By the time these clients came to us, they had done extensive research in terms of whether to sell, knock down and rebuild, or extend. We are often asked our opinion on this, and although the answer very much depends on the house, the location and the people and budget involved, in this case, the answer was undoubtedly to extend.

The brief to us was mostly about needing more space, but they also wanted a better outdoor entertaining area and better connection between inside and out. On the top of hubby's list was a garage with a workshop, and space for his boat.

In order to give the home a real overhaul, we decided to change out all the old timber windows for a more contemporary style, and also render the whole of the outside of the house, hiding the original orange brickwork. This enabled us to easily blend old with new – in fact, if you didn’t know, you would think it was a new house.

So in the end, our couple got to stay in the area they love, and have practically a new house, without forking out for all the costs associated with moving. Now that’s smart.