When extending your home, one of the central decisions you will have to make is to have a pitched or flat roof extension. While flat roof extensions may seem a bit more challenging to maintain, the reality is that with the right construction partner, they are as effective, beautiful, and durable as a pitched extension. Here’s some insight into these extensions as well as design ideas from our team who have designed and delivered hundreds of successful, elegant flat roof extensions in London.
Why Choose a Flat Roof Extension?
There are many important advantages of this type of house extension, including:
- Affordability – A bespoke flat roof extension is easier to construct than a pitched one, which means more of your budget can go towards important features such as custom sliding or panel doors, skylights, and interior design. This also means that they are faster to build, so you can be enjoying your new living space in less time.
- Visual impact – These roof lines are much less obtrusive, which is a great design advantage if you are looking for an extension that delivers space without being bulky. This also means that they can be waterproofed and finished off easily without the need for tiling or other types of roofing. Drainage can also be built into the structure, so that you don’t have unsightly gutters and downpipes spoiling those elegant, clean lines.
- Strength – Depending on their design and construction, a flat roof can be exceptionally strong and durable, allowing you to finish them off with bespoke touches like turf or wildflowers to create a beautiful and natural effect when viewed from above.
Design Inspiration for Flat Roof House Extensions
To see if a flat roof extension is the right project for your home, let’s look at some recent projects that may inspire you.
A Simple, Elegant Extension in Dulwich
When designed properly, a flat roof extension is the ideal addition to Victorian terrace houses like this one in East Dulwich. This takes a traditionally long and narrow property and adds a distinctive modern touch that gives the home a new lease on life. By using floor to ceiling sliding doors as well as front and side skylights, the length of the home is brighter and more naturally-lit than before, taking unused space and creating a new and beautiful heart of the home.
Broken Plan Beauty in Sydenham
Older properties truly come to life when a bespoke and thoughtfully designed extension is created. This lovely Sydenham home shows how versatile an extension can be – there’s no need to settle for one-size-fits-all. By embracing the character of the home, a unique broken plan living area is created, filled with light and supported by a massive and characterful solid timber beam. An exposed brick pier allowed us to hide away the support the flat roof house extension required, helping to create zones within the new space for dining, relaxing, cooking, and entertaining.
Modern Contrast for Open Plan Living in Tooting
A flat roofed extension is an elegant and subtle way of creating something new on the canvas of your home. Rather than having this extension subtly slip into the background, this Tooting home brings it to life with plaster and paint to sit against the traditional exposed brick structure. This creates soft contrast without overwhelming the traditional Victorian exterior, and the slimline sliding doors expand the new open plan space out into the garden to create a seamless and airy space for entertainment and family life.
Best of Both Worlds in Earlsfield
Flat roofs work well in combination with pitched roofs, as this Earlsfield home shows so well. By demolishing an existing rear extension and expanding the kitchen into the side return, the existing pitched roof seamlessly meets the new timber-frame flat roof to create a beautifully vaulted multifunction space. This is a great example of how a small extension can make an impressive difference to how a home can be used, which is so important in modern family life.
Taking Home Life to New Heights in Herne Hill
In family homes, extensions provide practical space – but they can provide luxurious privacy too. This flat roof loft extension creates a bespoke master bedroom, dressing room, and en-suite high above the skyline, providing a space for relaxation, peace, and tranquillity. The views over London are maximised in each room using floor-to-ceiling glass, and the large-scale skylights create a sense of living far above the streets where the air is clear.
See more house extension ideas here.
Bespoke Flat Roof Extensions from London’s Master Designers
The success of a flat roof house extension is a combination of thoughtful design and expert construction, ensuring that the finished result is elegant, practical, and durable. As a full-service team, Plus Rooms has designed and delivered over 1,400 home extensions across London, including exceptional quality flat roof extensions. To find out more about what we do and how our bespoke services can bring your dream family home to life, contact us today.
