Traditional Home Upgraded with a Sympathetic Glazed Extension

Providing a great indoor-outdoor connection and ample light flow throughout the home, glazing from IDSystems creates a stunning focal point on this impressive extension.

Nestled in a quiet village in Suffolk, this remarkable timber-framed home seamlessly blends traditional design with modern living. Originally built in the mid-16th century, the house sits on expansive picturesque gardens and its own private meadow.

Over the centuries, it has been thoughtfully altered and extended, yet remains one of the few properties of its kind that is not listed. While the current owners had made small changes to both the house and garden over the years, they wanted to leave their own mark by creating a new open-plan kitchen and living space filled with natural light.

“Over the past 450 years, every owner has adapted the house to suit their own way of living. This was our opportunity to do the same,” say the homeowners. “With so much history within these walls, we knew that whatever we chose to build had to complement the existing structure.”

To bring their vision to life, the homeowners collaborated with Leiston-based Brooks Architects, exploring various design options to enlarge the kitchen and create a stronger connection between the main house and garden. What became immediately clear was that it wouldn’t take a large addition to deliver the desired link between outside and in. Indeed, the extension adds just 14m² to a ground floor of more than 160m² . The clever design transformed the feel of the whole home with just a modest increase in footprint.

“There was no real flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces, yet we love being outside and using the garden for entertaining,” say the homeowners. “We wanted to be able to completely open up the space with glass sliding doors, allowing us to step outside effortlessly or feel as if we had created an additional outdoor room.” Previously, the kitchen was connected to the patio via a set of French doors and a window, but the plans by Brooks Architects added a double-height ceiling plus the standout feature of the scheme, a striking zinc-clad glazed gable with ultra-slim aluminium sliding doors below.

The homeowners chose IDSystems for the all-important glazing setup. They were impressed by the company’s expertise in working on similar period-style projects. “We were confident in the design, but seeing examples of other historic homes with these same stunning doors made all the difference,” they say. “It was hard to picture how they would look in a traditional setting, so IDSystems’ ability to showcase similar projects was invaluable.”

Built by Kerslake Construction, the completed extension is a masterclass in blending old and new. The pitched roof mirrors the angle of the original 16th-century property, while warm timber cladding on the underside of the extension’s roof echoes the home’s internal timber beams, ensuring a seamless transition and a sympathetic finish.

Location Halesworth, Suffolk

Construction method Brick, block & steel

Original house size 162m² (ground floor only)

Extension size 14m

Install cost A similar install would cost from £19,680 excl VAT

Building work took Five months

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