Windows
Try a book nook Some window seats look as if you’d stop there for a few moments, while others beckon you to spend a longer time. This one’s definitely at the stay-a-while end of the scale, with a comfortably deep seat pad and a smart and supportive buttoned back cushion. With books ready to grab from a wall nook and abundant natural light for reading, it’s a tempting picture.
Open storage can work as well as closed cupboards in a window seat design. Bookshelves don’t require much depth to fit paperbacks, but, at a right angle to the window, can accommodate a decent number of volumes on shelves whose widths match the depth of the seat. In this small room, sticking to the same recessive colour for seat, storage and walls gives the illusion of extra space.
Get the lowdown A pair of oriel windows – which protrude like bays but don’t reach the ground – create window seating in this kitchen-diner. It’s an idea well worth throwing into the mix if you’re planning a new downstairs extension. These windows extend nearly to the ground, so the seating inside the house is low. It’s a tactic you might want to copy if you’d like the perches to be easy for children to reach or suitable for older family members.
Go for an upgrade This extension replaced a previous addition that didn’t make the most of the space; this one is full-width. The architects also lowered the ground floor for a more comfortable ceiling height inside. As a result, the new part makes less impact on the neighbouring properties, since it’s not so tall.
An idea the architect suggested, which we also love, is a glass box window in the end wall to form part of the end seating area. I love the dramatic effect it brings to the house pictured here, while also serving a useful purpose. The black frame would tie in nicely with the outlines of the new patio doors we’re planning, too. It would also make a great spot to drink a morning coffee while observing the garden as it changes through the seasons.
Stagger your floors Rather than being sloped, as just seen, or flush, as in the first project, this two-storey rear extension, on a Grade II-listed property, is stepped, so the top part overlooks the (triple) glazed ceiling of the new room below.
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