Photos by Pierre Galant Photography
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary one-storey stucco white house exterior in Los Angeles with a hip roof and a tile roof.

Sophie Villeger
Mid-sized contemporary one-storey concrete white house exterior in Marseille with a hip roof and a tile roof.

Александр Камачкин
Mid-sized country two-storey brown house exterior in Moscow with wood siding, a gable roof and a tile roof.

Sherwin Williams Dover White Exterior Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black garage doors Ebony stained front door and cedar accents on front
This is an example of a mid-sized transitional two-storey stucco white house exterior in Raleigh with a clipped gable roof and a tile roof.

Photo of a mid-sized mediterranean one-storey stucco white house exterior in Austin with a gable roof, a tile roof and a red roof.

The ability to open the back of the house, gives the granny flat better connection to the low maintenance back yard.
Mid-sized contemporary one-storey grey house exterior in Sydney with concrete fiberboard siding, a hip roof and a tile roof.

Michael J King
Small midcentury one-storey beige house exterior in Los Angeles with wood siding, a gable roof and a tile roof.

The finished exterior of this gorgeous small home in Mt Colah has beige timber cladding, white timber architraves and a stunning dark blue added to the front fence, pergola and front door. The mature garden, a mix of natives and exotics help to bed the home into its context. Image taken by Desmond Chan, Open2View

We were commissioned by our clients to design this ambitious side and rear extension for their beautiful detached home. The use of Cotswold stone ensured that the new extension is in keeping with and sympathetic to the original part of the house, while the contemporary frameless glazed panels flood the interior spaces with light and create breathtaking views of the surrounding gardens. Our initial brief was very clear and our clients were keen to use the newly-created additional space for a more spacious living and garden room which connected seamlessly with the garden and patio area. Our clients loved the design from the first sketch, which allowed for the large living room with the fire that they requested creating a beautiful focal point. The large glazed panels on the rear of the property flood the interiors with natural light and are hidden away from the front elevation, allowing our clients to retain their privacy whilst also providing a real sense of indoor/outdoor living and connectivity to the new patio space and surrounding gardens. Our clients also wanted an additional connection closer to the kitchen, allowing better flow and easy access between the kitchen, dining room and newly created living space, which was achieved by a larger structural opening. Our design included special features such as large, full-width glazing with sliding doors and a hidden flat roof and gutter. There were some challenges with the project such as the large existing drainage access which is located on the foundation line for the new extension. We also had to determine how best to structurally support the top of the existing chimney so that the base could be removed to open up the living room space whilst maintaining services to the existing living room and causing as little disturbance as possible to the bedroom above on the first floor. We solved these issues by slightly relocating the extension away from the existing drainage pipe with an agreement in place with the utility company. The chimney support design evolved into a longer design stage involving a collaborative approach between the builder, structural engineer and ourselves to find an agreeable solution. We changed the temporary structural design to support the existing structure and provide a different workable solution for the permanent structural design for the new extension and supporting chimney. Our client’s home is also situated within the Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and as such particular planning restrictions and policies apply, however, the planning policy allows for extruded forms that follow the Cotswold vernacular and traditional approach on the front elevation. Our design follows the Cotswold Design Code with high-pitched roofs which are subservient to the main house and flat roofs spanning the rear elevation which is also subservient, clearly demonstrating how the house has evolved over time. Our clients felt the original living room didn’t fit the size of the house, it was too small for their lifestyle and the size of furniture and restricted how they wanted to use the space. There were French doors connecting to the rear garden but there wasn’t a large patio area to provide a clear connection between the outside and inside spaces. Our clients really wanted a living room which functioned in a traditional capacity but also as a garden room space which connected to the patio and rear gardens. The large room and full-width glazing allowed our clients to achieve the functional but aesthetically pleasing spaces they wanted. On the front and rear elevations, the extension helps balance the appearance of the house by replicating the pitched roof on the opposite side. We created an additional connection from the living room to the existing kitchen for better flow and ease of access and made additional ground-floor internal alterations to open the dining space onto the kitchen with a larger structural opening, changed the window configuration on the kitchen window to have an increased view of the rear garden whilst also maximising the flow of natural light into the kitchen and created a larger entrance roof canopy. On the front elevation, the house is very balanced, following the roof pitch lines of the existing house but on the rear elevation, a flat roof is hidden and expands the entirety of the side extension to allow for a large living space connected to the rear garden that you wouldn’t know is there. We love how we have achieved this large space which meets our client’s needs but the feature we are most proud of is the large full-width glazing and the glazed panel feature above the doors which provides a sleek contemporary design and carefully hides the flat roof behind. This contrast between contemporary and traditional design has worked really well and provided a beautiful aesthetic.

Great entrance surrounded by minimal maintenance landscaping. Wood feature above the beautiful front door matches the garage door. Part rendered pillars and beautiful concrete letterbox. Great size front with ample grassed area for kids or animals, There is so much to like about this home.

Johnny Barrington
Inspiration for a large traditional two-storey grey house exterior in Other with wood siding, a gable roof and a tile roof.

A Victorian semi-detached house in Wimbledon has been remodelled and transformed into a modern family home, including extensive underpinning and extensions at lower ground floor level in order to form a large open-plan space. Photographer: Nick Smith

Part two storey and single storey extensions to a semi-detached 1930 home at the back of the house to expand the space for a growing family and allow for the interior to feel brighter and more joyful.

Mitten in den neuen Hamptons von Berlin ist ein skandinavischer Traum aus Holz entstanden. Herzstück ist die überdachte Veranda, die ausreichend Platz bietet und das Wohnzimmer optisch und räumlich verlängert. Hier wurde sich für eine große, graue Loungeecke entschieden. Als Must-have ergänzt ein Schaukelstuhl den Bereich. Für farbliche Akzente sorgt die edle Essecken Kombination von Houe und bietet für 6 Leute ausreichend Platz.

Back view of beach house features new windows, exterior paint, balcony w/cable railing; the balcony also serves as the roof for the aluminum screen room below that was built on the new Azek decks. On the left side of the house a custom made awning was built using cedar and metal roofing to provide shelter to the side entrance and also reduces the heat that is transferred from being exposed to sun. An exterior shower was installed to the right of the side entrance door. (there is a close up photo posted of the shower)

Sherwin Williams Dover White Exterior Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black garage doors Ebony stained front door and cedar accents on front
Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional two-storey stucco white house exterior in Raleigh with a clipped gable roof and a tile roof.

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional split-level grey house exterior in Sacramento with concrete fiberboard siding, a gable roof and a tile roof.

Gorgeously small rear extension to house artists den with pitched roof and bespoke hardwood industrial style window and french doors. Internally finished with natural stone flooring, painted brick walls, industrial style wash basin, desk, shelves and sash windows to kitchen area. Chris Snook

This home was beautifully painted in the best brown house colour, Benjamin Moore Mascarpone with Benjamin Moore Fairview Taupe as the trim colour. Photo credits to Ina Van Tonder.