Remodel - upwards and sideways bungalow extension

Space Invaders

This case study is from SelfBuild & Design November 2021 | Buy this issue | Subscribe

Richard Keating has transformed his grandmother’s dated semi-detached bungalow in Scotland by extending upwards and sideways to create a colourful two-storey family home.

Story: Debbie Jeffery Pictures: Liam Cox/BOOM Photography

In Brief

"After living in London for more than 20 years, we decided to relocate to Scotland and start a new life,” says architect Richard Keating. He and his wife, Lynette, bought a house in the seaside town of St Andrews, where they moved with their children, Shana, now 15, and Thomas, 11.

“My mum’s family comes from Scotland and my gran had lived in the same semi-detached, two-bedroom bungalow in St Andrews for 35 years,” Richard continues. “It hadn’t really changed very much during that time and the layout was pretty traditional, with multiple doors leading off from a central hallway into separate rooms.”

Small windows at the rear, coupled with large chestnut trees in the north-facing garden, made the interior rather dark, but what the single-storey bungalow did have was a spacious loft, offering potential to extend upwards. After Richard’s gran died, he decided to buy the bungalow and sketched a scheme to ensure his family would be able to achieve bright, open-plan living within its confines.

In the image slider above - before and after floor plans

“Setting up a new architectural practice in an area with no contacts was challenging and as well as designing a fun and practical family home I wanted to use it to showcase ideas to future clients,” says Richard, who had big plans for the modest property.

The narrow, detached garage was not large enough for a modern car and could be used instead for valuable storage, freeing up the driveway to take a new side addition housing the boot room and extending the kitchen. This enabled Richard to move the entrance from the side to the front, where he designed a bespoke door with a glazed side panel beneath an angled rendered canopy.

The new dormer at the front of the house is wrapped in zinc.

“In Scotland the weather makes a lobby essential,” he explains, “and after watching how we lived as a family, I realised that plenty of storage for shoes and coats was also a priority.”

Removing the entire roof and rebuilding it with dormers front and rear enabled the bungalow to be extended upwards and a new first floor was designed to accommodate two bedrooms, a shower room and a utility space.

"We showed our neighbours the design before applying for planning permission."

One bedroom with views of parkland would be for Thomas, with the other used as an office for Richard’s practice, RKA. Large single-pane windows take advantage of the views.

On the ground floor, the two existing bedrooms would be retained and fully refurbished, with the kitchen and dining room combined to form one large open-plan space, accessed through the new boot room. Outside, a raised terrace would take the place of narrow steps at the rear, creating a generous space with easy access from the house.

“The living room used to have a flat ceiling, with a loft above, but removing this would create a pitched space five metres to its apex,” explains Richard, who realised that the key to unlocking the building’s potential lay in utilising space beneath the large roof.

“We showed our neighbours the design before applying for planning permission and one was concerned about overlooking,” continues Richard, who duly designed privacy fins for his first-floor office window, made from aluminium box sections to match the new window frames.

Planning permission was granted for the extension and roof conversion and Richard’s structural engineer recommended JBJ Building Services, who successfully tendered.

The family continued to live nearby while the bungalow was completely stripped out and the roof removed, together with many internal walls and ceilings before new additions could be constructed: blockwork for the side boot room extension, with timber for roof structures. A wet underfloor heating system was installed downstairs, fed by a combi boiler, and the building was rewired and replumbed.

“I’m pretty sure I was a total nightmare as a client, marching around with a laser level checking everything,” says Richard. “Fortunately, the builders were very understanding and went the extra mile - introducing me to some excellent trades, including the joiner who made our staircase and other bespoke items around the house.”

A steel frame structurally stabilises the building and enables dramatic double-height spaces. New internal walls and ceilings were built, with circular roof lights and large expanses of glazing ensuring the interiors are now filled with light.

“Installing the glazing in the living room was a challenge and took the supplier six attempts,” says Richard. “The glass came in the wrong sizes, then they couldn’t get it off the truck, and another time it was scratched.

The wall opening in the living room hasn’t been enlarged, but the single piece of glass and slimmer frame make it feel far bigger than the previous uPVC window.

“Right at the end of the project the opening was still boarded up with plywood, so it was a relief when this could finally be taken down. The wall opening in this room hasn’t been enlarged, but the single piece of glass and slimmer frame make it feel far bigger than the previous uPVC window.”

Incorporating the new staircase into the vaulted living space has created a distinctive bespoke feature, made from birch-faced joinery-grade plywood, with a stepped underside to form a visual representation of the stairs themselves.

Light oak flooring, laid over underfloor heating, throughout the living areas visually unites them.

The family brought a large collection of books from London, which have been displayed in shelving on the staircase, while a circular light shaft links the landing with the kitchen below – cleverly formed by the builders using curved plywood and plasterboard up to the underside of a standard square roof light.

Richard oversaw the project and sourced materials, choosing the kitchen, flooring, tiles, and colour palette with his sister, Rebecca, who runs Thistle and Wild Design in Manchester.

The dining room has been retained in its original position, with internal walls removed to integrate this with the kitchen, which is now the main focal point of the house. Rebecca encouraged the family to choose bold, colourful cabinetry, which would look more like furniture than conventional kitchen cupboards.

“We found a brilliant company called Plykea, who customise inexpensive Ikea cabinets with plywood and Formica doors and counters to create the look of a handmade plywood kitchen for a fraction of the cost,” says Richard.

The family settled on blue doors, together with elements in pink and green, which create a fun and colourful design. A four-metre-long peninsula breakfast bar provides an informal sociable space, to which everyone gravitates. A recess for appliances was formed in a deep wall, with space for a coffee counter.

The open-plan kitchen/diner links through to the neighbouring living room, which has no door, but a C-shaped wall to the back of the kitchen provides a degree of separation and an acoustic break between the spaces. Light oak flooring, laid throughout the living areas, visually unites them, and full-height internal fire doors and frames have been painted to bring further splashes of colour to the interior.

The curved wall between the living area and in the downstairs shower room creates an interesting space, which has been finished with vertically stacked tiles to make it appear even taller. One deep wall enables the basin to be recessed, and conceals pipework, while forming useful alcoves and storage.

Work started on site in October 2019 and was scheduled to take seven months, but in March 2020 the builders needed to leave the site due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new roof includes dormers which enabled a bedroom, studio, bathroom and utility to be added on the first floor.