New & improved

Choosing to add another storey and treating an unloved 1970s bungalow as a blank canvas has allowed Rob and Emma Pollard to transform the property into a contemporary light-filled home for their young family

- Amy Maynard

HOMEOWNERS Rob and Emma Pollard and their daughters

LOCATION East Sussex

PROJECT Renovation and addition of upper storey

BUILD ROUTE Self project-managed by Rob (RX Architects)

BUILD TIME Just under 10 months (Nov 2018 - Aug 2019)

PROJECT COST £220,000 +VAT

Architect Rob Pollard and wife Emma were on the hunt for a project when they found a three-bedroom 1970s home in a village near Rye in East Sussex. Rob had ambitious plans to transform the dormer bungalow into a sleek four-bedroom timber-clad home. After buying the property in 2016, shortly before their first daughter Olivia was born, the couple lived in it for two years to develop ideas before embarking on their radical revamp.

“The original building was a series of quite a few rooms, but they were all very small and dark,” says Rob. “Our plan was to knock them through downstairs to open up the space. We removed the pitched roof and added a new first-floor structure on top of the original walls before cladding it all. It was a cost-effective way to essentially double the space we had.” The house was a “blank canvas,” says Emma. “We wanted something we could add some value and personality to.”

RENTAL AND RENOVATION

The project began in 2018. Rob and Emma rented locally during works, and eventually ended up staying with Rob’s parents for a final month after unexpected delays. In the summer of 2019 the family, now including new baby Imogen, finally moved back into their dream home.