For many years this soon to be renovated chalet was just a concrete block shell being used for storage. Last year the property was acquired by a new owner who wanted to transform the space into a family home. BDS Architecture Ltd had the pleasure of designing a suitable layout for the existing building to make it into a fabulous four bedroom family living space. The above photo shows the property half way through it's renovation.

On the lookout for your dream countryside home? A barn conversion might be perfect for you. Barn conversions are an easy way around the planning restrictions that can make building your own home from scratch challenging. Plus they come with the added bonuses of having historical charm and plenty of character. Embarking on a renovation project can be hugely rewarding (wouldn't it be nice to wake up to idyllic views every morning?), but there are a number of important aspects to keep in mind beforehand. Here's what you need to know.

You've circled dozens of home décor pictures in the magazines, pinned images to your Pinterest page, and perhaps even dreamed about picking out your paint colours. Your first practical step, however, in bringing your dream home to life is sorting out your planning permission.

Light is sometimes an overlooked factor in your health and wellbeing, especially the light quality that’s available in your home. This is not simply a matter of being able to find things without switching on a light. The issue goes much deeper than that.

On some levels, good domestic and commercial architecture have a lot in common. Both private and public buildings need strong integrity and infrastructure, both must be aesthetically pleasing, and both must be compliant with regulations. However, there are key differences between home and commercial architecture, and every professional who works with you on your project should be familiar with them.

The foundation of an extension is equally as important as that of the main house. It needs to be built to last and support the new additional structure. Here are four types of foundations suitable for anchoring an extension.

We have said it before and we will say it again, foundations are the most critical part of any building. Unfortunately, they can be the most expensive too. It's not just the cost of laying foundations that make this part of the building process so expensive. It's also the fact that there can be many unforeseen problems that crop up. Dealing with complicated foundations can become expensive.

You're probably familiar with the prospect of architectural drawings, but many people fall into the trap of presuming that they're only applicable or useful for large builds. The reality, however, is much different. A set of professionally developed and rendered drawings is an essential part of the building process - that applies regardless of the scale of the construction.

 House Design Visualisation

BDS Architecture Ltd have designed this four bedroom house to replace to an ageing bungalow.  The new house design incorporates a large floor to ceiling window to take in the surrounding view from the interior.

A foundation is the lowest load-bearing element of a building that transfers the total weight of the structure to the ground safely. Its primary objective is to transmit the dead, wind and live loads to the ground while maintaining the structure and efficiency of the building. However, the correct type of foundation for an extension is dependable on various factors.