House extension modern design

There is a growing trend for home owners to install a more contemporary or modern type of house extension rather than matching in with the existing house design. This can work well if done correctly but can also have inherent design problems in lack of correct detailing and poor weathering performance later on in the extensions life.

Simply adding a white rendered highly glazed box onto a back of a Victorian semi-detached property will not always produce the desired result offering a quality contrasting design offering long term performance. Nor will adding token gesture panels of vertical cedar boarding instantly give a flat roofed extension that clever modern contemporary look.

Regretfully, there are increasing numbers of modern looking house extensions that are deteriorating very fast or looking shabby within the first five years of life simply due to lack of thought, poor quality design and detailing. If the eaves fascia boards are simply fixed to the wall surface with no prominent soffit overhang for example then it will resemble a cheap ‘thrown up pig pen’ offering no weathering resistance to rain that will become very damp and stained after a very short period of time.

Another approach to obtaining a modern house extension design is to consider the clever use of readily available standardised glazing units & how they are placed within the building envelope. The use of bi-fold doors for example can instantly create a highly glazed modern feel. The use of tall vertical slim glazing can also be appropriate for modern house extension design. Clever close grouping of say 3 small square windows can be another way to give the house extension that ‘modern edge‘.

Roof lights such as those made by Velux is another way to introduce modern elements within a house extension and again how they are located within the roof slopes & grouping close together rather than spreading them apart can be a clever way to have a contemporary feel for a house extension.

Vaulted ceilings with glazed gable ends to pitched roofs are also interesting modern looking design features that will also add light and give an extra sense of space & height to the house extension rooms being formed or extended.