A carefully scaled new home that repairs a prominent corner and quietly completes the street.
The main house has been in our family for decades. In 2019, looking from the side elevation, it was clear something was missing. The corner is prominent and directly visible from the adjacent road, yet the outlook there had long been the rear elevations and higgledy-piggledy dormers of neighbouring properties. The brief became to add a modest two-bed home that repairs the streetscape, tidies the corner, and creates a better junction between the two roads, while minimising impact on neighbours and meeting small-site policy. The approved scheme delivers a 2-bed, 4-person dwelling of around 81 sqm GIA with a 27 sqm private garden, car-free, with cycle storage for two and strong local accessibility (PTAL 4).
The house holds the back-of-pavement line, then steps on upper levels to stay subservient to No. 2 and mediate to the lower bungalow and the larger Jubilee Church. A simple composition in London stock brick with a tiled upper level picks up local rhythms. An expressed entrance canopy and rendered reveal mark the front door. Low-level special-bond brickwork admits daylight to the kitchen. Above a crisp coping, wall-hung tiles and dormer-like windows break down the mass. Windows are placed for natural surveillance while respecting separation distances. Inside, the plan stacks kitchen/dining at lower ground (dual aspect), living + WC at upper ground with direct garden access, and two double bedrooms with a bathroom above.
A fabric-first specification targets good daylight, thermal efficiency and simple maintenance. The scheme includes policy-compliant refuse, permeable paving to hardstanding and green roofs to support biodiversity alongside planted private amenity. The result is compact, efficient accommodation with a strong connection to the garden.
This is an extension of the address we grew up in, first bought by our Grandad in the early 1990s. Making a small, careful building that strengthens the corner and improves the everyday view for neighbours felt like the right way to continue that story.
Year
2025
Type
New Build Home
Status
On-site
Location
Ilford, London
Size
140sqm