Haven’t seen our other 5 top tips yet? Check out part 1.

1). Budgeting

There are many aspects of budgeting to consider, but one of the most important is being realistic with your money. Some fixtures may be more expensive than you expect, some construction features may cost too much in labour or materials, or there may be unexpected costs.

Of course, without considerable design and build experience, it can be difficult to estimate just how much something is going to cost until you’ve had a chance to discuss it with the experts. That’s why the key is just to be mindful of the possibility, and create some alternative back-up options for your favourite ideas in case they turn out to be too expensive for your current budget.

2). Sockets and switches

Often, furniture placement in an existing room is at the mercy of nearby electrical sockets. If you want to place an appliance somewhere without a socket nearby, you either have to call an electrician, feed through an extension cord or simply choose somewhere else.

However, with a house extension, you have almost full control over where your sockets and switches will go, so it’s important to consider their locations carefully. The best way to do this is by planning out a rough idea of where your furniture and electrical items will go, and then ensuring that adequate sockets are nearby. For example, a television set or entertainment system would require a nearby socket, and if you use smartphones and tablets, a socket right beside a seating area can come in very handy.

Proper consideration for switch placement can also be useful. For example, if you’re creating a bedroom, you can place another main light switch next to your bed, enabling you to turn the lights on and off without walking over to the door.  They’re little things, but they all add up to make the final result better suited to your needs.

3). The outdoor elements

What’s going on outside is an often-overlooked aspect of a house extension, but it’s well worth taking into account when making key decisions. Some examples include:

Sound – Will a new bedroom be facing a busy road or other source of sound which would be a nuisance? Perhaps it might even be close to a driveway where cars pass through very early in the morning or late at night. Always try to assess all forms of potential sound pollution and how they may impact the new rooms in your extension.

Sunlight – Depending on the direction a window is facing, it may get lots of direct sunlight coming through, or none at all. That’s why it’s important to see where the sun will be in relation to the window throughout the day to ensure that it works to your preferences.

Privacy – If a bedroom or bathroom window within a new extension is directly facing a neighbour’s window, then it may cause privacy concerns.

Street lamps – Are there any street lamps near a planned location for a window which may cause light pollution at night?

4). External design

Alongside internal design, the outside façade of the extension is something which is important to consider as well. An extension will look like less of an extension if the brickwork, roof style and windows all match the existing building.

5). Storage

Whilst house extensions are generally used to add existing rooms, they’re also useful for adding additional storage space. Storage can be built into the new rooms, or there could even be a small room or closet which is dedicated for that purpose. This can have a big positive impact on your home overall. For example, it can de-clutter existing rooms, and if you use a storage shed, it could be downsized or even removed entirely to free up more space in your garden.

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Here at Bischell, we’ve worked on hundreds of design & build house extensions of all shapes and sizes throughout London, so here are our first 5 important things to consider when you’re coming up with ideas.

1). Rooms

When selecting the rooms you’ll have in your house extension, it’s important to pre-plan their purpose and then suit the layout design to those intentions. Size is a key factor, whilst shape can be equally important as well. For example, an L-shaped layout may work well for a bathroom, but may not be so suitable for a bedroom.

It’s also useful to consider furniture choices and how they may affect the shape of the room. If you already have firm ideas in mind regarding the contents of a room, it’s important to adjust the shape to adapt.

2). Quantity vs size

The quantity of rooms vs size is an ever-present balancing act in house extensions. The more rooms you have, the smaller they’re likely to be, so it’s all about finding the right middle-ground to suit you. If you don’t mind small and cosy rooms, then you can afford to add more, whereas if you prefer more spacious environments, it might be more better to keep the number lower.

A great trick when it comes to estimating the size of a room is to take some string or rope, head out into your garden and then map out the exact, to-scale room size. You can then get a better feel for the amount of floor space you’re likely to have.

3). Added value

If you intend to eventually sell your home, it can be helpful to pay attention to how much value the house extension may add to your property. Your home may also be more appealing if the extension provides rooms which suit the type of buyers who will take interest in your property. For example, large family homes may attract the type of buyers who prefer extra bedrooms and storage space.

A carefully planned house extension can often recoup most of the cost of its construction just in added property value when it’s time to sell.

4). Neighbours

It’s important to take your neighbours into consideration. Not just during the nuisance of a noisy build, but also when the build is finished and how they’re likely to react to it, as they may raise disputes when you try to obtain planning permission. For example, this can occur when your neighbours believe that the extension will spoil their view or cast a large shadow over their sunny garden.

It can be helpful to extend the olive branch and work with neighbours instead of fighting against them if any problems do arise. Adequate pre-warning of the build and a willingness to address their concerns can defuse tensions. Plus, it’s important to be mindful of how you would feel in their situation.

5). Planning permission

There are some situations where a local council authority may not like certain aspects of your build, and either refuse planning permission or request amendments first. Here at Bischell, we always advise clients to ensure that a design has a high chance of first-time approval (our first-time success rate is 97%), and in the case of any disputes, we provide counter-arguments with the use of case precedents where applicable.

However, it’s still helpful to bear in mind that this eventuality could occur and plan accordingly, especially as planning permission can also be held up due to neighbours raising objections, which is a more difficult aspect to predict.

Visit us again soon for part 2, with five more must-see points to consider when planning your new house extension

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Bischell always incorporates ‘value engineering’ into every project, which means that we consider ways to cut costs whilst still maintaining the best aesthetic result. However, when you’re deciding how to take your project forward, there are a number of other ways where you can get better value for money as well. Let’s take a look at a few of these:

1). Use design and build

The design and build method offers a number of time and cost saving benefits over the traditional approach of using separate design and construction firms. By having the design and build teams within one company, you can benefit from a far more refined and efficient working relationship between the two sides to potentially save thousands of pounds overall.

2). Consider returns on investment

When you buy a house, the money doesn’t vanish into thin air, as it’s possible to eventually re-sell your home and recoup most or all of the money you put into it (with even a little bit of profit to boot). The same goes for home renovations. By carefully planning how you conduct certain designs, it’s possible to add considerable value to your home which then pays you back if you eventually decide to sell it. For example, loft conversions alone can add tens of thousands of pounds to the value of your property. There are also certain types of designs (such as open plan) which are more appealing to a wider audience and thus command a higher property sale fee.

3). Spend more when you need durability

A cheap fixture which initially saves money may end up costing far more in the long run if it needs to be replaced due to a breakage. That’s why it can pay to invest more in quality fixtures which will be regularly used and need to be more durable, such as light switches and taps.

4). Insulate

If your project involves extensive renovation work on ceilings, lofts or walls, then take advantage by installing new insulation while you have the opportunity – especially if the existing insulation is old or lacking in quality. This not only helps keep your rooms warmer during the winter, but the reduced heating bills can actually pay back the cost of the insulation plus extra in the following years ahead.

5). Tailor the design to your lifestyle

One of the best ways to get the strongest value for money is to make sure that the right cash is spent on the most important things. Here at Bischell, good design isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s also about understanding your lifestyle and tailoring the plans to suit. For example, if you don’t regularly cook, then it may be best to save money on appliances and buy a mid-range stove instead of something more expensive. This then allows you to put that saved cash into something which you’ll find more useful. On the flip side, if cooking is a hobby, then it may be worth saving money in other areas and then investing that into a top-of-the-range kitchen suite for you to enjoy. There are many other situations like this throughout the home where you can adapt them to your lifestyle to ultimately get the biggest bang for your buck.

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Short of moving to another property or conducting a refurbishment or residential construction, there’s little you can do to increase the actual floor space of a bedroom, living room or bathroom. However, there are a number of quick and very simple tricks which can increase the perceived space and ultimately make the room feel larger than it really is.

Let’s take a look at a few of them:

1). Increase natural light

A brighter room will always feel more spacious and airy compared to one which is dark and gloomy. For that reason, try to increase natural light flow by installing larger windows or glass doors. If this is too much of a task, then try removing heavy curtains or blinds and also removing any windowsill clutter which could impede light flow. The more light, the better!

2). Increase empty floor space

More empty floor space contributes towards an open plan feel, so try to have at least one section of empty space where you could comfortably stand without being impeded by any objects around you. To achieve this, try removing tables (or using a smaller table) and also removing any rugs.

3). Use bright tones on walls and other surfaces

Bright tones reflect more light and ultimately make the room feel more spacious. Whites and creams work well for this – even if they’re paired with darker undertones to provide contrast.

4).Use mirrors

As mirrors reflect the area back on themselves, it helps to increase the perceived space without actually increasing room size – almost like a visual portal to another section of the room. Try and place large mirrors on walls and also near windows to get in more of that natural light. Also avoid pointing mirrors towards cluttered areas as this can increase the perceived clutter and ultimately makes the room feel more cramped.

5). De-clutter

Store away any items which aren’t regularly used to increase the overall empty volume within a room. You could also try de-clutting fixtures, fittings and decorations through experimentation. For example, remove a pillow or two from a sofa, or remove a decorative fixture from a wall, and then see if it helps to make the room feel more spacious.

6). Push things back

One very simple yet understated trick! Make sure any items of furniture are pushed right up against any walls. Sometimes they can be an inch or two away, so by pushing them back, you can free up a few inches of floor space throughout the whole room and then increase the perceived area. A few places to check include sofas and also TVs placed in corners.

7). Improve room flow

Walk throughout you room to see how well people can flow through as they move around. If you have to move through any narrow areas where you may risk knocking a piece of furniture, then this can create a bottleneck which can reduce the perception of space. If this happens, try adjusting items of furniture so you have plenty of space to manoeuvre around.

8). Experiment with layout

There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to spacious layouts, so it’s always best to experiment to see what works. You may not only happen upon a far more spacious layout by chance, but freshening up the layout can really bring back an extra boost of enthusiasm for your design and that post-decoration excitement – especially if you’ve had the old layout for years. When experimenting with layout, try placing seating areas near windows, making sure that the view when seated is clutter-free, and also leaving plenty of central floor space for that ‘open plan’ feel.

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