{"id":7478,"date":"2026-07-23T09:51:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/?p=7478"},"modified":"2026-07-23T10:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T10:02:41","slug":"rear-extension-therapia-road-dulwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/rear-extension-therapia-road-dulwich\/","title":{"rendered":"Rear Extension in Dulwich: The Therapia Road Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Therapia Road is a rear extension on a six-bedroom detached Victorian house in Dulwich. It took 16 weeks to build and cost \u00a3150,000 plus VAT. The brief was a new kitchen and dining space that opens completely to the garden, so the design uses glass doors that fold back to 90 degrees on two sides and full-width skylights overhead. Below is the whole project: the brief, the design, the features, the cost and the timeline.<\/p>\n

\"Open-plan\n
The finished kitchen and dining space at Therapia Road.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
See the full project lookbook<\/strong>
Floorplans, design sketches and the complete photo set in one document.
Download the Therapia Road case study (PDF)<\/a><\/div>\n

The project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Location<\/strong><\/td>\nDulwich, south London<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>\nSix-bedroom detached Victorian house<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extension type<\/strong><\/td>\nGround floor rear extension<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Build time<\/strong><\/td>\n16 weeks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cost<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a3150,000 + VAT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The brief<\/h2>\n

Therapia Road is a large detached Victorian house, and the owners wanted the back of it to work harder. The existing rooms at the rear were closed off from the garden and from each other, which is common in houses of this age. They wanted one kitchen and dining space that felt open to the garden rather than looking out at it, and they wanted the new part to sit comfortably against the original house rather than reading as a bolt-on.<\/p>\n

\"Therapia\n
During the build, and the finished space.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

What we built<\/h2>\n

The extension runs across the back of the house and opens on two sides. Glass panorama doors fold back to 90 degrees at both the rear and the side, so in summer two whole walls disappear and the room reads as part of the garden. Overhead, panorama skylights run the width of the new roof, which keeps daylight in the middle of the plan where a deep extension usually goes dark.<\/p>\n

Inside, the finish is deliberately restrained: a pale ash floor against dark cabinetry, a kitchen island with wine storage built in, and black matte lighting that reads as a feature rather than disappearing into the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\"Open-plan\n
The open-plan layout, with skylights running overhead.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The design features that make it work<\/h2>\n

Doors that open on two sides.<\/strong> The aluminium panorama doors slide and fold to 90 degrees from both the rear and the side of the extension. Opening a corner rather than a single wall is what makes the room feel connected to the garden instead of framed against it.<\/p>\n

Skylights the width of the roof.<\/strong> Deep extensions lose light in the centre. Running the skylights across the roof rather than dotting them about brings daylight down into the middle of the plan, and the pale floor bounces it further.<\/p>\n

Ash floor against dark tones.<\/strong> The ash boards are light and hard wearing, and the contrast with the darker kitchen keeps a large open room from feeling flat.<\/p>\n

An island that does more than one job.<\/strong> The island holds the wine storage and gives a working surface that faces into the room, so whoever is cooking stays part of what is happening.<\/p>\n

\"Dining\n
The dining area, looking back into the house.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\"Interior\n
Looking through from the original house into the new space. Photograph by Build Team.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Planning and party wall<\/h2>\n

A rear extension of this size on a detached house needs its own planning route, and Dulwich has areas where extra care is needed on how the back of a period house is altered. If you want a quick first read on where your own project sits, our planning checker<\/a> is the place to start.<\/p>\n

Detached houses often avoid the party wall process that terraces and semis trigger, because there is no shared wall to cut into. Where excavation runs close to a boundary, notice can still be needed. Our party wall page<\/a> sets out when it applies.<\/p>\n

What it cost and how long it took<\/h2>\n

The build came in at \u00a3150,000 plus VAT over 16 weeks. This is at the higher end of our projects, and the reason is the specification rather than the footprint: two runs of panorama glazing, the skylights, and the level of joinery and finish throughout. Costs move with size, specification and the state of the existing house, so treat this as one real data point rather than a guide price. You can see how a smaller, simpler scheme compares in our Cricklade Avenue project<\/a>, or read more about how we work on our rear extension page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See the house tour<\/h2>\n

We filmed a short walkthrough of the finished extension, so you can see how the space works when the doors are open.<\/p>\n