John and Susan Yates have transformed a bungalow into a contemporary home packed with amazing glazing and views

WORDS CAROLINE EDNIE

The back of the bungalow has undergone a contemporary transformation thanks to a kitchen-diner extension, small addition out from the main bedroom and new glazed dormer upstairs. The additions are clad in a grey zinc, with high performance aluminium framed thermally broken windows in a similar grey-black colour. The roof of the kitchen-diner extension is a slate grey single ply membrane with a sedum blanket

W henJohn and Susan Yates were looking to move from the west coast of Scotland to Edinburgh, their initial plan was to find a flat in the centre. However, a short drive east of the city to the coast at Portobello would turn out to be serendipitous, as the couple was inspired by a bungalow that was being renovated in a suburban street. “This introduced us to the idea of what could be done with a singlestorey home,” explains John. “There was a similar property for sale on the same road, so we bought it knowing we could do something with it – we didn’t know what exactly, but we knew there was potential.”

The first thing John and Susan did was contact the architecture firm working on the neighbouring renovation, Chambers McMillan. “We met with Ian McMillan and Thea Chambers to discuss what we had in mind for the bungalow,” says John. The couple wanted this property to be their forever home. Their main brief was to channel lots of natural light into the building and rearrange the floorplan to make more usable spaces. “We met several times and had a brainstorming session,” he says. “Ian and Thea then came to us with an outline plan based on these ideas, which we really liked. We are very risk au fait and really pushed the boundaries to take our ideas further. They listened to us and took on board everything we spoke about and really went the extra mile – it’s bold what they’ve done.”

Reconfiguring the layout

The post-war brick and rendered bungalow had three main rooms for living rooms/bedrooms – two at the front and one at the back – plus a kitchen and WC at the rear. The attached garage to the right of the house had been converted into a bedroom and the loft turned into another room. The reconfigurations had created an unusual floorplan, with a staircase in the front room and through routes via living spaces.