A small addition

Looking to downsize in a home she could futureproof, Catherine Chalmers reorganised and extended the layout of a 1950s bungalow

- Caroline Ednie

When Catherine Chalmers decided to downsize from her family home and find a more suitable house to spend her retirement in, a 1950s bungalow in the same local area to the south of Edinburgh came along and seemed to offer the potential that she was looking for.

“The aim was to futureproof my living plans, but in an affordable way,” says Catherine. “The main drawback of the bungalow was that it had no real gathering space-cum-dining area for my family and friends when they visited. But the possibility of an extension to the new home with the potential to provide that meeting space made the property attractive.”

Another key shortcoming that Catherine was keen to address was the lack of light internally — a common problem with many period properties of this period. The back of the house was all utility space with no garden connection — the garage occupied the prime sunny site in the mature garden.

Catherine sought an architect to help realise her ambitions for the house. “A few years earlier, while flicking through a magazine, I came across an article on a modernised property in the north of Scotland. The design really appealed to me and I noticed that the architect was from Edinburgh. I noted the details in case I should ever want to consider getting building work done and, a few years on, called T.A.P to see if they would consider a small, local project. The architect, Neil Taylor, said he’d be happy to meet with me and things quickly moved forward from that point.”