RIBA Chartered Architects
London & Essex

Home / More space at home

Extend it, convert it, or build it.

Extensions, lofts, barn and garage conversions, listed building work and new houses across London and Essex — designed by a chartered architect, tested against what your council actually approves, and checked against what your street will actually pay.

ExtensionLoft conversionBarn or garageListed & conservationA new houseNot sure yet

The honest question

Extend, or move?

Before you spend anything on design, it is worth doing this sum.

£32,800
Average London moving cost
£21,750
Of that, stamp duty alone
10–20%
Value added by a good extension
£1.20–£1.50
Typical return per £1 spent

Moving costs a London household roughly £32,800 before a single wall moves — most of it stamp duty you never see again. A well-judged extension typically returns £1.20 to £1.50 for every pound spent, and adds ten to twenty per cent to value. For most people in this area, extending is now the stronger financial case.

But not always. If you are already at your street's ceiling price, if you plan to move within three years, or if losing the garden drops the plot below local norms, the numbers stop working. We will tell you that before you spend money on drawings, not after.

What we design

Six routes to the home you want.

01

Extension

Rear, side or side-return, single or double storey — most often a kitchen-diner and living space. Many extensions fall under permitted development, and we establish that first, because a lawful development certificate is faster and cheaper than a planning application. On a Victorian or Edwardian terrace the side return adds modest square footage with disproportionate effect.

02

Loft conversion

Bedroom and bathroom without losing garden. Dormers, hip-to-gable, rooflights. Among the strongest returns of any residential work, particularly where it takes a house from three bedrooms to four.

03

Barn or garage conversion

Outbuildings, garages, annexes and agricultural buildings brought into use as habitable space. Class Q permitted development rights can apply to some agricultural buildings, but the conditions are strict and the fallback is a full application — we establish which route you are on before any design work starts. Case study: a garage conversion certified lawful after a refusal → · Holmes Lane: garage conversion and side extension approved →

04

Listed buildings & conservation areas

Listed building consent, conservation area consent, and work to buildings whose permitted development rights have been removed by an Article 4 direction. These projects are won on the heritage argument as much as the design, so the statement of significance and the justification matter as much as the drawings.

05

A new house

Self-build on a plot you own or are buying, replacement dwellings, and infill development. Full RIBA Stages 0–7 from feasibility through to completion — and an honest read on whether the plot supports what you have in mind before you commit to it.

06

Whole-house project

Reconfiguration, refurbishment and extension taken together, usually with thermal upgrades. Full RIBA Stages 0–7, with site management and contract administration through to completion.

Not sure yet

Find out before you spend.

If you don't yet know what is possible — or whether it is worth it — start with the report. It reads your address against the planning record and the local market, and it takes the guesswork out of the first conversation.

You will see what your neighbours have been approved for, what constraints sit on your property, what similar homes have sold for, and where your street's ceiling price sits.

See what's in the report

How we work

  1. 01Property Insight Report for your address
  2. 0230-minute call with a chartered architect
  3. 03Measured survey and existing drawings
  4. 04Concept design and options
  5. 05Planning application or lawful development certificate
  6. 06Building regulations and construction drawings
  7. 07Tender, appointment and site stage
Fees are staged, so you commit one phase at a time — not to the whole project on day one.

Get in touch

Tell us about the project.

Whether it is a first conversation or a scheme someone else has already started, we are happy to hear where you have got to.

If you would rather arrive with facts than questions, start with the Property Insight Report — the fee is credited against your project if you go on to commission us.

Check your address