Christa's Story
"YellowDoor were brought on board to help with major renovations to a turn of the last Century town house in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon's conservation area. The house retained many original features but the poor use of space, and even poorer 15 year old extension to the rear, desperately needed some proper design input to make the most of what should be a beautiful house. Our builder queried whether architects were really needed and that the funds could be put to better use elsewhere, however, YellowDoor have been absolutely worth every penny. Their design input, ability to see the whole picture, close attention to detail regarding the brief and limited budget for the amount of work needed has been fantastic. Without them I am convinced the finished project would be nothing particularly special, not thought out properly and probably would have cost more too as the builders would not be working to any plan, which is always dangerous!
The client is downsizing and very budget conscious for what is potentially their last move.
YellowDoor has fully respected the budget constraints and not got carried away with ideas and costs but equally provided invaluable design ideas which make such a difference without costing the earth. The back of the house has been reconfigured to provide the best use of space and light and a wonderful kitchen/ living area in what was a dark, uninspiring kitchen, the cloakroom has been moved to create more space for the kitchen, upstairs the main bathroom redesigned to make use of the huge space whilst also finding space for a separate shower room in what was the loft access cupboard, the cellar is being made into a fully habitable extra living space/ third spare bedroom for visiting family. All of this was done to make the existing space work without the high cost and additional hassle of converting the loft space. Using words used by YellowDoor during a site visit, the idea was to make the house 'sing' and YellowDoor are doing just that. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again on any project, either professionally or personally."
Photographs by Asia Werbel
Refurbishment of a Victorian terrace in Old Town, Stratford - Upon - Avon
We reconfigured the existing disjointed, rear kitchen/dining extension into an open plan, bright kitchen/dining space which is now the heart of the home.
Project brief
To create a modern and bright home to suit Christa's many hobbies with ample space for the family to come and stay.
Space Planning
Location
Old Town, Stratford - Upon - Avon
Consultants:
Project manager - Lucid Property
Contractors:
Nigel McKeever
We reconfigured the disjointed, rear kitchen/dining extension into an open plan, bright kitchen/dining space which is now the heart of the home.
This was achieved by creating a direct opening into the kitchen from the homes central axis - the hallway. The bright and airy kitchen now attracts the eye whilst also flooding light into the once dark hallway. The existing kitchen extension had a pitched roof with a very low internal ceiling height and small doors out to the rear garden. We extended the width of the doors and installed openable windows either side to create a much more integral relationship with the garden.
We vaulted the ceiling to make use of the existing pitched roof, creating much higher and interesting ceilings with the addition of two Velux rooflights. The Hallway has been reconfigured to include a WC and Laundry/Storage area.
The new floors have been matched to the existing flagstones in the entrance creating a continuous flow throughout.
We have converted the basement into a habitable room for use as an office and children's playroom.
Design
The family bathroom is of generous proportions where the existing bathroom was a collection of sanitary ware awkwardly placed within the space.
We worked with Christa to create a cohesive design that utilises the generous space creating an airy yet comfortable spa like bathroom.
The existing storage cupboard with loft access has been transformed into a small shower room for when Christa's family comes to stay.
The modern colour palette within the bedrooms creates a calming, clean and fresh feel, whilst the retained period fire places and the old period doors help to give the spaces that extra character.