Burges Road

Overlooking the Southern coast of Southend-on-Sea, our Burges road project involved the extension and refurbishment of a generously sized detached home. The existing building is a 2 storey house with 2 non-original extensions that had been added at some point in history. A masonry construction and the other, a glass conservatory. The brief for the project was that the client wished to remove the existing non original extensions and replace them with something that felt more considered. In addition to this they also wanted to extend up into the largely under-used loft space to create a new master suite. As with most projects, the budget is the dictating force and it was clear from the outset that this proposal would need to be carried out in 2 phases. As a result we designed the scheme to take this into account. To begin with we created the top floor master suite, a new dormer was constructed which gave us the added ceiling height necessary. Following this we designed the bedroom, accompanying dressing room and ensuite to complete the first phase of the works. A temporary staircase was also created to provide access to the new floor level. The second phase of the works had a broader remit. The temporary staircase was removed and a large triple height space was created in the entrance hallway with a new feature staircase serving all floors. The 2 non original extensions to the rear of the property were removed and the ground floor was completely redesigned with a new full width extension. The ground floor previously had very defined rooms that were all accessed via the entrance lobby creating awkward transitions from one space to another. The kitchen and dining rooms were on opposite sides of the house creating a strange procession of the food from the kitchen to the dining area at every meal time. The utility was quite small in proportion to the rest of the building and in general the rooms felt at odds with one another. Our reconfiguration looked to remove all of these awkward transitions and bring about a more considered floorplan. The client's focus was to have a large kitchen and dining area rather than the 2 fairly large, but separate, lounge spaces they previously had. With this in mind we created an open plan kitchen dining area with an attached lounge. The lounge has a degree of separation via the new feature fireplace which in turn can also be closed off via the sliding folding partition doors. This helps to create a more cosy environment as necessary. The kitchen now includes a new walk in pantry, giving the client that added storage space without it being on display. One of the previous lounge spaces has been converted into a dedicated study and the utility room has been enlarged. Overall there has been a reduction in the physical barriers in place and a greater focus placed on the natural flow from one space to another.