Owners Sophie Griffiths, an architect, and Sarah Howell, a civil engineer, bought a Victorian terrace in Reigate in 2018 with plans to transform it into a family home.
“When we first moved into the house, the rooms were dark and cramped,” says Sophie. “The dining room was a walkthrough space to reach a narrow galley kitchen and the family bathroom was at the back of the house on the ground floor. The best view of the south-facing garden was from the loo – something needed to change!”
The loft conversion
The renovation project started with a dormer loft conversion to create a master bedroom with an ensuite.
The loft ensuite now fits perfectly into the slope of the roof with a bespoke shower door.
The main extension
Next, the couple wanted to replace the previous 1980s extension at the back of this Victorian terrace.
“We spent about three years planning the main extension project to make sure we found the right balance between cost and additional space,” explains Sophie. “We wanted to create a kitchen and dining space that felt different to the rest of the house, a room with a feeling of spaciousness for family gatherings in contrast to the cosy, smaller rooms of the original cottage.”
The kitchen and dining room now sit in an open-plan, bright space with a full-height framed view of the garden.
The large sliding doors help connect the kitchen and dining area to the garden, creating a strong indoor-outdoor link. “The connection to the garden was also really important as we’d lived without it for so long – we couldn’t wait to have breakfast with a view of the garden,” says Sophie.
To maximise storage, they went for built-in joinery. Light and neutral paint colours, along with natural wood finishes, bring a sense of Scandinavian calm into the kitchen.
Sophie and Sarah also wanted to relocate the family bathroom into a narrow two-storey side extension. Situated on the first floor, it is just big enough to squeeze in a freestanding bath, with a warm oak vanity and fluted tiles.
The roof of the extension was cleverly designed with sedum planting, which looks like a garden from the upstairs windows – the perfect finishing touch.
Photography: Ralph James & Will Scott, Still Moving London.
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