Eskbank Garden Room

A garden-room extension and refurbishment of a house in Eskbank, south of Edinburgh.

The extension replaced a small garage and is made up of two elements: a glazed ‘arcade’ and a white brick ‘cottage’. The arcade forms a passageway that links to the existing house and opens up entirely to the west facing garden. The roof structure in steel and oak spans the full length of the arcade and is held slightly apart from the brick shell of the cottage on one side and from the wall of the original house on the other. The new space provides a space for sitting and dining, with windows positioned to allow light to fill the space at all times of the day and the year. Blurring the boundary between inside and outside, bi-folding doors can be retracted to allow the entire width of the space to be opened up to the garden. Minimal detailing and a palette of oak and steel roof beams, white bricks and light grey ceramic tiles help create a calm atmosphere.

The internal layout was adjusted to create an entrance hallway that extends from the front to the back of the house, giving a view to the garden from the front door. A new stair was installed within this space, connecting up to a converted attic level to accommodate a new bedroom and en-suite. The main flight is an open-tread, oak construction, with vertical posts creating a timber screen on one side.  At the base of the stairs is a generous stepped plinth and window seat.