A loft conversion to boost wellbeing in Northamptonshire

Antony and Katherine bought their Northamptonshire Edwardian house, fully prepared to renovate the kitchen and loft space. Husband and wife Antony and Katherine live with their two daughters, Mila and Bella, and their beloved dog, Bailey.

Maximum light, maximum character

Katherine explains, “When we bought the house, we loved the large original sash windows in the kitchen, but this room was considerably darker than the rest. And we knew this would be the room we wanted to spend a lot of time in. So, it was important to us to let in more natural light.”

“One of the first things we wanted to do was transform this room. It was quite a dark space, so we wanted to move the kitchen up here, put in some beautiful roof windows, and just let the natural light in, as this was one of the rooms that we’ve really transformed to make it into the family space.”

A loft conversion to boost wellbeing

It was important to create a separate area away from the busy lifestyle for this young family,

somewhere where they could connect with nature and escape into a world of their own. So they decided to convert their unused attic into a loft conversion with a master bedroom and bathroom.

“It’s been a labour of love, and the more we’ve done the more we’ve wanted to do. So, from the downstairs we’ve then moved upstairs.

“Having the space up here is a really nice haven for us to escape, it’s great for our wellbeing. I love coming up here to read a book with a cup of coffee.”

A window of opportunities

Transforming this Edwardian home with roof balcony windows has allowed the family to optimise a space that would otherwise be restricted by a pitched roof.

“Having the roof balcony windows in here is just lovely, they let in so much natural light – it’s beautiful. Given we have a pitched roof, it enables us to stand right in the window and take full advantage of the views and gives us a lot more floor space.”

Woman, man and a dog posing in front of the house.

Bedroom in the attic with roof windows from both sides of the roof.

Woman sitting in the chair and reading in the bedroom by the side of roof window.

Woman closing down the blinds on VELUX roof window.

Woman opening VELUX roof balcony window.

Woman standing in the bathroom and dog is lying next to the bath tub.

Man with two kids standing in the kitchen.

Honouring the old, bringing in the new

“The house is in a conservation area, so we chose the VELUX conservation roof windows which means the windows are in keeping with the rest of the building.”

It was easy for Antony and Katherine to find the ideal window to fit with the conservation criteria and also allow natural daylight to flood the home.

Perfect ventilation

Keeping the bathroom a healthy and clean place with minimal condensation was a goal for Antony and Katherine from the beginning, and the VELUX conservation windows have enabled them to achieve this with ease.

“One of the conservation windows is in the en suite, so if I’m running a hot, steamy bath I can open the window and let the fresh air in, get rid of all that humidity and enjoy being in the space.”

Fresh air and flexible lighting choices

“We’ve got the VELUX duo blinds which allow us to have a bit of diffused light in the room. Quite often we’ll have the blackout blinds down at night, but it still means we can have the window open a little bit and have some fresh air coming in. It is honestly great for a good night’s sleep.

“When I do let the kids come up, it is also lovely to shut the blackout blinds, cuddle up on the bed together and put a movie on.”

Small changes that add big value

“We love the space that we’ve created for our family, and it’s become one of our favourite rooms in the house. It is great to know that we’ve added value to the house and that’s given us extra peace of mind.”

For Antony and Katherine, renovating their home has been an exciting process, made even better by the fact that they’ve added value. This makes it a net gain for the family in the long run, and that’s something they can be proud of.

loft conversion woman reading by open roof window

“We love the space that we’ve created for our family, and it’s become one of our favourite rooms in the house. It is great to know that we’ve added value to the house and that’s given us extra peace of mind.”

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