This was perhaps the largest project in our house. Originally a garage that had been poorly converted to form two rooms on split levels, with a ceiling so low that it felt a dark cave. The room was narrow and needed a design that maximised the space. Our vision was to have an adult only area that was super cosy in the winter and a bright space that naturally extended from the garden in the summer.

 

Using the skills I had gained in project managing the erection of small buildings, this was a multi phase refurbishment and extension.  The first phase was to commission a team to remove the concrete flat roof and dividing wall. After much deliberation we designed a full height roof that was completely open inside. As the original rooms were at different levels  the external brick work had to be built up before the roof could be installed (in comes another great contact Chris the bricky). I have built many a roof in my time and was well at home with this aspect but took it a step further undertaking the tiling myself. The back of the room was also completely opened up, with the installation of a pair of UPVC french doors, connecting the room to our beautiful garden.

 

Now for the new floor. Not content with a traditional finish, my wife had dreamt of having bare concrete that would ripple and expose the natural stones contained within in, creating something completely unique to our property. It was also important that the floor finish mirrored the colours of the patio area outside. By adding a warm gold concrete polish after I had troweled and diamond cut the area, we created a seamless flow between the garden and our new adult only space.

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Not wanting to waste space and miss an opportunity for added functionality (a key theme of my work) we incorporated a mezzanine floor in the open roof area with a balcony that overlooked the garden. Blocking up the original entrance to the room (which was accessed via our laundry room at the back of the house), and creating a new entrance from our main hallway, ensured the room was well and truly a central feature of our home. All of this 'opening up' required adding a further two structural steels, one to the hallway and another supporting the mezzanine floor. We are currently up to three new and rather large steels in our refurbished home.

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As far as the carpentry goes, this was the easy bit. After installing the floor joists for the new mezzanine, I laid a beautiful pine flooring, to give it a natural touch. My wife wanted a balcony that was quirky and square, so rather than opting for traditional spindles, we designed and fitted a balcony that utilised square sections of wood of all different sizes. To finish I fitted the skirting and architrave.

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The room centres around a large and modern wood burning stove that reaches the mid sections of the roof. This really does turn the room into a space you never want to leave.

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All in all this project took nine months to complete but boy it was worth it in the end. The mezzanine provides our guest with their own independent space and extends the offerings of this unique room. Complete serenity exudes from this room and an instant calm falls upon us as soon as we enter, yet again transforming how we live our family life in our refurbished home.

 

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