Rooms with a view

When Mr and Mrs Wood first purchased their home in 2012, they agreed to wait until their two young boys were older before embarking on a complete renovation. 

The house was built in 1967 and had been updated over the years. The previous owners had made some improvements, including a new kitchen but “…the house lacked the wow factor,” commented Mrs Wood.

“We knew we could create that by knocking down the single storey extension to build a double height extension, with an open plan kitchen, boot room, utility, downstairs and a new master bedroom with ensuite and dressing room, upstairs – all designed to take advantage of the view.”

Mr and Mrs Wood appointed a retired technical designer who had been involved in the original build, to agree what they wanted versus what was feasible and within budget.

Maximise the view

The secret to unlocking the full potential of the property was tomaximise the view at the rear. The architecture and design emphasise this, allowing daylight to pour into the house,giving greater connectivity between inside and out.

This has been achieved using Technal bi-folding doors and casement windows supplied by A Plus Aluminium and installed by local business, S.E.A. Windows and Doors.

“Previously, we had white PVC-U windows with lead detailing to create a ‘cottage’ look. They were inoffensive but lacked lustre and were not secure,” explained Mrs Wood.“We chose aluminium windows and doors because we believe they are more secure, durable and look more attractive than PVC.”

A Plus Aluminium

The owners approached A Plus Aluminium for guidance on product selection. “Visiting the showroom was invaluable; in fact, we visited twice which really helped to cement which products we wanted,” continued Mrs Wood.

The selected windows and doors have since maximised the viewing area and incoming light without compromising thermal performance. Using a combination of internal and external opening projections throughout, the bi-foldsalso offer great flexibility for indoor and outdoor living.

Colourinside and out

“We wanted to match the colour of the windows and doors to the house,” said Mrs Wood. “Once again, we drove around taking photos of houses we thought were attractive. We then obtained a RAL swatch and settled on RAL 7032 – pebble grey. A suggestion by S.E.A. Windows and Doors enhanced this further still – to match the interior frames to the exterior.

“We had originally thought we wanted dual colour, with white on the inside, but are so thankful to Brett at S.E.A. for persuading us not to,” said Mrs Wood.

“Having coloured frames on the inside really frames the view and complements the garden and countryside beyond, picking up the green tones. Both the windows and doors stand out against our white painted walls. We also matched the kitchen units and built-in wardrobes to the RAL colour, so we had a simple colour palette throughout.”

“A Plus was brilliant in helping us through those early stages,” concluded Mrs Wood. “Then Brett from S.E.A. spent an enormous amount of time helping us decide on what would be best, aesthetically, and working with the architect to find solutions.

“A Plus was great at prioritising deliveries to suit the build programme and the S.E.A fitting team went above and beyond.”