Home inspiration
Anna and Joel Loader brought their period house into the 21st century with a modern extension and striking interior
When Anna and Joel Loader made the decision to move out of London, the couple set their sights on a small village in Berkshire, close to where Anna had grown up. ‘We came out of the station and there was the feel of autumn – the smell of woodsmoke and mist over the canal,’ says Anna. ‘The setting sold the village to us. We knew it would be a lovely place to live.’
By 2008, they thought they had found their dream home, only for it to be sold straight away before they even had a chance to view it. But, as luck would have it, the deal soon fell through and the estate agent got back in touch to arrange a viewing. ‘It was a lovely house, so we put in an offer immediately,’ says Joel. It was the period features that particularly attracted the couple. ‘The Victorian frontage was attractive, but there was also a Georgian property behind, so it had the best of both periods. Plus, it was light and spacious, and it reminded me of my childhood home,’ says Joel.
It was clear the house needed quite a bit of attention, but they had a vision of what it could become. ‘We did a lot of remedial work at first,’ says Anna. ‘In fact, we started renovating as soon as we moved in.’ They carried out the project slowly over three years, replacing floors, installing underfloor heating and adding a new boiler. Walls were then re-rendered and replastered, ceilings were repaired and part of the roof was replaced. Once completed, the couple could finally focus on decorating their home.
Then, in 2016, with all three bedrooms occupied by themselves and their two children, they realised that they needed to extend or move home. ‘Properties don’t come up for sale in the village very often, so we decided to extend,’ says Anna. The couple turned to architect and structural engineers Orange Key Design Studios (orangekeyltd.co.uk) to discuss their options. ‘We came back with plans that were beyond what we expected for the house and what it could be,’ says Joel.
