Buy the worst house in the best road is often a good piece of advice, and that is exactly what this client did, with the aim of updating and modernising their 1970s detached house.

DMS Architects were appointed to provide initial sketch ideas for modernising the facade and considering the possibility of providing additional bedrooms in the roof space. To create a more modern feel, it was essential to adjust the existing mansard-style end to the roof and deal with the plastic cladding and windows.

It was decided that rendering the whole house would drastically change its appearance whilst also providing the opportunity to improve insulation levels.

Stone window cills and heads were added to the all-bar windows, all under a new slate roof to create a contemporary-style house that picks up on traditional details. The addition of the front entrance feature with stone columns also provides a fitting grand entrance to the house whilst also providing a fantastic new family bathroom above.

To the rear of the house, it was felt that the existing window openings would be best dealt with in a more modern style, so plain casement windows and large aluminium bifold doors were used.

​The existing family room was opened up to the garden with the large doors and also flooded with light from the addition of a large glazed roof lantern.

The end result is a stunning family house that is unrecognisable from the original.