Calm Living Homes

House Extensions

Great house extensions don’t happen by chance. So what makes one? After 40+ years as a Comprehensive Building Analyst and Advisor, Anton has created this list:

1. Home extensions are beautiful. Even years later you should still look at it and say “we still love it” or “it’s the best thing we ever did”. It should fit the look of your house and not look like an ugly addition. That doesn’t mean you can’t mix modern with heritage but it does mean that your modern section needs to be the best of breed.
2. This one, we will admit, is a matter of taste and opinion, but we think great home extensions should not date – or date any time soon. When a space is right, the architecture is right and you choose the right finishes and you should not have to renovate it for many years.
3. Great home extensions work well. That means your renovation should offer everything you wanted and set out to deliver when it was planned – whatever that is. Space, storage, comfort, style, comfortable temperature, a low allergy environment …whatever you wanted.
4. Great home extensions are energy efficient. This means low cost or no cost heating and cooling so your home remains beautifully comfortable, whatever the weather, at low cost. We are specialists in this area and can even help you design your home to make optimal use of aspect and incorporate passive heating and cooling into its design.
5. In great home extensions the building process should cause no (or the absolute minimum) inconvenience to you. Ideally you should be able to remain living in your home.Some disruption may be inevitable but we know to keep this to a minimum so your daily life can go on, without the expense and dislocation of having to move out.
6. Now to the sharp end. Great home renovations need to be completed on time and within budget. We have the experience to make sure all regulations are covered off properly and the trusted tradespeople to make sure that things happen when they need to. Changes do happen in building. You or your architect may change an element of the design or you may change a finish. When that happens we will advise any cost implications or savings clearly and early. We are also happy to show you original receipts from our suppliers as transparency is a big part of our approach.
7. Finally you need to enjoy the experience. A truly great new home renovation should be an exciting time for you and your family. Making sure the magic stays alive is a question of good communication and delivering what we promise. We are proud of our reputation and happy to provide references from our clients so they can tell you first hand of their experience.