House extensions in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Modern home extension design by local architects who understand
You love where you live. You just need more space.
You’ve been in your home long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. The kitchen that felt generous when you moved in now feels crowded the moment more than two people are in it. The living space doesn’t quite flow the way your family uses it. You need a proper utility room or a bigger bedroom. Or simply more room to breathe.
You’ve probably thought about moving. But you like the area, your neighbours, your children’s school, your commute. The location is right, but your house is just not big enough, or working hard enough for the way you live now.
A well-designed house extension changes everything
Not by bolting a room onto the back of your home and hoping for the best, but by rethinking how the whole house works. Most of our extension projects also involve improving the flow and layout of the existing space, so the old and new feel like they were always meant to be together.
McCann Moore Architects has designed house extensions across Northern Ireland for homeowners like you who want more than just additional square footage. You want a home that feels resolved –
- Light where it should be
- Space where it matters
- A layout that finally makes sense for how you actually live
Ready to talk about extending your home?
And yet … a house extension is much more than just adding space
The most common mistake with a house extension is treating it as a standalone addition. You build a new kitchen onto the back of the house, and suddenly the old kitchen is a corridor. The proportions shift. The light changes. The bits you didn’t touch start to feel wrong, in ways they didn’t before.
That’s why we approach every extension as a whole-house question
Yes, you’re adding space, but you’re also creating an opportunity to fix things about your home that have never quite worked. The circulation that takes you the long way round. The hallway that’s too dark. The rooms that are closed off from each other when they should connect.
Most of our extension projects involve at least some redesign of the existing layout. Sometimes that means opening up the ground floor so the kitchen, living and dining spaces flow into each other. Sometimes it means reconfiguring upstairs to make the most of the new footprint below, reinventing the master bedroom suite or adding a room above the extension. It depends entirely on your house and how you want to live in it.
Working with an architect on your home makes all the difference
A builder can add square footage. An architect looks at your home as a whole and makes sure that everything, new and existing, works together as if it was always designed that way.
By the way, if your home doesn’t actually need more space, but the layout isn’t working the way it should, you might be looking for a renovation rather than an extension.
“Contacting Seán and Paul at McCann Moore Architects about our renovation and extension project was the best decision we made. First and foremost, they delivered 100% on the design brief. We loved their design and, from the moment we saw it, it was clear they understood exactly what we wanted.
They treated our budget like it was their own and included innovative & stylish finishing touches, whilst being mindful of material costs … Every day we pinch ourselves when we walk in our front door because we are so happy to live here.”
How an extension project works with McCann Moore
The process follows a clear path, but the starting point is different from a new build. You already have a home. The design conversation begins with what’s already working (and what isn’t).
Getting to know your home
We visit your property, walk through it with you and listen. What rooms do you use most? Where does the house let you down? What would make the biggest difference to your daily life?
We also look at the things you might not have considered: where the light falls, how the garden relates to the house, what the structure allows and what the neighbours and planning context mean for what’s possible.
There’s no commitment to a full project at this stage. It’s all about understanding whether your home can deliver what you’re hoping for and whether we’re the right designers to help.
Designing the extension
This is where the possibilities open up. We develop a design concept that addresses everything we’ve discussed – not just the new space, but how it connects to the rest of your house. We work through options with you, testing different layouts and approaches until the scheme feels right. You’ll see your home change on paper before anything changes in reality, which means you can make decisions with confidence, rather than crossing your fingers on site.
Planning permission
Not every extension needs planning permission, but many do, particularly if you’re doing anything ambitious with scale, height or proximity to boundaries. We advise on whether a planning application is needed. If it is, we manage the full process on your behalf. We know what planning departments across Northern Ireland look for in residential extension proposals, so we can design with that knowledge built in from the start.
Detailed extension design and specification
With planning resolved, we develop the design into the technical drawings and specifications your builder will work from. This stage matters more than most clients expect. The precision of these documents directly affects how accurately the work can be priced and how smoothly the build runs. Gaps in the specification are where budgets overrun and quality slips.
On-site architect inspectionsÂ
Once construction begins, we carry out regular inspections to make sure the build matches the design. Extensions involve connecting new structure to old, which often throws up questions that need resolving quickly and carefully. We’re there to deal with those questions as they come up, protecting both the design intent and your investment.
Not quite ready to start your house extension?
If you’re still weighing up whether to extend, our free guide covers what’s involved in working with an architect on a residential project.
It’s a useful starting point while you’re still thinking things through.
House extensions we’ve designed
No two homes are the same, which means no two extensions are either. Here are some McCann Moore projects that show how a well-designed extension can transform, not just the new space, but the whole house.
Modern extension to period home in Belfast
This period property in South Belfast was home to a growing family. They wanted an open kitchen-living-dining area that connected easily with their leafy back garden.
Modern extension to 1920s house in East Belfast
This 1920s house in East Belfast belonged to a couple who wanted a kitchen-dining area that flowed better together, a living area that made the most of the connection to the garden, as well as a general opening up of rooms to bring more light into the property.
Extension to detached period property in Malone, South Belfast
In this fabulous period property in Malone Park, Belfast, the design made the most of the connection between kitchen and living area with the spacious garden. We even managed to create a library area in this single-storey extension.
Thinking about extending your home? Start here.
We’ve created a detailed guide covering the practical questions homeowners ask most often when they’re considering a house extension in Northern Ireland. It covers planning permission, costs, timelines and what to expect from the process.