CO ANTRIM / PROJECT
EXTENSION AND RENOVATION
Good things come to those who wait Especially when you are about to make a significant investment in your life Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Paul Lindsay
T
he best way to plan a renovation project is over a long period of time, whilst living in your house. That’s how you get to know what will really work, what you actually need and it will give you the time to put the money together to get what you want. This is what Bruce and Rosin Crane of Co Antrim were lucky to be able to wait for. “We moved back from Scotland 10 years ago and bought a house in Co Antrim,” explains Bruce. “We bought it at the height of the market and despite viewing hundreds of new builds we couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for.” “We liked the cottagey look of this house and felt it was quite different, its 100-year-old walls oozing character. Most importantly we knew it had good potential for a renovation or extension project. The back of the house was bland as compared to the front, and we knew there was room for improvement there too.”
Planning stage
“We mulled our options for a long time, deciding what we wanted to do,” adds Bruce. “We lived in the house five years before we started and we gave it a great bit of thought.” Their children also helped them prioritise. “With young kids in a big farmhouse, the kitchen is a big piece of the puzzle so we knew we wanted to keep the existing kitchen as the core of the house.” “At the start, we were going around at shows, such as Selfbuild Live, to get advice
The outhouses were demolished and rebuilt (right portion of the house on this photo). The door on the right gives access to the playroom.
and inspiration,” continues Bruce. “We had our hearts set on adding a sunroom at the back of the house, which is where the views are.” “When we bought the property there was a shed attached to the house and the original kitchen was used as a store room/ gym as, twenty years ago, the owners extended on the left hand side to add the current kitchen.” “The solution for us was to convert the outhouse into useable space and extend towards the garden. This added a toy room, a sunroom with bedroom and shower room upstairs, along with a bigger back hall. The larger back hallway is now there for the WINTER 2017 / SELFBUILD / 55