Impressive Innovation
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hen Kevin and Sandra Brown bought this ten-year-old Purley on Thames property in 2011 they felt it had great potential. Kevin explains: “It was a lovely house to begin with, but it wasn’t living up to its full potential. We had always thought of taking on a renovation project, but I suppose we found the reality a little daunting. This project worked for us because the home was in a livable condition and had ample space for us to reside in it whilst work was taking place. This gave us the opportunity to really make the space our own, but at our own pace.” Because Kevin is semi-retired, he was able to project manage whilst working part time. The couple didn’t have a preconceived idea of how they wanted their new home to look, so spent weekends visiting shops to get a feel for their style preferences and then surfed the internet to source products that matched this.
Taking in the view One of the first jobs was to renovate the very top floor featuring the master bedroom. This mezannine level sits within the pitched roof and is situated back from the large windows that look out onto the river. This allows for a double height ceiling in the first floor main living space, which benefits from extensive glazing across the entire front wall right up into the building’s apex. The mezannine level’s safety was originally secured with a single balustrade. However, this presented an obstacle, as the couple wanted to preserve the stunning view onto the river without letting
Bi-folding doors have been supplied by Origin
The Berkshire property sits alongside the River Thames
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