A gallery of bright extensions to show how a carefully crafted palette of shades can easily make your project stand out from the crowd
FEATURE REBECCA FOSTER
BOLD SELECTION
Mat Barnes, a director at CAN, designed this cheerful rear extension for his family.
The scheme was inspired by mountainous landscapes – but more specifically, the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride at Disneyland.
‘The colours were picked to celebrate each of the different architectural elements,’ says Mat. Eclectic materials, including worktops and kitchen fronts made from recycled chopping boards/milk bottle tops, terrazzo floors and a concrete wall contribute to the eclectic array of hues.
The exposed bricks have been painted in Valspar’s Keep Calm, the underside of the staircase in RAL Dahlia livingetc.com Yellow, with RAL Traffic Red and RAL Sky Blue for the steels.
GOLD STAR
This wow-factor extension in north London replaces the cramped lean-to structure that previously sat at the back of the house.
‘The gold zinc was chosen to contrast with the pared-down colour palette of the internal space, while complementing the rich shade of the London stock brick,’ says James Dale, director at James Dale Architects. ‘To create a similar look, I’d suggest starting with the big decisions, like external finishes. From there, build up the materials palette as the design progresses.’
GOING GREEN
This extension to a 1930s house is an excellent showcase for how colour inspiration can be drawn from the period when the property was first built. The home is one of six in a row of semi-detached houses built at the same time, all featuring details such as curved bay windows and brightly coloured sills and doors, each expressed with its own accent colour. ‘We wanted to bring these details through to the new rear extension, so we added a bright pop of colour by incorporating the green handmade puddle-glazed tiles,’ says Jonathan Duffett, director at YARD Architects. The tiles stand out against the clean backdrop of render, painted in Dulux Weathershield Colour Mix RAL 9002, and window frames in RAL 7021. ‘Whether you live in a Victorian terrace, a mid-century detached house or a new build, this project shows how you can seek inspiration from the best design examples of the period. Seminal TV programmes and design books can provide a great starting point,’ says Jonathan.
1 CREATIVE WITH COPPER
The use of copper on nearby university buildings in Cambridge provided the initial seed of inspiration for this extension by Butcher Bayley Architects. ‘From this starting point we developed a colourful materials palette with a focus on bright, bold cho
