2019’s Best Homes: Four Restorations Giving New Life to Old Homes

At DGA, we don’t like the word “renovation”. It implies a bit of plastering and a fresh coast of paint; it doesn’t do justice to the craftsmanship and care involved in giving an old home new life.

We prefer “restoration”. It more accurately describes our approach, which is always to restore a home to its former glory or intended function.

That doesn’t mean our work is stuck in the past – far from it. A home must be viewed through a contemporary lens. After all, what might have been the perfect family home 200 years ago may no longer fulfil what you need from a home today.

This might mean knocking down walls, rearranging floor plans, extending up, to the side or down below. But through what can be quite dramatic change, the spirit of the house is restored and reimagined for those who call it home.

Complete Internal Reinvention for Richmond Building of Townscape Merit

From the outside, you may not be able tell much is changing for this Building of Townscape Merit in Richmond’s St. Matthias Conservation Area. However, the mostly unchanged facade hides a dramatic metamorphosis within.

Walls, floors and ceilings have disappeared while we completely reimagine the internal layout and function of each room. Steel, soon to be covered, holds the original structure aloft while diggers and drills clear out vast spaces.

If you want to see more from this ongoing project, click here for our photo tour of the building site.

New Basement Beneath Victorian Garden Square House in Chelsea

You may think that this five bedroom end of terrace house on Chelsea’s beautiful Carlyle Square already has it all, but there is always room to improve.

For one of our most recent projects, we will be proposing a complete internal remodelling for this historic home, in addition to the construction of a brand new basement extension.

Basement developments remain contentious, especially in Kensington and Chelsea, but we have continued to successfully negotiate high quality, safe and comfortable basements across London’s strictest boroughs.

Wimbledon Basement Approved and On-site in Just Six Moths thanks to Fast Track Service

Our client came to us frustrated after her plans for her dream home has been stuck spinning their wheels for months. She had never managed to get past the pre-application stage with her prior architect, yet in just six months we not only received planning permission but were able to start work on site.

This is thanks to our new Fast Track Service, a collaboration between us and Planning Potential which expedites the planning process to give you approval in as little as half the time. And this isn’t achieved through lack of ambition, either, as proven by the 2000sqft basement which was approved for this project.

If dread of the planning process is holding you back from building your dream home, our Fast Track Service could give you the confidence you need. Click here to learn more.

Extension and Restoration of Richmond Home on the Banks of the Thames

We have two favoured approaches to extensions: either clearly contemporary and distinct or a close match to the original structure. Anything in between risks becoming a carbuncle swiftly removed by the home’s next owner.

For this riverside villa Building of Townscape Merit in Richmond, we opted for the latter, with an extension designed to incorporate materials and style that match the existing house. Once built (and given a few doses of London rain), it will be impossible to tell where Victorian architecture ends and 21st century begins.

If you have an old home that you would like to give new life in 2020, please get in touch with us now by sending an email to [email protected]