KITCHEN
AFTER
BEFORE
At this point, the family had two options:
remain and try and work out ways of adding space, or look to move, and for a while they pursued this idea. However as they wanted to stay in the area, there was a lack of suitable properties within their budget, or any ‘projects’ that “were interesting enough,” says Gary. Owning a graphic design company, Gary has a strong enthusiasm for architectural design, so a house that would allow them to be creative was a top priority. “I wanted a ‘doer upper’, something we could make our own mark on.” Given that this wasn’t possible, they decided to work with their home, and approached Ben a second time to gather some ideas; in the event, Gary would work closely with Ben on the design.
PLANNING
“Ben and I had some really long conversations about architecture, and we came up with some really cool ideas,” says Gary. The brief was to maximise the footprint as much as possible, and reimagine the space – “do something really interesting with it.” In terms of specifics, they wanted to increase the size of the children’s bedrooms, giving them enough room to do school work. Downstairs, the aim was to create extra recreational space such as a lounge – says Gary, “I wanted another room where you can break away so we’re not all fighting over the channels, or just somewhere to go and read a book.” They also somehow wanted to retain space for a bathroom. With their requirements and ideas agreed, Ben and Gary began drawing up plans. However, some design complications stood in their way.
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As the house is in a conservation area, its exterior detailing had to be carefully considered, including sensitivity about what external finishes should be specified. Even though the original intent was to use modern materials to clad the back of the house, the planners insisted on using London stock bricks. “There were things like that where we completely respected the planning and the conservation stipulation of using certain materials in certain areas,” says Gary. Another complication was their idea to include
a dormer at the rear. As this would be the first one on the street, Ben was sceptical about its chances of getting through planning. However, as he had worked on the kitchen back in 2012, he’d got to know the planner quite well and spoke to him regularly, tweaking drawings and ideas as they went along. On top of this, to avoid any last minute immediate objections, the team involved the neighbours throughout the planning process, communicating with them as much as possible. Three months after submission, planning was granted, despite Ben and Gary’s nervousness about the dormer. “We thought the dormer was going to be a non-starter, and some of our ideas were just going to be too big of an ask,” says Gary.
TAKING MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS Construction started in December 2019 and continued until June 2020. To keep costs down, Gary and Kate decided to stay in the house. This was a decision that Gary came to regret during some of the more disruptive parts of the build. “Ben played a significant role at the start,” says Gary, “he was often onsite, and always at
sep/oct 2021
GARY’S TOP TIPS
Don’t underestimate how much a big construction project like this can interfere with your day-to-day life – definitely
consider moving out.
Budget properly – especially if the project runs over. Ours was only meant to take a year and it took the best part of two years.
Obviously I’m spoilt because I have an architect in the family, but I know that often they are used just for the design and planning; if you can, try and get them engaged during the building process as well.
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