour of how it would look. The plan was approved unanimously.’

It had taken two years to secure planning permission, but now the build could go ahead. The first job for the builders was to demolish the old conservatory to make way for a new house frontage.

‘We were also keen to crack on with the extension,’ says Lucy. ‘By then, Euan, our second son, had been born, so we decided to rent a flat while the builders started work. We visited the house every weekend to check on its progress, which went well and was completed within six months.’

The box structure extension was linked sympathetically to the original Victorian design without any problems.

‘Our builder sourced modern red bricks to match the Victorian brickwork and used a smooth sand and cement render, which was painted white,’ Lucy explains.

The family moved back into their home just one week before Christmas, and Lucy began work on the interior schemes as soon as the festivities were over, having planned them for more than two years.

‘The sale of our flat funded the cost of the extension, which left £30,000 remaining,’ says Lucy. ‘Robin was happy to give me a free hand with the interior design. He was quite shocked at the price of some things, but he’s very happy with the end results.’

Their spacious new entrance hallway still features the original Victorian staircase.

‘Every spindle had to be re-pinned, however, as they were dangerously loose,’ Lucy explains. ‘We also covered the original floorboards with new timber as they were gappy and draughty – we took the opportunity to install underfloor heating at the same time.’

The sitting room, which is opposite the staircase, has been redecorated throughout.

‘It had been furnished Victorian-style, with heavy gold wallpaper and floor-to-ceiling curtains. It was good quality, but not to my taste,’ says Lucy. ‘I chose a bold contemporary wallpaper that gives a nod to the Victorian era and teamed it with red blinds to show off the bay window rather than overwhelming it with curtains.’

Their dining room remains largely unchanged, but classic furnishings have brought it up-to-date.

‘We love entertaining – and it’s a great sized room for it,’ says Lucy. ‘The original Victorian kitchen was in there. It was lacking natural light though, so I painted the floorboards white and chose pale furniture, which works perfectly to reflect light around the space.’

The kitchen has been left relatively untouched as the units were only two years old when they moved in, which they thought would be a shame to replace.

‘I simply painted the walls to freshen it up,’ says Lucy. ‘Now that the rest of the house is finished, I would like to knock through to the dining room and create one large space with a contemporary kitchen. It’s on my to-do list.’

On the first floor, the guest bedroom and master bedroom have been redecorated.

‘An interior designer once told me that if you want rooms to flow together visually, you should choose one colour scheme, so I followed that advice for the master bedroom and en suite,’ Lucy reveals.

The second floor is a family space with a second guest bedroom as well as a new bathroom, which was created from an unused box room by removing part of the landing and repositioning the doorway.

‘It has no natural light, so the design had to be simple with light colours, although the green tiles give it an edge,’ says Lucy.

Euan’s and Blair’s bedroom is in the former family bathroom, so converting it caused a few problems.

‘When the builders took out the old boiler in there, it exposed an opening in an exterior wall, so the walls had to be patched up, plus there was a leaking shower which had to be removed,’ Lucy explains.

The couple can now look back at their efforts with a sense of pride.

‘All those planning problems are well behind us now,’ says Lucy. ‘The interior is perfect for a family, especially with the extra space provided by the extension, but the exterior is the real success. I have had complete strangers knock on our door to commend us for it.’

WORDS CAROLINE FOSTER PHOTOGRAPHS NICK HIGGINS
Featured in the February 2012 issue of Real Homes