Two themes emerged throughout the design and build. The first was to minimise waste throughout, the other was that I needed as much storage as humanly possible and then some.
Minimising waste
I’m frugal and green by nature, so it doubly made sense to reduce waste right from the beginning of the project. Hardcore from the broken-up patio was saved and used later in the build. Kitchen cupboards were reused to build a temporary kitchen. Old appliances were salvaged and sold or swapped locally. Even old light fittings and ceiling roses were given away.
I also practised the ancient art of skip diving. Conveniently, neighbours were having a loft conversion at the same time. When they finished the roof, I liberated an old tarpaulin and many dozens of once-used battens for use in our build.
And then when Jonathan made the kitchen, he brought his own Zero Waste policy to the party, with offcuts repurposed and cabinet dimensions optimised to make the best use of each sheet of material.
Maximising storage
I work freelance as a technology journalist. I test products for a living. My home office is a sea of boxes. But in my new home I wanted to work from the dining room table, so I needed heaps of storage space.
We designed deep floor-to-ceiling cupboards, large open shelving and even created a significant amount of storage space in the bench seating.
