When our Winchester clients first came to us, their newly-purchased bungalow had already been renovated. It looked great, but in everyday life, the kitchen felt a little too tight, and the layout didn’t quite flow the way they needed it to. They loved the area, and the house had great bones - it just needed a bit of rethinking to truly work as a home.
Our job was to build on what was already there, not rip everything out and start again. The biggest change came with a rear extension, where we recommended to introduce a vaulted ceiling and apex glazing. Adding height as well as floor space completely transformed the feel of the bungalow, flooding the new open-plan kitchen and dining area with light and creating a real sense of openness that you don’t always get in single-storey homes.
Inside, we reworked the layout to make everyday living more comfortable and practical. A new bathroom with a walk-in shower, a generous dressing room and improved circulation all helped the home feel calmer, more spacious and better suited to family life. We also fully boarded and insulated the loft, giving the owners useful storage and improving the overall energy performance of the house at the same time.
Sustainability was part of the conversation from the start. Solar panels and an air source heat pump were carefully integrated, helping to future-proof the home and keep running costs down, while working hand-in-hand with the upgraded insulation and heating design.
One thing we always say is that it’s easy to focus on the big, exciting changes - the extension, the layout, the structure - but it’s often the smaller details that really make a house feel like home. In this project, features such as a bespoke extractor hood, built-in electric blinds and carefully chosen feature walls all play their part. They might seem like little things, but they make daily life easier and more enjoyable, and they add that extra layer of quality that helps a home stand out long-term.
We’re now moving into Phase II of the project, which will include a garden office, a sauna and a full landscape redesign. It’s about extending the same thoughtful, family-focused design approach beyond the walls of the house and into the garden.
As a family-run design and build practice, we love projects like this. They’re about listening carefully, understanding how people really live, and shaping spaces that feel comfortable, practical and genuinely personal - not just impressive on day one, but a joy to live in for years to come.
