Major Remodelling and Extension, Kingswood

“We wanted an Architect with imagination, flare and practicality (a hard combination) and found it in Leigh, he listened to our ideas and created a stunning home which incorporated everything we wanted and more.

Leigh built a brilliant working relationship with our Builder and kept everyone in-check ensuring the job ran to schedule and keeping an eye on the budgets.What should have been the most stressful time in our lives became an exciting creation of which ourselves, Leigh and the builders are all very proud.”

Mike and Caroline Neame, Kingswood

The client’s brief was to remodel the existing house to provide the following accommodation:

• Hot Tub room including Sauna and Steam Rooms, changing room;
• Gymnasium;
• Cinema / Games room;
• Additional bedroom with ensuite facilities;
• Additional large reception room opening onto the spacious and mature gardens;
• Replan the kitchen to provide an open-plan living / family space;
• Replace existing detached double garage for integral triple garage;
• Remodel the exterior to the rear to provide a more contemporary feel;
• Maintain the ‘traditional’ look of the front elevation;
• Replan the Entrance Hall to provide a more dramatic space and clear away the small ‘boxy’ rooms that littered the ground floor accommodation.

The solution proposed included the construction of two new wings to the south facing rear elevation creating a natural courtyard patio enclosed by the wings which the family room, hot tub room and new reception room opened. To the first floor the gymnasium and cinema were located above the new triple garage and hot tub area.

Clearing away all the walls of the annex to the right of the property allowed the existing dining room to be relocated and by removing the walls to the entrance hall, taking in the former dining room, and removing the bedroom and ensuite above created a very large grand double height entrance hall suitable for a house of this size. The incorporation of a new gable feature window to the front elevation allows light to flood into this previously small and dark entrance area.