Hunter's Moon

Hunter's Moon began as a tired bungalow in leafy Surrey suburbia. Paul Archer Design gave it a full renovation and a 14.5 metre open-plan extension, turning it into a family home for clients who had bought the property in 2013 to settle down and start a family.

The brief asked for a modern rear extension full of daylight and openness, with better access to the garden, while keeping changes to the frontage sensitive to the local vernacular. The main house was extended at first-floor level above the garage to add a bedroom with en-suite. Recladding the entire upper storey in stained cedar battens absorbs that addition into the whole, with the bathroom window concealed behind the timber. Inside, the new first-floor ceiling follows the pitch of the roof to give a lofty, open room.

At the entrance, a minimal glass stair sits beneath a new roof light that drops daylight down through the hall. Tiled flooring runs from the front door straight into the full-width rear extension, where a broad expanse of glazing opens onto the garden and an aluminium canopy frames the view and offers some shelter. A single steel beam spans the full 14.5 metres, leaving the kitchen, dining, living and play areas in one uninterrupted space. Internal sliding-folding doors can divide the front reception from the main living space or open it all up for large family gatherings.

The kitchen sits centrally, turned towards the garden, with utility and pantry space concealed behind its joinery. A polished concrete worktop cantilevers off the island as a breakfast bar. Solid rustic oak fronts to the drawers and cupboards add warmth and tactility, while stainless steel lines the working recesses for the hob and a pull-out breakfast point.

Architecture by Paul Archer Design, with structural engineering by Entuitive. Photography by Kilian O'Sullivan.