Through artful extensions and ingenious design choices, Sophie Griffiths and Sarah Howell have doubled the footprint of their Victorian terrace house
As an architect by trade, Sophie Griffiths has spent years advising her clients on ways to make the most of small spaces and increase the value of their homes. So when she and her partner, Sarah Howell, first set their eyes on a modestly sized end-of-terrace cottage, they were quick to recognise its untapped potential. “When we first moved into the house, the rooms were dark and cramped,” explains Sophie.
The layout of the house was typical of most Victorian properties in that the dining area served as a thoroughfare to the narrow galley kitchen, while the family bathroom languished at the rear of the house. “The best view of the south-facing garden was from the loo,” laughs Sophie. “That definitely had to change.”
CREATING MORE SPACE
Eager to realise the potential of their new home, the couple set about maximising every square inch of space from the roof down. The process started with a dormer loft conversion — an ambitious move to create a master bedroom with an en suite in the previously dormant roof space. “Coming from a one-bedroom flat, our top priority was adding another bedroom upstairs.”
Given the low height of the existing roof, they introduced four large rooflights and a dormer to provide additional floorto-ceiling height and maximise the feeling of spaciousness. An expansive picture window frames views of the garden below and floods the room with light. The en suite is cleverly fitted into the slope of the roof and includes a bespoke shower door designed to precisely fit the angle of the ceiling.
The loft extension is set back from the main roofline while the side extension is relatively narrow when seen from the front. These were deliberate choices to make them barely visible from the street view, but from the rear, where the full volume of the extension is more visible, you can appreciate the transformation. The pair deliberately leant towards using durable materials like charred larch cladding on the loft extension and dark brickwork on the side extension, not only for their stylish looks but also for their ease of maintenance.
“When we initially moved in, we didn’t have the budget to tackle all the improvements that we wanted to achieve for the house,” explains Sophie. “This led us to approach the renovations in phases. Completing the loft conversion and adding the master bedroom allowed us to then remortgage the house with a higher value. This approach can be helpful when people want to change the ground floor space, as it provides financial flexibility.”
Work on the loft concluded in October 2018, and it wasn’t until 2023 that Sophie and Sarah began work on the second phase of their home renovation. “We spent about three years planning th
