This project was a very special one – the opportunity for us to transform a house that, as it was, prevented the resident family from living independently and doing the things they enjoy. The son of the family is a wheelchair user and has multiple disabilities and was not able to access parts of the house or get out to the garden.

The brief for this project was to transform this house into a home, a place where the family could enjoy time together and that enabled full independence and access. We needed to create a wider and easier route to the garden, create space in the tiny kitchen and to bring more light into the house and provide a place in which to enjoy the beautiful new garden.

We opened up the existing kitchen and connected it with a new off-the-shelf Victorian inspired glass house extension, doubling the size of the room and bringing in loads of natural daylight. We wanted to celebrate the structure so we placed the beam just under the ceiling and made a feature of it by painting it green.

We chose Victorian garden conservatory as our design theme and green as our main colour, offsetting the pale tones of the walls with a striking patterned tile floor, copper accessories and floral William Morris wallpaper as backing for the shelves.

We carefully planned the design and installation of the conservatory to make sure the window pane would be at exactly the same height as the worktop. This created an ‘infinity worktop’, a great way of visually connecting the outside to the inside. We placed one long run of kitchen worktop along the wall facing out onto the garden.

To enhance this view of the garden, we ensured plenty of plants in the kitchen by designing a shelf at one end of the conservatory that continued out into the garden, visually connecting the garden to the house.

“Working on the show with Alan Titchmarsh and the team has been a real privilege for us as architects. We both believe in the power that good design has to change peoples’ lives. To transform the homes of families who have faced consistent challenges and to be able to empower them, through their newly designed homes to achieve independence, happiness and increased well-being is why we do what we do” George Bradley, Director

Project Leader: Claire Holton