When House Form Architects first visited the house at Edith’s Place, it was clear that while the building sat on a generous plot, its internal arrangement did not make the most of that opportunity. The rooms were small and inward-looking, and the kitchen was disconnected from the garden that wraps around the rear of the site. The clients’ brief was not for excess space, but for better space: rooms that flow naturally, support family life, and adapt as needs change. This ambition extended beyond the house itself to include a substantial new outbuilding providing additional living accommodation in the form of a dedicated home office with integrated garage storage.

The design process began by understanding how the house was used day to day. Inspired by a humane, lived-in approach to domestic architecture, the proposal establishes a clear spatial hierarchy rather than a series of oversized rooms. At ground floor, a new full-width rear extension forms a shared kitchen, dining and living space at the heart of the home. This room opens directly onto the garden, drawing daylight deep into the plan and encouraging daily movement between inside and out. The garden setting is further activated by the new outbuilding, positioned to define the rear boundary and create a purposeful relationship between work, storage and landscape.

Internally, the existing layout has been carefully reworked rather than erased. A front living room remains as a quieter, more contained space that can double as guest accommodation. The former kitchen is repurposed to provide utility, laundry and shower facilities, improving the practical functioning of the house without unnecessary expansion. Circulation has been simplified so movement feels intuitive and calm.

At first floor, the extension creates a new principal suite accessed through a generous dressing area and study, allowing the existing bedrooms to remain largely intact while providing a more private retreat. The stepped form of the extension, reduced in width at