Stephen & Ruth - Honoring a Victorian Semi's Character

The Project Brief

Stephen owns a stunning Victorian semi-detached property and had always dreamed of creating a luxury master suite in the loft that would honor all the beautiful period features of his home. His property sits in an elevated position with incredible views that were going completely to waste. He wanted to make the most of that while keeping the Victorian character intact throughout.

What We Created

We built a rear dormer loft conversion that gave Stephen a generous master bedroom (roughly 6 metres by 3 metres), a full bathroom with all the plumbing, and a lovely mezzanine landing feature. The rear dormer includes a Juliet balcony, which was perfect for capturing those views from the elevated position.

But what really makes this project special is how we preserved and matched the period features. We sourced custom sash windows that perfectly match the original style. The staircase became a real showpiece - a bespoke cut-string design with hand-turned newel posts and spindles. We tied the new handrails and architraves seamlessly into the existing original elements, so you can't tell where old ends and new begins.

We even hunted down period-appropriate doors to match the existing style throughout the house. For the original doors, we upgraded them to meet current fire regulations by using fireproof infill panels, reinstalling the beads, and applying intumescent varnish to achieve a 30-minute fire rating - all while keeping their original character.

We spent so much time on this project making sure that every detail was perfect, from the coving, the skirting, the architectural elements as everything was matched to maintain that Victorian authenticity. Stephen's house has a large existing hallway downstairs, and combined with the new upstairs hallway, this created the perfect opportunity for a stunning feature staircase that's become a real centerpiece of the property.

How We Delivered the Project

This kind of work demands real craftsmanship and traditional joinery skills, basically the sort of techniques that were used when the house was originally built over a century ago. The beauty of a loft conversion is that all the work happens upstairs, so Stephen's downstairs rooms remained completely untouched.

We did need to replace one ceiling joist during the work, but aside from that, everything progressed without any issues. This level of detail and custom work meant the project took around 10 weeks, but that time allowed us to get every period detail exactly right. You can't rush craftsmanship like this.

Investment and Value

This kind of project typically costs in the region of £50,000. There were some extras to keep the finishes in feel with the rest of the house and we included some of the custom staircase work as a showcase piece because we knew it would look incredible and it did!

When you're adding a master suite to a Victorian property, especially one that enhances the views and preserves all that character, you're looking at substantial returns. The combination of an extra bedroom, a bathroom, and period-appropriate craftsmanship significantly increases both the market appeal and the value of a home like this.

The End Result

Stephen couldn't believe the final result. This is one of our "trophy jobs", the kind of project we're incredibly proud to show people. The quality of workmanship and the visual impact are just stunning. We took a beautiful Victorian home and gave it an equally beautiful new floor that looks like it's always been part of the building's story.