Lack of space at home is usually the number one bugbear for us all. But before you commit to an extension, there are other space-enhancing projects the experts urge us to consider first. You might be thinking about kitchen extension ideas or expanding your footprint with an extra living room. But hold fire, as there are other ideas that might do the trick before turning your home into a building site.
As Kunal Trehan, interior designer and founder of Touched Interiors, explains, “An extension is often the first solution homeowners think of when they feel their home isn’t working for them, but it’s rarely the most immediate answer. In many cases, the space people need already exists within the property; it just hasn’t been fully optimized.” It's easy to see why extensions are popular, because they feel like a permanent solution to a space problem, but, as Simon Mayhew, founder and interior designer at TXTURED, says, it's not always square footage that people are short of.
“What they’re short of is light, or flow, or a sense that the rooms they already have are working as hard as they could. Those are problems that don’t require a structural engineer and six months on a building site," he explains. And this is something that Ran Ankory, managing director at Scenario Architecture, sees a lot: “We regularly meet homeowners who assume that adding value means adding square meters, but big isn’t always better. In fact, extending for the sake of it can even compromise daylight, connection, and flow.” So what's the alternative to an extension? Designers and architects share five renovation projects to consider first, which are less disruptive and costly.
Article continues below1. Invest in Better Glazing
Glazed internal doors enhance the feeling of space and light in your home.
Installing a skylight or larger windows, before committing to an extension, is a good option, say the experts. Better glazing can enhance the flow between indoors and out, and in doing so, improve the sense of space you have while maximizing natural light.
“A rooflight or skylight is the highest-return single intervention we know of,” explains Simon. “The change a well-placed rooflight makes to a dark hallway, a ground-floor kitchen, or a bathroom is genuinely hard to overstate, and the cost is modest. Glazed or part-glazed internal doors are similarly transformative: they borrow light between rooms, create sightlines, and make a house feel connected without any structural work at all.”
“Rethink where your doors to the back garden are situated or the size of your windows to the garden,” adds Alice Bettington, co-director of Golden. “This can dramatically change your experience of the space without needing to make it larger.”
Simon is the founder and creative director of TXTURED, a Manchester and London-based interior design studio specialising in high-end residential and boutique commercial projects.
2. Rethink Your Layout
This cleverly reconfigured space creates a continuous split-level room with a handy homework nook under the stairs.
Most of us assume that an extension is the only way to gain more space at home, but before making any major structural changes, experts insist that we assess how the current floorplan matches our day-to-day lifestyle.
“Redesigning the internal layout, rethinking underused rooms, or converting existing spaces can dramatically change how a home functions,” says Kunal. “For example, opening a kitchen into a dining area, reworking a hallway to improve circulation, or repurposing a formal living room can unlock valuable square footage without extending the property.”
“We all have rooms that we barely use, be it a formal dining room, a box room, or an oversized hallway,” adds Emma Deterding, founder and creative director of Kelling Designs. “And these can be easily repurposed to meet your needs without a costly building project.”
In this project, Scenario Architecture connected two previously disjointed levels (upper and lower ground floors) into a single, flexible space. This created a continuous yet ‘broken plan’ living/cooking/dining sequence that flows naturally toward the garden — with a dedicated homework hub underneath the stairs.
“By focusing on daily activities rather than traditional ‘rooms’, we delivered a project that successfully meets the complex brief,” explains Ran at Scenario Architecture. “Sometimes, it’s all about subtle but powerful shifts in proportions and alignment to make the entire space feel calmer, more generous, and more purposeful.”
“We have had projects where we have focused on redesigning the layout of the existing ground floor plan, and so achieve the new desired space, without even extending,” adds Emily Newmarch, design consultant at Kitchens by Holloways. “Every home is different, and simply adding a box on the back won’t always achieve the space you desire.”
Kunal is an interior designer and founder of Toucher Interiors, an award-winning design studio renowned for creating luxury, high-end residential designs
3. Maximize Storage Opportunities
With a run of built-in cabinetry, this hallway has been transformed into a practical boot room with plenty of storage.
Built-in storage can be a game-changer for carving out more space in your home. So it's something to consider investing in before the time, money, and effort of an extension, say the designers.
“Poor storage often makes a home feel smaller than it is,” says Kunal. “Bespoke joinery, integrated cabinetry, and thoughtfully designed wardrobes can free up space and create a calmer, more organized interior.”
Simon adds: “A significant proportion of the ‘we need more space’ conversations we have turn out, on closer inspection, to be storage conversations. A run of well-designed, built-in joinery, a utility room carved out of dead space under the stairs, a boot room made from a redundant corner of a hallway: these interventions change how a house feels to live in without adding a single brick.”
4. Consider a Loft Conversion
A thoughtfully designed loft conversion is a brilliant solution for adding more space.
One drawback of an extension is the reduction in your outdoor space. So, unless you have heaps of land to play with, the merits of a loft conversion are a good alternative, say the designers.
“A loft conversion adds a full floor of usable space without reducing your garden by a single meter,” says Simon, “and in most cases falls within permitted development. A cellar or basement conversion is similarly underused as an option, particularly in period terraces where there is often more volume below ground than people realize.”
This split-level loft conversion transforms a previously awkward space into a children’s bedroom on the lower level with a playroom above. “Extensions are expensive, disruptive, and sometimes unnecessary if the existing house can be improved more efficiently,” explains Francesca Leat, owner and head designer at Francesca Leat Interiors. “So, converting a loft space is one project to consider where a budget can perhaps be better spent.
“This area used to have a very impractical metal ladder leading up to the higher-level loft space. The loft above was spacious and even had a Velux window, so I wanted to find a way to utilize it better."
5. Add an Outdoor Room
Consider an outdoor contemporary cabin made from reclaimed materials.
An outdoor room is another way to gain more floor space without building an extension, say the experts.
“The structural work and costs involved with digging foundations for an extension can be considerable,” says Alice, “and we would recommend exploring whether there are cheaper ways to create an extra room or space, such as a garden office or outdoor dining space which can be built for a fraction of the price.”
“A garage conversion or garden room might achieve the same result as an extension but with far less disruption,” agrees Kunal.
If you've got your heart set on an extension to solve space issues, the first step is to get in touch with an architect or interior designer. Not only will the experts look at your home with fresh eyes, but they will also ask you a series of lifestyle questions, focusing on how you live and what you need from your space.
"The first thing we suggest clients do is live in their house before committing to anything," says interior designer Simon. "Which room do you avoid? Where does everyone end up congregating? Is the kitchen dark because it faces north, or because the layout puts all the wall space in the wrong place? Very often, the diagnosis changes the prescription."
If you still want to go down the extension route, it's worth knowing what an extension costs, so that you can effectively plan and budget for your project. And for more design ideas and inspiration, sign up for the Livingetc newsletter, and it will be delivered straight to your inbox.