Take a look around this extended 1930s semi that was doubled in size

Having outgrown their Edwardian flat with the birth of their daughter, now four, these homeowners were keen to find a larger family space – somewhere suburban, but with an easy commute to the capital.

'To optimise our budget, we widened our search boundaries and discovered this house on a quiet, leafy street in a small Surrey town,' they explain.

Recalling, 'The property had been rented out for five years and was in a bad state of repair. But we could see that it had potential. With room to expand at the back and side, affordability and space outweighed the fact that it wasn't quite the period house we'd hoped for.'

Exterior

The couple viewed the property in the summer of 2013 and moved in almost immediately. 'We lived there without making any changes, while plans were drawn up by our architect,' they explain. 'However, we moved out for the bulk of the work, which took two months. We had time to plan, schedule and order in advance, so everything was ready and there were no delays.'

Two extensions were completed, one at the back of the house and another at the side, with the demolition of a freestanding garage. This gave the family a downstairs playroom and utility, as well as an extra bedroom and bathroom upstairs. 'Overall, we have increased our internal footage by half,' say the owners. Showing the benefits of building an extension on a house.

Dining area

The work included a single-storey rear kitchen extension, opening onto a wide terrace with steps onto a lawn. 'The outdoor area was a good size,' say the owners, 'so we were able to take 3.5m of it for the new space without it having any significant impact on the garden.'

Kitchen

The kitchen is a sleek contemporary area with white quartz counters. 'We couldn't find what we wanted,' say the owners, 'so we sketched our design and ordered the pieces online.'

Family room

The couple knocked down the wall connecting the kitchen to the the family room to create a free-flowing expanse on the ground floor. The new open-plan living room ideas provides a highly practical multi-functional, family space. A clever sideboard-style storage unit has been created using the same cabinetry that is in the kitchen.

Living room

This contemporary space combines sophisticated elegance with pattern and texture. 'We started with a neutral scheme,' say the owners. 'Then added layers of jewelled colour with textiles and bold wallpaper, to create depth.'

Entrance hall

The entrance hall is kept neat with a slim cabinet that has plenty of storage space. A cleverly positioned mirror makes the most of the light coming in through the glass door.

Main bedroom

This sumptuous setting is perfectly balanced with symmetrically placed furniture and accessories. Striped walls add a fun and modern feel to the traditional scheme.

En suite

The en suite has a wet room feel with a large shower that is protected by a barely visible screen. An inset shelf provides the perfect spot for lotions and potions.

Child's room

Yellow and grey make a great combination in this children's room. It's a compact space, but the position of the bed under the window takes full advantage of the available floor area.

Bathroom

The main bathroom is far more colourful than the en suite, with green tiles and marbled wallpaper adding a pop of colour.

Seeing the beautiful pictures above, you would imagine the owners must be finished renovating their extended 1930s semi. However, they have other ideas: 'We're now thinking about a loft conversion idea,' they say. 'We have so many ideas to develop, we're running out of places to try them.'