Rear Extension Ideas: Fantastic Real-Life Rear Extension Projects & Advice

Looking for rear extension ideas? Many looking to extend will choose to do so at the rear of their property to create a natural continuation of its interiors, either with an entirely new space or by enlarging what’s already there – allowing the new addition to open up the home and improve its connection with the garden.

Rear extensions are popular because they are often hidden from the front of the house and so don’t impose on the kerb-side view of the home. This means you can be more creative with the addition’s design and create something that adds real character to the back of your property while serving your practical needs.

The best way to approach a building project such as a rear extension is to first consider what your home is missing. Ask yourself questions such as, what do I want this new space to achieve, how much space do I really need, who will be using it? And so on.

Rear extensions come in all shapes and sizes and can be designed to fit nearly any brief, so you can create a scheme that’s truly unique to your needs, personal style and property. Take a look at this hand-picked collection of rear extension ideas and some advice from the experts to get you started.

Unique Rear Extension with Curved Canopy

Thiss Studio masterminded a sleek, modern addition to a 1930s urban terraced house in Clapton, London. The brief set out to provide more light, volume and new flexible living space that could be used by the whole family, which materialised itself in a new sunken, open-plan kitchen-diner extension.

Photo: Jae W V Kim

The compact space embraces a strong sense of craftsmanship throughout, with bespoke sapele hardwood joinery punctuating the design for a warm, homely feel.

Photo: Jae W V Kim

Outside, a uniquely curved laser-cut aluminium canopy named ‘the fried egg’ sweeps across the addition, helping to mitigate any unwanted solar gain while offsetting the clean cubic lines of the timber framing inside and out.

Timber-Clad Multi-Storey Rear Extension Idea

Paul Archer Design devised an impressive multi-storey rear extension and complete refurbishment of this family home in Hackney. Local planning stipulations limited how much the extension could protrude from the property’s original footprint, so the internal spaces have been thoughtfully maximised with an open-plan layout that priorities daylight.

Photo: Jonathan Gooch

The house has been extended with three distinctive, cubic volumes. This design offers a clear visual separation between old and new, with the original home’s Edwardian architecture now set against a contemporary charred timber-clad facade.

Photo: Jonathan Gooch

On the lower ground floor, the spacious kitchen has been completely opened up to the sunken garden with slimline sliding doors and a polished concrete floor that fuses seamlessly with the large patio tiles beyond.

Learn More: How Much Does a House Extension Cost? Real-Life Extension Costs, Ideas & Budgets

Rear House Extension with an Angular Roofline 

When collecting your rear extension ideas, think about what’s around your house or in the garden and how it could inspire the design. Taking queues from a beloved tree that sat adjacent to the home’s original kitchen, Turner Architects embraced natural tones, wooden surfaces and organic-feeling materials when developing this  family-friendly rear extension.

Photo: Adam Scott

The practice prioritised daylight and visual harmony in the rear extension’s design, with an angular roofline and asymmetric timber-clad ceiling that encourages light to bounce in all  directions inside the addition throughout the day.

Photo: Adam Scott

Bright, comfortable and versatile, the multifunctional rear extension houses an open-plan kitchen-living-dining zone, which has been delineated with a central woodburning stove and stepped levels.

Cubic Rear Extension Idea with Pivot Doors

This unassuming semi-detached property in Croydon has been transformed into a unique home. Taking inspiration from ancient colonnades, the rear extension’s angular design, by Will Gamble Architects, is a striking example of how to incorporate traditional shapes into contemporary architecture.

Photo: Chris Wharton

The tall windows and large pivot doors provide ample natural light, while angled soffits give the illusion of greater height. Both internally and externally, warm tones and classic materials contrast with textural microcement.

More Ideas: House Extension Ideas: 30 of the Most Amazing UK Home Extensions

Wow-Factor Oak Frame Rear Extension

Nestled into the Dartmoor National Park, this former milking parlour forms part of a cluster of agricultural buildings, adjacent to a main farm house. The parlour had been left redundant for a number of years and so required a complete overhaul in order to become a comfortable, habitable space.

Photo: George Fielding

VESP Architects created this outstanding redesign, which involved retaining the parlour’s original road-facing appearance, while making a more extensive revision to the rear elevation.

Photo: George Fielding

The practice demolished half of the barn and, adopting the same footprint, built outwards to create a rear extension with a striking green oak frame. The newly-converted space contains a bright, lofty kitchen-living-dining area, with the oak beams left exposed throughout as a nod to the building’s agricultural roots.

Terraced House with Peaked Rear Extension

Nestled into Highgate Woods, Fraher & Findlay Architects modified this large Edwardian terraced house, improving the home’s internal layout and its connection with the garden.

Photo: Chris Wharton

The design proposed a pair of striking, peaked external additions – housing space for cooking, reading, relaxing and more. A strong palette of materials has been specified internally, with bespoke timber joinery, white plaster walls, polished concrete floors and heritage-style glazing.

Photo: Chris Wharton

To avoid suffocating the cluster of internal spaces, a glazed courtyard has been designed to form a break in the plan that provides light, ventilation and ensures the garden can be seen from all angles.

More Ideas: Period Home Extensions: Design Ideas For Combining Old and New

Light-Filled Extension to a London Home

This urban Victorian terraced house in North London has undergone a complete internal and external transformation, thanks to Neil Dusheiko Architects. The east-facing kitchen-diner had previously suffered from poor daylight due to its position one level down from the street and disconnected layout.

Photo: Tim Crocker & Agnese Sanvito

The practice therefore moved the home’s linking staircase to form a stronger bond between the living and dining spaces while making room for a sloping glazed void to ensure daylight can filter through the whole house.

The rear extension’s bifold doors mean the open-plan kitchen zone can be completely opened up to the garden patio. The exterior’s shape remains in keeping with the original home’s architecture, but with a cumaru timber facade characterising the double-storey outrigger.

Sympathetic Countryside Rear Extension Idea

An extension and refurbishment project by Adam Knibb Architects has completely transformed this 20th-century property in the rural South Downs while optimising the original structure. The selected materials, such as timber cladding, allow the contemporary extension to blend in effortlessly with both the neighbouring woodland and the traditional building.

Photo: Richard Chivers

The existing layout wasn’t working efficiently and so a seamless, open-plan rear wraparound extension was designed to enhance the connection between the original house’s internal living areas. Ample glazing and sliding doors connect the inside with the picturesque South Downs while filling the space with natural light.

Light-Filled Rear Extension with Internal Courtyard

Influenced by a mix of Dutch courtyard paintings, traditional East Asian courtyard houses and monastic cloisters, the idea for this rear extension to a Georgian terraced house, by Turner Architects, was to zig-zag out from the existing building.

Photo: Adam Scott

Enclosed by glazed doors, a glazed internal courtyard elevates the indoor-outdoor feel, with clerestory windows to let in even more light and accentuate the angular roofline. A cherry tree, encircled by the new volumes, and sedum roof help camouflage the extension in nature.

Colourful House Extension Idea

The renovation and rear extension of this Victorian terrace was inspired by the owners’ love of architecture and art. The house had previously been extended with a side return addition that felt disconnected from the main house and the garden.

Photo: French + Tye

The new addition, designed by Bradley Van Der Straeten Architects, boasts an impressive curved ceiling, with the rear extension ideas drawing inspiration from artist Donald Judd. The stunning feature opens up the space and the arched shape is mirrored in the aperture of the door. Outside, the strong colours present in Judd’s work influenced the bespoke fluted blue concrete walling.

Read More: Structural Options for Building a Home Extension: Your Complete Guide