Daneswood
The Project
Renovation, modernisation and extension of a 100 years old 5110 sq ft private residence in Ascot, Berkshire
What the client liked
The location on a quiet private road, tucked away and out of sight at the end of a long drive, the character of the architecture, the large mature garden and outside period features such as the front porch, large stain glass windows and wall hanging tiles. They also found the 2-storey hexagonal turret an interesting feature. Inside, they loved the high ceilings, the original fire places and staircase, the large rooms, the quirkiness of little corners throughout the house, the old solid doors, the elegant skirting, coving, architraves, radiator covers and woodwork in general. Also the asymmetry of the whole house inside and outside, lend it a home-like and informal feel, when every house newly built in the area looks grand and formal with their symmetry around a middle door flanked by columns and a very predictable layout inside.
The 100 years old original house
The Brief
Renovate the house and extend it to adapt it to 21st century living, whilst retaining all period features and architectural style and informal feel.
Ensure all additions look similar in style, materials and proportions to the existing house so that, once the work completed, one cannot distinguish the new from the old, both inside and out.
Replicate the 2-storey turret at the end of the extension to balance the existing one and provide maximum shelter to the new south facing terrace.
Create a large new kitchen/breakfast/family room that makes the most of the view of the garden and sun light. This family room was to become the centre of family life for the owners, the “90%” room.
Create a large Master suite with views and light, children rooms with interesting features, en-suite bathrooms and dressing rooms, a children library and attractive guest rooms with bathrooms.
Create a large game/TV/children party room.
Create fully connected home offices for him and her.
Improve access to garage.
The house was built in a period when people lived differently. The kitchen, mainly used by staff in those days, was relatively small, tucked away and dark. The view through the window did not extend very far and space was limited for family living.
The client did not care for a Conservatory that they find hot in the summer, cold in the winter and difficult to keep clean.
The Drawing room was elegant and comfortable, yet allowed little view towards the garden.
The garage was awkward to access for today’s larger family cars.
Changing Layout
The ground floor before...
… and after.
So we created an extension at the back of the house that includes a new large kitchen, breakfast nook (photo below) and family living area with much space, large windows for maximum day light, 270 degree views of the garden and French doors that open onto the newly built terrace on one side and a herb garden on the other.
The sitting area consists of a large corner sofa wrapped around a big fire place for happy family living.
The original kitchen became the formal dining room – warm and cosy.
The original dining room, now windowless, was transformed into a “butler’s pantry”, where formal dining ware is kept and food and drinks are organised during dinners, far from the noise, smells and mess of the kitchen. A bar was also installed in the room.
The Study became an extension of the Drawing Room.
The Sitting Room was organised as a library.
A boot room was created out of the original rear Lobby and Utility room, ideal for families that are fans of the outdoors and have over-equipped sporty school children – and a dog.
Her office and a playroom were included and the original garage absorbed in the new extension.
A new 2-car garage was built as a separate extension.
A second stair case was added on the new extension side of the house, exactly matching the original one step by step, baluster to baluster.
In all, we nearly doubled the surface of the ground floor, keeping a relatively formal reception area in the old part of the house - that includes an entrance hall, the drawing room, a library and dining room, flowing seamlessly into a more informal family living area in the new extension.
The new windows were custom made to match the the old ones
"Daneswood was one of the first houses built in South Ascot, in the late 19th Century. Though it needed modernising, it was essential to us that anything done or added to the house would look exactly like the original. The result is astonishing. To date, no one has been able to tell what’s old and what’s new!"
-Leslie, Landlord
The garden was re-designed and a pool house built
The extended ground floor
The first floor
In the old part of the house, much of the energy was spent upgrading the existing bedrooms and re-doing the bathrooms. A smaller bedroom was transformed into a children library/study, another one into a dressing room.
In the extension, above the kitchen/family room, we built a large master suite and another bedroom, reached by the new stair case, which also serves the laundry room and his office above the garage.
The second floor
The two existing bedrooms in the old part of the house were updated and a large bathroom was added in the attic space. This way we created the perfect accommodation for guests who visit with their family.
In the extension, we created a 1,000 sq ft multi use room complete with all mod coms, equipped kitchen counter, toilets etc. An ideal kids’ room.
The Finished Project
A house that was nearly doubled in size (now 9,500 sq ft), yet looks like all of it was always there as one house. The bricks used for the extension were specially made to match the Victorian bricks of the original house, old hanging tiles were sourced to match the existing ones exactly, volume proportions were kept throughout, the roof was completely re-done, the garden re-designed and a pool house built.
The works took 12 months to complete (on time and on budget) and the value of the house increased by 70%.
What’s new and what’s old?