Green Roof Extension & House Renovation, St Monans

Situated on an elevated coastal site near the iconic Kirk in St Monans, is a modern house renovation and green roof extension project that balances a personal family brief, with the iconic views and contemporary coastal style living.

Located in the wester coast edge of St Monans, The Deck House is a unique house that presented us with great opportunities for a special renovation project. Originally built in 2005, the property boasts unrivaled views of the Firth of Forth and the iconic St Monans Kirk, however, the existing two-bedroom layout and outdated interiors wwere proving challenging for our client's growing family.

Our main design challenge was to expand the home's footprint without disrupting the historic, highly visible coastal setting. Rather than pursuing an attic conversion with restricted headroom, we designed a modest, single-story side extension that wraps around the existing sunroom. Because the public coastal path runs directly behind and above the house, keeping the building height low was vital to preserve the panoramic sea views for local walkers.

To ensure the extension could withstand the harsh, salty sea air of the Fife coast, we selected premium, high-performance materials. We clad the exterior in durable timber cladding, which will weather over time into a soft silver-grey that mirrors the stony beach. On top, we introduced a sedum living roof planted with wildflowers, offering a vibrant, biodiverse landscape for passersby to look down on instead of a harsh flat roof. We also replaced the weathered original windows with highly resilient, marine-grade aluc-clad timber with triple glazing.

The extension introduces a bright dining area and a serene master bedroom suite complete with a custom window seat, a built-in desk, and a minimalist wet room. Outside, we collaborated with a civil engineer to demolish a failing retaining wall, repurposing its stone to create a beautiful, low-maintenance sloping rockery. New timber decking now wraps around the frontage, connecting the home directly to the shore.

We are incredibly proud of how this project demonstrates that modern, sustainable architectural interventions can sensitively enhance and respect Scotland's historic coastlines.