REAL PROJECT MODERN EXTENSION
The Ransley family sought out their dream home while living abroad, collaborating with architects to transform a dated house into a modern marvel
HOMEOWNERS Debbie and Nick Ransley
LOCATION Dulwich, south London BUILD TYPE Single-storey extension SIZE70m 22BUILD TIME 12 months HOUSE COST £2.5m BUILD COST £480,000
Findinga new home can be an arduous task at the best of times, but when you have to plan for decent commutes and good local schools, it all becomes quite challenging — especially when you’re not even living in the same country at the time. Debbie and Nick Ransley and their family – Max, 21, Ella, 19, and William, 17 – were in this position when they began their search. They’d been residents in Canada for five years and had decided to return home to the UK. There had been a few false starts in their hunt and they came close to buying a house in the next street to the one where they eventually bought their home, in south London. “The survey on that particular property threw up several problems,” says Debbie. “So it didn’t make sense to move forward with the purchase.”
FINDING THE PERFECT PLOT FROM A DISTANCE
It was during a two-week visit to the UK when Debbie spent a day viewing houses that her luck changed. “I’d already seen five houses in London, which weren’t suitable, but then the estate agent said they had a property that had been taken off the market and perhaps we could go and see it,” she explains. “I was doing the viewings on my own at this point, and we were getting pretty desperate. Fortunately, it was a pleasant surprise.”
So much of a pleasant surprise, in fact, that they had their offer accepted and bought the house without Nick even seeing it. By chance, Nick had grown up on the same street so he already knew the properties on the road, although he didn’t view the house as an owner until the family had migrated back to London in July 2014. The house was in a good area for reputable schools and is just over 10 minutes from central London by train. Although it was dated, it was liveable and had four bedrooms. “The fourth bedroom was small, which concerned me,” says Debbie. “But it could fit a bunk bed and a desk.”
GARDEN TRANSFORMATION
It was the property’s impressive external space that initially wowed Debbie; the garden was exceptionally large for a London house. “It was amazing — the house is located in an area of Dulwich where there is a focus on tree conservation. We are surrounded by mature trees and we’re not overlooked by neighbours — the garden even had two ponds!”
