Extension

From a 1980s conservatory to an artist’s studio in Findon

We replaced a 1980s conservatory in Findon, West Sussex, with a 48 m² insulated extension that works as an artist’s studio, a gallery and the family’s dining room. Jake White Architecture designed it, we built it, and it was finished in September 2026.

The finished extension from the garden: redwood cladding over a brick plinth, a zinc roof edge and black-framed glazing opening onto a stone terrace.

What was there before

The old conservatory had a polycarbonate roof, white PVC frames and next to no insulation. It was loud in the rain, cold in winter and too hot in summer, so for much of the year the family couldn’t really use it.

The brief

Pat is an artist and Bryony is a wedding celebrant. They wanted a room with good daylight and a steady temperature all year: warm enough for Pat to paint through the winter, cool enough to hang work in over the summer, and open enough for open-house art shows. It also had to work as everyday family space, with a gallery at one end and a dining table at the other.

Designed by the architect, detailed with the builder

Jake White Architecture designed the extension and took it through planning. Jake is a Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT) and was a BIID Awards finalist in 2024. He drew the scheme as a 3D model in Archicad and shared it through BIMx, so everyone could see the roof, junctions and levels before work started. We worked with Jake throughout the build to make sure the detailing on site matched the drawings.

What we built

The conservatory came down and a new, insulated extension went up on the same footprint. Bolar Groundworks took out the old structure and laid a new block-and-beam floor slab and drainage.

  • A warm roof finished in weathered zinc standing seam
  • Tanatone-treated redwood cladding in a shadow-gap profile, over a brick plinth
  • Black-framed glazing, with full-height doors onto the garden terrace
  • An exposed timber soffit with downlights

Before, during and after

The old 1980s conservatory on the back of the house, with its polycarbonate roof and white PVC frames.
Before: the 1980s conservatory
3D model of the extension showing the zinc roof, redwood cladding and brick plinth.
Design: Jake White Architecture’s 3D model
The old conservatory stripped out at the start of the build, with timber, insulation and tools on the floor.
During: stripping out the old conservatory
Inside the extension: a long dining table under pendant lights, with paintings along the wall and garden views through the glazing.
After: the dining end, with Pat’s paintings
Full-height black-framed windows beside the dining table, with the kitchen beyond.
After: black-framed glazing onto the garden
The extension's hipped zinc roof and redwood walls from above at dusk, with the lit terrace and planting around it.
After: the zinc roof from above at dusk

Our extension has transformed the whole house seamlessly. I now have the perfectly lit exhibition space I had only dreamed of. Outside, the timber cladding and zinc look so contemporary, elevating the whole facade. But most of all Tidal Drift were so attentive to every detail throughout the build.

Pat · Artist, Findon

It came in on price and on time and they were utterly professional and personable — not your usual builders.

Pat & Bryony · Google review

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