As living costs get higher and fewer houses are listed on the property market, it isn’t surprising that more homeowners are choosing to stay in their existing property and extend instead. Whether to the side, rear, or front, whether adding an extra storey or converting a garage or loft space, home extensions are a great way to make your home suitable for a growing family.
While extensions aren’t cheap, there are ideas that can suit any budget, and since making your property larger will also add more value to your home, you can look upon it as an investment. Here are a few extension ideas to consider:
Single Storey
Often the most viable and affordable option, a single storey extension can completely transform your compact property, adding more living space and bringing in more light. Adding roof lights and glazed doors is a great way to bring the outdoors indoors, while a kitchen extension will definitely add value to your home.
Side Returns
Many semi-detached and terraced homes, especially those dating back to Victorian times, have a passageway to the side of the property where you probably keep your bins. While this space may seem small, it can easily be incorporated into your main home, giving you more room with minimal disturbance. Often, this passage will be next to the kitchen, allowing you to increase your kitchen space so you can add a dining area to your room.
Use Your Roof
If you’re living in a top floor apartment or a bungalow, using your roof space could be a great solution to increase your living areas. If you already have a loft, you can simply convert it into the ideal living space for you, possibly with a double bedroom with ensuite. It’ll be more affordable to convert an existing loft space than to build a whole new storey.
Add A Porch
If your home has only a small hall, or if the front door directly opens into your living room, adding a porch could be a great option for you, since you could use it to store shoes, coats, and bags while preventing dirty footprints from being dragging into your home. Porches are also a useful barrier on cold days, helping you to reduce your heating costs. Even better, planning permission is rarely required for adding a porch onto your property.
A Garage Conversion
Many garages aren’t used for their intended purpose but instead are full of all kinds of accessories and items. If you don’t intend to park a car in your garage, why not convert it into an additional room instead? A garage conversion is quite a simple project since the structure is in place already. Alternatively, consider constructing an extra room over your garage, although you’ll need lots of insulation in order to keep the cold from coming through.
Add On A Balcony
Adding a balcony to your first floor is a great way of extending your space while also bringing ventilation and light to your bedroom, upper floor living room, or even your first floor kitchen. A modern glass balcony is an amazing design feature, and you’ll find a weatherproofed balcony doesn’t just create an additional seating area outside your property, but it also allows you to enjoy the views throughout the year.
Add A Conservatory
Conservatories are traditionally buildings that are attached to a main house where plants are grown. Orangeries, meanwhile, were impressive buildings where orange trees were grown in period properties. Today, conservatories and orangeries are almost interchangeable – both terms are used to describe an extension to the main property giving an additional room. A conservatory makes a wonderful additional lounge or dining area.
In the UK, the legal definition of a conservatory is a building that has a minimum of 75% roof area and 50% side walls. As orangeries and conservatories are both considered to be permitted developments, you also won’t usually need to make a planning permission application.
How Can I Build An Extension Cheaply?
When an extension is done to a high standard, it is sure to bring more value to your home. However, some bring more value to your property than the cost of building it in the first place, and that’s pretty important when you’re organising your budget and planning designs. The value any extension will bring to the overall value of your property will vary depending on its complexity, style, and size, as well as your property’s location.
However, a typical three-bedroom house in the UK that has an extension adding an extra double bedroom and ensuite bathroom can expect up to 12% of additional value to be brought to its overall asking price. A loft conversion could add as much as 20% to your home’s value, while a conservatory may add between 5% and 7%.