Philip's
Conservatory : Wrap around to blur the boundaries Windows on two adjacent outside walls of this garden room create a strong connection between the interior and the garden, and a pool placed immediately below sill height reinforces this. The window height has been carefully considered to maximise views from the seating area, and the fringed window treatments, on concealed tracks, ensure the space will feel cosy at night.
Designate a drawer Don’t just go for a chuck-it-all-in drawer of randomness – this design has an in-built power supply to charge multiple devices neatly out of sight. However, even without the power option, a dedicated kitchen drawer is a good place to store devices – use a divider or wire basket in a deep drawer to keep everything neat and tidy.
Disguise a TV Love to curl up in bed to watch TV, but don’t like the idea of an ugly screen on the wall? There are lots of ways to disguise a late-night Newsnight/Made In Chelsea habit, from putting the TV in a cupboard to hanging a picture over the top. This clever mirror TV is hiding in plain sight, only revealing its true self when it’s switched on.
Take the circle line Circular tables can be especially useful in awkward corners, or to aid a free-flowing feel throughout a tight space. If your dining area leads to a balcony or patio, choose furniture that can be used outside, too. As well as being practical and freeing up space inside when necessary, outdoor furniture can add a quirky touch to an interior space.
Build in a banquette Banquettes are great space savers. This design could seat at least four and takes up hardly any room. If you prefer not to build one in, simply place some ottomans in a nook or corner and cover them with padded foam seat tops (foam is inexpensive to pick up from most markets, and easy to cut to size). As well as maximising a corner that might not practically fit chairs, it will provide useful extra storage.
Fall for a foldaway A drop-leaf or gate-leg table is perfect for a small kitchen.
Add a neat breakfast bar
Go large with a storage wall Sometimes, in a small room, you have to go large. That can mean devoting a whole wall to floor-to-ceiling storage, all hidden behind doors that, when shut, can blend in seamlessly. The beauty of this example? The vertical lines in the panelling exaggerate the height of the ceiling, while the open shelf at the end provides contrast and relief.
Build a secret niche
Go up and over a doorway
Make a place for everything
Free up drawer space In this small kitchen, all the everyday items are readily available on hooks or shelves.
Just before you reach the dining area, there’s a glazed door to the courtyard
The shower room had previously blocked access to the courtyard.
Be flexible Furniture has to work extra hard in a small space, so consider multi-functional pieces that can be adapted to different social situations.
Invest in luxury
Organise every inch
Make mirrors your friend
Have a one show stopper piece
Maximise light with larger – not more – windows “Having a light and airy room is important,” Deepak Singh Udassi says, “and most people’s first thought is to have lots of windows in order to achieve this. But the uplift in cost of incorporating additional glazing comes not in materials, but labour.” If a customer wants two roof windows in their loft and they then ask for a third, Deepak explains, there’s a lot more labour involved – and the extra cost is considerable. “However, if a client decides on a bigger window rather than an extra window, the labour cost is exactly the same,” he says. “All the client is doing is paying for the uplift from size number one to size number two and the net gain for him or her is the same – more glazing.” However, Deepak advises, make this decision early – on paper rather than on-site. If changes involve undoing existing work, then any potential saving will be lost.
Build a false wall Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a small amount of space to be able to fit more storage into a loft room. Here, the designers have built out the wall behind the bed. By moving the wall forward like this, they’ve managed to add a useful cupboard and a handy shelf at the back of the bed. To add even more storage to a space like this you could add shelves into the area above the headboard ledge.
Streamline your bedsides
Go low with your shelving
Be generous with windows Even if your view isn’t quite as spectacular as in the last image, it still makes sense to let in as much light as possible, so don’t be stingy when it comes to skylights. When coupled with the dramatic panelling, the juxtaposition of light and dark on display in this scheme raises a standard bedroom conversion into a super-stylish retreat.
Combine a shelf with storage In a really compact loft room, how about this for a neat idea? Creating a false wall and storage behind the bed is a smart trick in itself, but the hinged access lids are a clever alternative to traditional, front-opening eaves cupboards, as there’s no need to pull out the bed to get to what’s inside. The top section also doubles as a handy bedside shelf. Win win.
Keep the light flowing One legitimate concern many people have is that converting their loft, with the addition of a new staircase, will make their existing landing very dark. Here, the clever use of a glass floor panel allows daylight to flow down to the floor below.
Know the regulations… While this charming loft space is light and airy, the room would be more spacious if it weren’t for the need for an enclosed landing and fire door at the top of the stairs. The Building Regulations on the minimum head height above a staircase, however, mean that often the top of the stairs needs to be located at the highest (and most useful) part of the loft. The regulations on fire separation also usually mean that the top of the staircase needs to be walled in with a separating door. Consequently, the newly created loft accommodation may sometimes have to be squeezed around the staircase and landing that accesses it. However, if the design of your home allows (and as you’ll see in the next photo), there may be alternatives.
ook into positioning your new staircase independently For instance, it can often be that a staircase away from the stairs below will work best. (See also ‘Peruse the possibility of a private stair’, below, for another alternative.) There are no hard and fast rules, as every situation is different, but in short the issue at hand is all about where it’s best to depart the lower floor, where it’s best to arrive at the upper floor, and how those two points can most effectively be connected by a staircase.
Small en suite with roof light and adjacent bedroom If there’s not enough space for two bedrooms in your conversion, and part of the footprint is taken up by the necessary stairs to the loft, the remaining area can be used for a little en suite. If space is tight, sliding doors between the bedroom and bathroom can be a good solution. In terms of costs, be aware that, by adding a bathroom on a higher level, you might need to upgrade your existing boiler, as the water pressure drops when it has to go up to the loft space.
Pack plenty into the space Maximise the return on your investment by making every square metre work as hard as possible. In this bedroom roof extension, the spaces below and beside the picture window incorporate a window seat, storage drawers for shoes, and floor-to-ceiling shelving.
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