College Road had been empty for a year when the client purchased the 91 sq. m. Victorian terraced property with the intention of making it their family home. The layout was typical to that style of house, two up, two down, with a kitchen and bathroom in the two-storey outrigger to the rear. The house had previously been extended, creating a utility to the rear, leaving very little garden space. The approach was to demolish the existing extension and replace it with a side return extension thus allowing for a full width living space to the rear of the property, opening out onto the now larger garden. The ground floor was opened up, allowing a view through the house to the garden and allowing for light to reach the centre of the space, which had previously been very dark. The kitchen was relocated to the front of the property and the living area to the rear: This increased privacy to the living area and ensured a strong connection with the garden. At first floor level the chimneybreast in the outrigger was removed creating a larger third bedroom. Relocating the door to this bedroom allowed the small family bathroom to be rationalised and made larger, thus it could be used efficiently for a family with young children. The whole house required re-wiring, re-plumbing and general refurbishment, thus we had to design carefully and think innovatively to ensure costs would remain within budget. . Where possible materials found on site were reused such as the existing pine floorboards that were simply painted. Inexpensive commercial brick paving was used to line the rear garden and off the shelf kitchen carcasses with specially painted doors provided a bespoke yet affordable kitchen, which became the centrepiece to the ground floor. To maximise light, the walls and ceilings throughout the house were painted a brilliant white and softened by the muted, satin grey of the floor. A warmer, dark grey was used for the kitchen. Upstairs the bathroom used a similar colour palette as well as natural timber, ensuring the house read as a whole. The bright yellow children’s table in the kitchen’s bay window and the timber frame dining table offered a refreshing contrast to the soft colour palette. Similarly, the eye is drawn towards the striking black frames around the roof light and glass double doors onto the patio. These darker counter points create a sense of depth and space.