When planning your dream home extension, there’s a lot to think about:
· Where do you start?
· How can you make the most of your space?
· What can and can’t you do?
· How much will it cost?
· How can you create something that suits both yours and your partner’s or family’s tastes?
Starting with the big idea…
Your home extension planning all starts with a big idea. That idea may be a rough sketch, a design you’ve seen online, or you’ve been inspired by someone’s home.
In the early stages, it doesn’t have to be any more than that.
Your home extension’s possibilities are endless.
An architectural consultant will guide you through all these possibilities, by taking your initial thoughts and breathing life into your vision, in a style that suits you.
Start by thinking about the space you want to change.
At ICI Architecture Studio, we’ve seen growing demand for extensions to enlarge kitchen/dining areas to create an open plan living space. Other popular developments include loft and garage conversions as well as extensions to entrance halls, incorporating gallery staircases to ‘wow’ visitors. Click the link to visit our trends blog.
You can use social media channels, such as Pinterest, to build your inspiration board. This can help your architectural consultant get to know your vision and style, meaning your project will end up reflecting your taste.
To make the most of the space you’ve already got, first think about how you’ll use it once the project is complete. For example, is it about creating a social area for the whole family to get together? Or is it more about creating a cosy, quiet corner for some much-needed alone time?
What can (or can’t) you do without planning permission?
You may be able to extend your home without needing planning permission. These are termed ‘permitted development rights’.
Permitted development rights enable homeowners to improve or extend their home without the need to apply for planning permission, where that would be out of proportion with the impact of the intended works.
These rights do not apply to commercial properties, agricultural buildings or any homes which are flats, where planning permission will be required.
There may also be locally-granted planning permissions in place in your area (also referred to as a local development order, neighbourhood development order or a community right to build order). This can also mean you don’t need to apply for planning permission for certain developments.
Where your home extension project is not covered by permitted development rights or locally-granted planning permission, you will need to apply for planning permission to be granted by your local planning authority.
It’s important to review government guidance to check whether or not you need to apply for planning permission at the outset of your project, as it may influence your design.
How much will it cost?
Your home extension cost depends entirely on your vision – but it doesn’t have to cost the world.
At ICI Architecture Studio, we specialise in affordable architectural services and offer a like-for-like price match guarantee on all of our projects, making your project more affordable than you might think.
Our fees include walk-through videos and virtual reality experiences all at no extra cost.
Our common feedback from our clients is that:
'We go above and beyond their expectations.' and our quotes are 'very competitive and offer a lot of value for money.'
ICI Architecture Studio is committed to providing easy to access architectural services together with exceptional value for money through our low prices and our price match guarantee.
We offer free initial consultations with no obligations as standard and aim to make the sessions as informative as possible.
Creating a vision that suits everyone’s taste…
It can be challenging to decide on a final design for your home extension especially if there are different styles at play.
Ideally you want a 3D ‘walkthrough’. Visualisations are increasingly sophisticated. Watch a walk through and you feel as though you’ve really walked into the room. You can feel how it will feel when it’s complete.
Walkthroughs enable you to see your project’s full potential before you commit to it.
You need to work with a designer who embraces virtual reality (VR) so they help you to finesse and hone your design until it matches your vision.
Do you have a vision for how your home could be extended? Would you like to see if it can be done? Roughly how much it would cost? – let us guide you through the endless possibilities.
Want to find out more?
Book a FREE Initial consultation:
Drop us an email at: Team@iciarchitecture.co.uk or call 01260 602 005.
