The versatility of the Victorian house by Phil Gannon..
Victorian houses in Britain are surprisingly good at adapting to new needs. Originally built with a certain lifestyle in mind, their strong, classic structure often provides the perfect foundation for modern makeovers. This allows homeowners to update them without losing the original charm, seamlessly blending old-school character with contemporary living.
Lintel House tackled a common problem: a beautiful old Victorian semi -detached home that felt cut off from its garden. The main culprit was an old, poorly built conservatory that wasn’t working for a modern family. The solution was to tear it down and replace it with something much better. The clients wanted to build a new addition that not only filled in a small, unused space between the house and the neighbour’s wall but also extended the house further out into the garden where the conservatory used to be.
One of the biggest hurdles was that the garden was much lower than the house. To fix this, the design lowered the kitchen floor and the new extension to meet the garden’s level. This clever trick also gave us fantastic, high ceilings that are over three metres tall! The steps leading down to this new level were even built using bricks that were salvaged from the old conservatory, giving the house a unique touch.
With the kitchen now neatly tucked into the new infill, you walk into a stunning dining room that feels like it’s floating in the garden. This space is enclosed by huge sliding glass doors on two sides that practically disappear when opened, turning the dining room and garden into one big, open-air space. This is perfect for warm summer evenings when you can have dinner outside without actually leaving the house. All that glass also fills the room with natural light and gives you beautiful views of the garden, making it feel peaceful and welcoming. To bring in even more sunlight, we added a round, porthole-style skylight right above the dining table.
The materials and design chosen were a nod to the original house and the neighbourhood. We used salvaged bricks and specially made stone lintels to echo the decorative brickwork and white stone window sills you see on many of the local houses, celebrating the home’s history while bringing it into the present.
Hopefully you enjoyed the images documenting the journey for Lintel House but stay tuned in to Gannon Works & JP & Brimelow’s socials and websites as the final images will be coming soon.
If you have similar house to Lintel House and want to create just as an amazing addition, get in touch and let’s see how G/W can help get you there!
Tel: 07450244761
Email: phil@gannonworks.com
Website:www.gannonworks.com
Instagram: @gannon_works
Eddie – Thursday 14th August 2025. (Text and images supplied by Phil at Gannon Works).
