Project: Contemporary single storey extension to a rural Suffolk Listed cottage.
Location: Hartest, Nr Bury St Edmunds. Suffolk.
Contemporary Extension to a Listed Cottage in Rural Suffolk.
This project involved a sensitive and contemporary extension to a charming Listed cottage nestled in the Suffolk countryside.
The client’s brief was to increase the space in the existing kitchen and dining area, while significantly improving natural light. The property, set within a large, mature garden bordered by hedges and trees, enjoys a peaceful brook running along its eastern boundary—a truly idyllic setting.
Our clients wanted to create an open-plan living area connected to the kitchen and dining space, with enhanced views of the garden, seamless access to a new outdoor dining patio, and a brighter, lighter interior.
We designed a flat-roofed extension with contemporary vertical timber cladding, offering a bold yet respectful contrast to the historic cottage. The flat roof enabled us to rotate the extension slightly toward the garden’s centre, maximising the visual connection to the landscape. Large folding sliding doors flood the space with natural light and create effortless indoor-outdoor flow. Additionally, we installed a new rooflight in the existing rear lean-to, further brightening the kitchen.
The result is a beautiful, functional space that connects effortlessly with the outdoors. The extension enhances the character of the original building, improves comfort, and significantly boosts energy performance. The internal environment is now noticeably warmer and more efficient, with reduced energy bills—future-proofed for decades to come.
A small extension with a big impact.
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