Every sensible decision

A stone villa. Three teenagers. A big block. A rear lean-to at the end of its life. Room to extend, budget to do it, and no shortage of ideas for what could replace it.

That is where a project can quietly get away.

A large site pulls the work outward. Bigger kitchen. More living. More paving. More roof. Each decision makes sense on its own, until the finished house no longer does.

The lean-to came off.

In its place, a new kitchen, dining and living space opened to the garden and pool. It was sized for the family as they were, and for the house after the children leave.

The villa at the front was left alone. The rooms that still worked were kept. The money that might have gone into more floor area went into height and light instead.

The house reads as generous.

It is barely bigger than it was.