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| The LED lights, triple-glazed dormer window and mega-insulating blind |
Yes, this is a "blog" – that means you need scroll down for earlier stories about the building work and initial design. The pretty pictures of the finished space are up here.
So... was it all worth it? Unequivocally yes. The disruption was awful at times – especially because as a parent and a home-worker I couldn’t just walk out of the house and go to work somewhere else for the day. But now that it’s finished, it’s a truly lovely space to work or relax in. It will make an excellent home office over the coming years and ultimately who knows which member(s) of the family may co-opt it as a bedroom. There’s a great sense of peace up here, with only rooftops and clouds for company. And it's wonderful knowing that, despite the huge airy room, it won't add loads to our heating bills or help destroy the planet.
Want to know more about the final result? Click on read more…
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| The triple-glazed roof window |
It was very important to us that the eco-friendly elements weren’t just "greenwash". The insulation and energy saving features are excellent. And the end result is that the space remains a lovely and stable temperature, unlike any other loft I have been in. And we'll save money on heating, electricity and water bills. Unless the government’s planned Renewable Heat Incentive scheme is abandoned we will even make money in the long run, thanks to the solar panels.
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| The air source heat pump (top) |
All photos copyright MGN Ltd (Sunday Mirror Homes & Holidays, styled by Angela Macfarlane). To reuse pictures please contact the Sunday Mirror picture desk. To reuse words or quote me please
email me. And please feel free to leave comments and questions at the bottom of the stories. Enjoy!
5 comments:
I'm so envious! We'd love a loft but in truth if we were spending that amount of money, we have a greater need for a bigger kitchen and extending sideways downstairs would happen first.
It all look fabulous though... my experience of loft rooms is that they get very hot in summer (as does my back bedroom office which doesn't have loft cavity) so I'll have a chat with you about this properly next time I see you!
Well you'd certainly make the most of a bigger kitchen, knowing you! Yes, those side return extensions are all the rage these days.
Fixing the over-hot in summer (and indeed cold in winder) problem is just a matter of getting good insulation with a high thermal mass. Ours has no probs at all, happy to advise!
Hi,
I'm so glad I've found your blog. We are planning to extend our loft and we would like solar panels on the flat roof and windows wih outside blinds.
The quotes we had in from 4 loft companys are not very flexible and seem to come as standard (incl. their standard materials. Is there an chance you could recommend an architect and builder to us? We are based in Kingston.
Hi,
I'm so glad I've found your blog. We want to go ahead with our loft conversion, but all the quotes from loft companies seem to be pretty standard and not very flexible (they use their standard materials). We would like solar panels on the flat roof and windows with outdoor rollers.
Any chance you could recommend an architect and a builder we could work with? we live in Kingston.
Hi Firenix, apologies but we're the other side of London, so I don't really know anyone local to you.
I'd suggest you ask around locally (ask friends but also local Facebook groups, Mumsnet, etc are good online communities to try). Also you could try someone like Architect Your Home http://www.architect-yourhome.com/ that puts people in touch with architects with a simple, transparent way of charging.
Plus I have heard good things about Gregory Phillips http://www.gregoryphillips.com/ who might go as far as Kingston?
Find the right architect and it should all fall into place, as they can probably recommend builders etc.
Good luck!
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