Outside In - Reigate, Surrey
For the owners of this traditional Reigate home, the kitchen was the heart of the house—but it felt like it was beating in the dark. Despite having a beautiful, sprawling garden, the rear of the property was hindered by awkwardly shaped rooms and a fragmented layout. The kitchen was cramped and dark, the dining area felt isolated, and the transition to the outdoors involved dated French doors onto a tired patio.
The goal was clear: create a spacious, modern family hub that didn't just look at the garden, but felt like a part of it.
The Vision: Seamless Flow and Boundless Light
A Our design centred on a sleek, single-story rear extension designed to break down the barriers between indoors and out. To solve the "dark core" of the original house, we focused on two primary elements: volume and transparency.
By extending the floor plan, we created an expansive open-plan zone. However, the real "hero" of the project was the installation of extra-wide charcoal aluminium bi-fold doors. We designed these to span nearly the entire width of the new extension, featuring a flush threshold to ensure a perfectly level transition from the interior floor to the garden patio.
The Solution: Engineering the "Outside-In" Experience
- Maximizing Light: The bi-fold doors act as a wall of glass, flooding the previously dark dining area with natural light even on overcast days.
- Creating Space: By removing the original rear wall and replacing it with an open-plan extension, we eliminated the "bottleneck" feeling of the old layout.
- The Seamless Transition: When fully retracted, the doors stack neatly to the side, physically removing the wall and doubling the living space by incorporating the patio as a "summer lounge."
The Result: A Bright New Chapter
The transformation was immediate. What was once a series of dark, disconnected rooms is now a bright, airy sanctuary. The family now spends their mornings eating breakfast with a panoramic view of the garden and their evenings entertaining guests with the doors wide open.
"You have always been client focussed, always had us and our family at the forefront of your actions and decisions, and remained calm and patient throughout. Would we recommend you? Absolutely, without hesitation. Thank you so much from us all " — The Homeowner
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