Home Extension Architect in London
We design bespoke rear, side return and wrap-around extensions for homeowners across London. Our planning-led approach creates light-filled, well-proportioned spaces that integrate seamlessly with your existing home and add lasting value.
Whether you are planning a rear extension, side return or a more substantial reconfiguration of your home, we guide you from early concept through to planning approval and detailed design. Every extension is approached as a carefully considered architectural intervention — one that improves flow, increases natural light and strengthens the relationship between house and garden.
At Aura Homes, we work closely with homeowners across London and the Home Counties to create extensions that respond thoughtfully to the existing building and local planning context.
Our designs are practical, proportioned with care and technically robust — ensuring they are not only beautiful on paper, but ready to build with confidenceWith extensive experience navigating London borough planning policies, we manage the process carefully to minimise delays and maximise approval success.
Award-Winning RIBA Chartered Architects
Maximising Space, Light & Long-Term Performance
As a RIBA Chartered practice, we specialise in the design and delivery of carefully considered home extensions for private homeowners and selected residential developers.
Our work combines creative thinking with technical rigour, ensuring each project is both architecturally refined and practically buildable.
Featured London Home Extension Projects
Wymond Street: Re-Design & Rear Extension (Putney)
Maple Lodge: Contemporary Rear Extension (Hertfordshire)
Toulmin Drive: Contemporary Rear Extension (Hertfordshire) – Completion Spring 2025
Trinity: Luxury 6-Bedroom Home Development (Wandsworth)
Balham: Full Refurbishment & a Stunning Rear Extension (Balham)
Dagmar Road: Fantastic Renovation & Extension (Camberwell, London)
Franche: Stunning Victorian Home (Earlsfield, South West London)
Whitestile: Gorgeous Interiors in this Kitchen Extension (Brentford)
Covering London & the Home Counties
Residential Architectural Expertise Beyond Extensions
While home extensions form the core of this page, they are delivered with the same architectural discipline and technical rigour that underpin all of our residential work.
As RIBA Chartered architects, we approach each extension with careful attention to proportion, natural light and material continuity — ensuring that new spaces feel considered and seamlessly integrated with the existing home.
Whether extending or reconfiguring a property, our role is to strengthen how the house functions as a whole. Working across London and the Home Counties, we apply a measured, planning-led approach that balances design ambition with buildability and long-term performance.
Rear & Side Return Home Extension Architects
Rear and side return extensions are among the most effective ways to unlock space in a London home. Whether you are widening a narrow Victorian terrace or extending into the garden, the success of the project lies in careful proportion, light and integration with the existing structure.
A side return extension can transform an underused passage into a generous kitchen and dining space, improving flow and bringing natural light deeper into the plan. A rear extension allows you to reshape the relationship between house and garden, often creating a more open, connected ground floor suited to modern living.
We approach each project with a clear understanding of structural constraints, neighbouring properties and local planning policies. Rather than treating the extension as an add-on, we design it as a natural continuation of the home — ensuring materials, detailing and spatial rhythm feel coherent and well resolved.
From early feasibility and planning discussions through to technical drawings and construction coordination, we guide you through the process with clarity and care. The result is an extension that feels balanced, considered and built to last.
How Much Does a House Extension Cost?
The cost of a house extension will depend on several factors, including its size, structural complexity and the level of finish you’re aiming to achieve. As a broad indication, a carefully designed extension project typically starts in the region of £2,000–£3,000 per square metre. For more complicated or high-end schemes — involving bespoke detailing, larger areas of glazing, premium materials or specialist construction — costs often range between £3,000–£4,000+ per square metre.
Beyond square metre rates, a number of elements influence the overall investment. Planning requirements, structural modifications to the existing property, ground conditions, glazing specifications, bespoke joinery, interior finishes and energy performance standards all play a part in shaping the final figure.
Engaging an experienced residential architect early in the process helps bring clarity to these variables. Through careful design and technical planning, we ensure the project aligns with your budget while still delivering a thoughtful, well-proportioned extension that enhances how you live and adds lasting value to your home.
Planning Permission for Your House Extensions
Extending a home in London often involves navigating borough-specific planning policies, permitted development rules and local design guidance. Whether your property falls within a conservation area, is subject to Article 4 restrictions, or requires a full planning application, early clarity is essential.
We integrate planning strategy into the design process from the outset. Before developing detailed proposals, we assess site constraints, neighbouring properties, overlooking considerations, scale, massing and materiality — ensuring the scheme is both architecturally considered and realistically approvable.
For many rear and side return extensions, permitted development rights may apply. However, factors such as previous alterations, property type, or local authority policies can affect eligibility. Where formal permission is required, we prepare and submit the necessary drawings, planning statements and supporting documentation, managing correspondence with the local authority throughout.
By aligning design ambition with planning policy, we minimise delays and reduce risk — creating extensions that feel refined, contextual and well-supported by planning strategy.
The Role of an Extension Architect
An experienced extension architect is responsible not only for the visual design of a new addition, but for ensuring it integrates structurally, technically and spatially with the existing building. In London homes — particularly Victorian and Edwardian terraces — this often involves complex structural alterations, load-bearing wall removals and the introduction of steelwork to create open-plan layouts.
We assess site constraints, neighbouring properties and existing foundations at an early stage, working closely with structural engineers where required. Careful consideration is given to ceiling heights, floor levels and junction details so that new and existing spaces align seamlessly.
Glazing strategy is equally important — balancing daylight, privacy and thermal performance to meet current building regulations without compromising architectural clarity.
As extension architects working across London, we also navigate borough-specific planning policies, conservation area restrictions and permitted development criteria.
By integrating planning strategy, structural logic and material continuity from the outset, we reduce risk and create extensions that are both technically robust and architecturally refined.
From feasibility studies and planning applications through to detailed construction drawings and on-site coordination, our role is to guide the project through each stage with precision — ensuring the finished extension feels coherent, balanced and built to last.