Adding two bedrooms changes the capacity of a house. At Hillsborough, the larger task was to change how the house could accommodate several generations together.

The owners wanted to expand their existing three-bedroom home into a five-bedroom dwelling. Connected living mattered, but so did the ability to withdraw into private space. The renovation therefore needed to support both a larger household and a choice about how its members spent time together.

Modal Architecture developed a substantial refurbishment and enlargement within the site’s parameters. The interior was reorganised to bring the main living spaces together, giving common daily life a clearer centre. Additional accommodation increased the number of bedrooms without making openness the only organising principle.

Places for retreat provide the balance. In a multigenerational home, the shared rooms and private spaces have related roles: one supports gathering, while the other gives occupants the option to spend time independently. The plan responds to both parts of the owners’ brief.

Hillsborough Home gives the household a more adaptable place to live, with five bedrooms and a renewed balance between common and private areas. The enlargement creates room for more people; the reorganisation is what makes that additional capacity useful to the household.