Design Around Your Kids

There are number of reasons to carry out a home renovation or home extension. There are a significant proportion of our clients who want to increase space in their home to accommodate their growing family. At Home Tales, we aim to understand the reasons behind your choice to extend. We feel this is fundamental for allowing your design to develop into a practical, effective design. 

Different types of extensions will give you different solutions. For example, a loft conversion will give you an extra bedroom or two, which can also be used as a study or playroom. Ground floor extensions tend to give you more practical space, such as an extended kitchen or living area. We will talk you through some of the most common extensions and how they can help a growing household. 

Ground floor extensions in flats

We frequently work with clients in ground floor flats, who are looking for that extra living space or perhaps even an additional bedroom for a new arrival. Building control will only classify a bedroom as a bedroom if it has natural ventilation and a fire escape. This means that if you have a traditional terrace, with a front middle and rear room, then you might have to incorporate a courtyard into your design. This is a little courtyard which sits behind the middle room, allowing both the master and the second room to be used as bedrooms. Your living, kitchen and dining area can then take centre stage to the rear of your property. The courtyard can be a fantastic addition for kids, as it’s enclosed and as such, can be tailored to young children. 

Ground floor extensions 

Ground floor extensions in houses tend to be more practical based. They are far more likely to be adding functional space, such as a living area, dining area or kitchen. The living, dining and kitchen areas of Victorian terraces were designed to house the appropriate number of people living in that house. Most of the time, that is for 3 bedrooms. If you are converting your loft, or have already converted your loft, then you are adding ‘people’ to that property. This is why it’s important to compensate and add the appropriate living space to account for the additional people in your property. 

There are loads of child friendly designs for home extensions. You can opt for a lovely indoor-outdoor feel, with full width glass doors. This is fantastic for keeping an eye on those little ones while you’re cooking up a storm in the kitchen. You can even recess the running track of bi-fold or sliding doors to avoid trips. Underfloor heating is also loved by children – keep those little toes toasty in the winter months! 

Nursery refurbishment 

We recently refurbished this nursery in Wandsworth. The homeowners wanted a soothing and cheerful atmosphere for their new baby boy. They opted for our interior design service, so we went through various mood boards with them to ensure we found the right colours and style. In terms of building works, we removed the chimney, replaced the sash window and installed a new radiator. We sanded down the original reclaimed floor and varnished the wood. The wardrobe, drawers and crib are from Maisons Du Monde. The wallpaper is from muralswallpaper.co.uk. It’s made to order so it comes as a perfect fit. 

Loft conversion in Ealing

We extended into the loft in this family home in Ealing. We added two bedrooms, one double with an en-suite and another smaller room, perfect for a toddler or young child. The smaller room was for the homeowner’s oldest daughter, who was 10 at the time. The sofa bed doubles up and extends to add another single bed, ideal for sleepovers! 

Loft conversion in Wandsworth 

We added two double bedrooms and a family bathroom to this property on the Southfields grid. This l-shaped dormer is very generous in size. The family had one young child and another on the way, so they were keen to convert the loft before the newest addition was due to arrive. They wanted to use one of the spare bedrooms in the loft as a study. Lofts make for wonderful studies as they are so peaceful. If you are converting your loft your insulation will be up to current building regulation standards, so it’s more effective both from noise and heat loss. It’s also higher up, further away from the practical kitchen and living areas, which can create quite a lot of noise, particularly with young ones in the house!  

If you want to explore your options, be it via an extension, reconfiguration, or a simple refurbishment, get in touch with our team today. You can email us on hello@hometales.co.uk or call us on 0207 043 2378.  


Explore Our Blog

Is it better to have the dining, kitchen or living area to the rear of my extension?

We discuss the most effective way to layout rooms in your extension

What is better: to have a master suite in my loft or to maximise bedrooms?

Exploring the best use of space for a loft conversion

How long does an extension take?

We explore the average timescales for home extensions and loft conversions

Follow us @hometales_design