Bungalow double garage conversion

This project reconfigured a chalet bungalow by integrating an underused double garage into the main living space, creating the kitchen the homeowners had always wanted. The result is a bright, open-plan kitchen and dining area that supports everyday living, relaxed entertaining, and a much stronger connection to the garden.

The clients’ main objective was to create a kitchen that truly worked for how they wanted to live. The existing kitchen was small and constrained, making it difficult to cook, relax, or entertain comfortably.

The solution was to repurpose unused space within the integral double garage, opening it up and fully integrating it with the existing kitchen to form a single open-plan kitchen and dining area. Alongside this, the brief included making subtle alterations elsewhere in the house to improve circulation and access to the garden, ensuring the new space felt naturally connected to the rest of the home.

• The existing double garage was integral to the house and directly adjoined the kitchen, making integration the most effective way to unlock additional space
• There was a significant difference in floor level between the house and the garage, with the garage slab set considerably lower
• This level change also resulted in a lower roof height, requiring a solution that aligned ceiling heights without major alteration to the roof structure
• A new suspended floor was required to bring the garage floor up to match the existing house and support insulation, heating, and finishes
• The clients remained living in the property throughout the works, requiring careful separation of construction activity from everyday living
• A full-width temporary screen was installed to isolate noise and disruption from the rest of the house while kitchen works were underway
• Existing drainage and pipework were of a poor standard and needed upgrading to support new kitchen and shower room facilities
• Natural light, ventilation, and external finishes were critical to ensure the space felt fully integrated rather than repurposed

Works focused on implementing the agreed strategy for integrating the former garage with the existing house. Structural alterations were carried out to open up the space and establish consistent floor and ceiling levels. Ceiling joists were raised to improve head height without major changes to the roof structure, while a new suspended floor was installed to bring levels in line with the rest of the house and support insulation and finishes.

A temporary partition was constructed across the working area to separate kitchen works from the rest of the home, allowing the clients to continue living comfortably in the property while noise and disruption were kept contained.

Rooflights and sun tunnels were introduced to maximise natural light within the new kitchen and dining area, ensuring the space felt bright and welcoming despite its former use as a garage. As part of the wider brief, a new ground-floor shower room was installed. This required extensive reworking of existing plumbing infrastructure, which was upgraded to provide reliable service and support the new layout. The shower room was completed using carefully chosen fixtures and finishes, resulting in a space that feels generous and refined.

External works included removing the former garage doors, replacing them with masonry and render to match the existing house, installing a new door to provide direct access from the kitchen to the garden, and upgrading rainwater goods and external finishes to complement the new works.

The clients were delighted with the finished outcome, having been kept informed and involved throughout the process.

The new kitchen and dining space now forms the heart of the home — a place to cook, relax, and entertain — something that simply wasn’t achievable within the original layout. The integrated space feels natural, well-proportioned, and fully connected to both the rest of the house and the garden, delivering exactly what the clients set out to achieve.

Chalet bungalow

Clanfield, Hampshire

Conversion and integration of double garage

Open-plan kitchen and dining, improved natural light, ground-floor shower room