The Best Ideas for a Home Extension

There’s no doubt that Britain’s houses have never been smaller, with studies showing that the average UK living room now 1.64m2 smaller than it was a decade ago.

This is thanks largely to a rising population and growing demand for housing, with smaller interiors allowing for the construction of more properties in a single space.

Of course, extending your home remains an attractive option if you want to increase the interior space available. But what are the best ideas when investing in a home extension? Let’s find out!

What is a Home Extension and Why Should You Do it?

When you extend your home, you’re effectively introducing additional interior space. This can take the form of a classic extension (where you may extend an existing space such as a kitchen or living room) or the construction of a brand-new room at the back of your house.

Sometimes, extending your home is more of a necessity than a choice, particularly if you have a growing family and need to introduce additional bedrooms and bathroom spaces.

In this instance, you can also increase your property’s internal storage, which is crucial when you have more children living at home.

However, it’s also thought that extending your property can add to its market value, especially when you focus on reconfiguring the internal floor plan to maximise the space available.

According to some sources, adding new bedroom spaces can add up to 20% onto the value of your home, so it’s a great way of optimising resale value.

3 of the Best Extension Ideas

The question that remains, of course, is what are the best and most effective ways of extending your home? Here are some ideas to keep in mind!

• #1. Add a Conservatory to Your Home: A conservatory (or ‘sunroom’ extension) is one of the most cost-effective options, and one that will set you back around £5,300 on average. It also adds a clearly defined and functional space onto the back of your home, and one that can be used a study or place to enjoy the endless summer sunshine. What’s more, this is one of the best options when it comes to financial returns, delivering an average ROI of 108%.
• #2. Reconfigure Your Existing Space: With this option, your existing floor space is reimagined and reconfigured to create additional room. The cost and nature of this project will depend on your core objectives, whether you want to optimise the natural light or create a more open and accessible layout. This can also include a wide range of tasks, from knocking down internal walls and moving doorways to extending your kitchen out into the garden space.
• #3. Don’t Forget About Budgeting and Insurance: Regardless of how you proceed it’s important to create a carefully formulated budget that’s firmly within your means. This should also be conservative in nature too, as you’ll want to create a small contingency in case things go wrong. You should also consider taking out building extension insurance too, as this will cover all new works and those working on the project from beginning to end.