The plan

The extension is the shaded part, although there will be significant works to turn the existing lounge into the bedroom as shown in the plan. Not least of these is the need to remove a chimney and fireplace, replacing it with a window.

The existing master bedroom, which is the room to the left of the hall, will become bedroom 2, or, for my purposes it will be my office/computer/radio room. This in turn will enable me to revert my current office to its original and far more sensible use as the dining room, adjacent, as it is, to the kitchen.

The extension will increase the floor area of the cottage by around 50%.

The prologue

As soon as I saw Pennine View, I knew it was the retirement home I wanted. Out in the beautiful Eden Valley countryside, with stunning views and, with well over an acre of land, space to do my own thing, it was the perfect retreat from the rat race. That was nearly 12 years ago.

Pennine View, summer 2012

I've always felt that, for all its desirable attributes, PV was just a little too small for my needs. It is after all, just a two bedroom 1930s cottage, originally built as a "granny annex" to one of the local farms. But I lacked the inspiration to work out what to do about it. In October 2012 that changed. I realised that I could turn the existing living room into a new master bedroom and then extend out into the field with an en-suite, followed by a much larger new living room.

At a stroke this would create much needed space and solve numerous niggles that I have put up with over the years, lacking any particular incentive to fix them. A by-product of the extension would be a sheltered courtyard and a new front hall, replacing a small entrance porch that was somewhat unsympathetically added some 20 years ago.

Recently I obtained full planning permission for the extension and my architect and I will be launching into obtaining building regulations approval in the next few weeks. With a bit of luck I'll be able to start work in the late spring and be completed before the darker nights set in.

Well that's the plan. We shall see how it works out. This Blog will, hopefully be more pictures than words, charting the project's progress.