Brett, Anja, and Nate have called their charming Lambeth house a home since 2019. Having spent some time exploring the market for a South London house that ticked all of their boxes, they found themselves drawn to this particular property based on its fantastic renovation potential.

Choosing not to renovate immediately, the family spent a couple of years living in the house in its original state. During this time they became familiar with its strengths and pain points, enabling them to form a really strong understanding of their renovation goals. Fast forward to 2023, with Resi by their side, their plans came to life through an ambitious ground floor rear extension project.

How did your project come about?

The decisions around buying this house were around its potential rather than how it was when we got it. We really wanted a house with a driveway, but we couldn't find one, so we went for one that had the potential to have one.

What was the house like pre-renovation, and what were the pain points?

So there was a small kitchen at the back of the house, with a dining room beside it. The steps that now go into the extension were steps that lead down to our old patio area. The lounge was in the same place, but we took the opportunity to renovate that too when we extended.

The house was old and tired, and the ground floor was extremely cold. To be down here in winter time, you had to be wrapped up very warm. The radiators didn't seem to do anything, and the windows were old and drafty. Because of the way the house was built, the draft came straight through the house up through the floorboards. Winters were not nice!

It wasn’t terrible from a light perspective, but everything was cramped together and the kitchen was an awkward shape. We also only had space for a counter level fridge and freezer, which was tight for a family of three.

We love having people over, and as soon as we had one or two people everything suddenly felt quite tight.

We also wanted to be able to make better use of the garden in the summer. We had these strange 12ft tall hedges along the side of the garden that were impossible to maintain.

What were your renovation goals?

We wanted a big extension to make better use of the space, new floors and windows to keep the heat in, and landscaping done so we could have a driveway and a nice garden. We also really wanted a utility room to have a separate place to store the washing machine. And a downstairs WC, as we like to have people over and didn't want people to have to trudge up and downstairs constantly, we wanted them to have that facility. Plus it's easier for our parents when they visit.

How is life in your Resi home?

It's a relief! We still have a few cosmetic things to do, but the space feels great, it really feels ours and everyone's enjoying it. Nate loves it, there's loads of space for him to run around and play. And we have the luxury of a nice big entertaining space, which is great.

We're excited for the summer. The doors open all the way up, and we're east facing so the sun shines straight into the extension from April / May time onwards. It can feel a bit like a greenhouse, so we installed an awning outside to take the edge off, and the veluxes are automatic to make sure the room is aired.

I love the kitchen. Even if I'm not cooking, I often spend time just stood in the kitchen looking out, as it's such a nice place to be.

We chose a Magnet kitchen, bamboo parquet flooring throughout the ground floor and we hired a carpenter to design and fit the laminated plywood shelves.

What made you choose Resi as your partner for the project?

I googled around and came across Resi as you were local. I looked through the website and at the case studies, and thought it looked good. Initially I explored a few design & build companies, but I found myself largely warned away from this. So I decided to go for the separate architect and builder route, which paid off.

Resi was easy. The design part was good, we knew it would be tricky with the floor levels but we've come out the other side with a really interesting space. The dashboard and the chat function were really useful, as I had a lot of questions as the project went along, and having everything in one place for various stages of the project was great. I wouldn’t have got that with anyone else. And being able to get recommendations for builders, structural, surveys etc. too was useful.

Photography by Peter Furlong.