In times gone by, many historic homes in London and the home counties would have had huge basement space, enough for kitchens, wine cellar, dry larders, meat larders, dairy scullery and even a bakehouse. That’s without the laundry and the servants quarters!
Think Downton Abbey, or the 1970’s classic “Upstairs Downstairs”. It was the “norm”, houses were constructed with the basement completely in mind. The reason being was... Read more >
that certain members of society in Victorian and Edwardian Britain wanted to keep the smell of cooking, cleaning and hard work to be kept out of sight!
Of course, in today’s society a basement kitchen is often used as a family space, where everyone comes together, and makes such a great addition to any home, we tend to opt for open plan living where we all cook, play and eat together. How things have changed!
A basement conversion can often the best way to increase space without impacting on your home’s appearance.
According to CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the UK builds the smallest new homes in Europe. This is possibly due to the high cost of building land and pressure on space. But it is possible to add another whole storey to your home without requiring any more land, or building any higher and impacting on the landscape, if we simply added a basement.
It’s a simple solution, and far from a new idea: basements and cellars were standard on most townhouses in the 19th century and this space, particularly in London, is now highly valued, and rapidly being renovated, extended and converted. In higher value areas such is the pressure on space that new basements are being excavated beneath existing houses, sometimes several storeys deep.
Whether you are fortunate enough to have London home with an existing basement space, a simple cellar, or no existing below ground space at all, we can help.
With 20 years experience, we consider ourselves as North London’s leading experts in basement conversion of any kind. We offer a full basement conversion package starting from consultation, design, onto a full range of construction services that will leave you with a total turn-key finish. Should you only require part of our service, ie. build only, or design only, we would be more than happy to accommodate your needs.
So, if you need additional space consider looking at a basement conversion; you can do a lot more with the space than you may imagine, with or without the servants bells!
Contact us with any questions you may have on