When your life and family outgrow your home do you move or find ways to increase the living space in your current property? We have found five ways to effectively make your home’s footprint bigger.
Invest in a side return extension
A popular choice for those with semi-detached, terraced or end-of-terrace homes is a side return extension. This typically involves the unused space to the side of your ground floor rooms which often is an alley or a void to the side of a previous extension.
While it may not look like you gain a lot by building over this dead space, it can turn a small kitchen into a large kitchen/diner or add extra living space to your home. Another benefit of a side return extension is that you don’t lose a chunk of your garden which you might have to sacrifice for a rear extension.
Add a conservatory
Building a conservatory extension can increase the living area of your home which is useful if your family is growing or you need extra space for a home office or similar. The key to integrating a conservatory into the rest of the house is to give it purpose and focus. If it’s simply an extra room with no real function then it’s not an effective use of space. Decide from the design stage how the conservatory is going to be used and create a useful room that adds to the practicality as well as the aesthetic of your home.
While technically a conservatory cannot be considered an extra room and needs to have doors separating it from the rest of the house, that doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a living room, office or hobby room.
Get a garden room
If you have maximised all the convertible areas in your home but still need more space, consider a garden room. These outdoor, self-contained areas can be used for a variety of purposes including a home office, gym, yoga studio, games room or guest accommodation.
Before investing in a garden room, consider whether you will need planning permission, most do not and fall under permitted development rights but it’s best to check just in case. The structure must not cover more than 50% of the garden, cannot be more than 2.5 metres high and should be located to the rear of the property, not to the front or side.
Convert your garage
Almost half of garage owners don’t use them for parking their cars, preferring to use their driveway. If this is you, then this unused space can be put to better use by adding to the usable living space of your home. This is one of the quickest and cheapest ways of increasing the footprint of the property as the structure already exists and simply needs modifying.
A garage conversion can add an extra bedroom, home office or even self-contained living accommodation. If you have an integrated garage, you could create a large open plan kitchen/diner or living area by removing the partition wall.
Consider a porch
Having a porch at the entrance to your home can make a big difference to its aesthetic appeal but it is also a very useful and practical addition. While some people may see them as a traditional feature of older homes having a porch provides many benefits.
It can add an extra level of security to your property, offers a space for wet coats, boots and umbrellas and gives protection from the elements as you go in or out. Having an extra door to the outside will also prevent heat loss and help you save on your energy bills.
There is a style of porch for every type of home and for most projects you probably won’t need planning permission.
