This house faces the Camber Dock and Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth but, previously, other than a tiny rotten balcony, it made nothing of this opportunity.

The owners realised they were not maximising the view and enlisted my help to come up with a workable solution.

When I first visited, I realised a small piece of land that belongs to the house but was only accessible from the highway, could well be the key to unlocking the problem.

I could see that working with this land would give the property more space, in the form of two terraces facing the great harbour view.

The clients were very taken with my quick initial sketch, which soon became a planning drawing. Having obtained planning consent, the design became detailed drawings. Soon after, Building Regulations approval was granted and the house was completely remodelled.

The house was completely gutted and refurbished by Westcott Construction with new Velfac windows, underfloor heating, and new kitchen and bathrooms. I also added a projecting bay window to increase the floor space and direct the view towards the Land Rover BAR America’s Cup building.

I never cease to be amazed at how a line from my fountain pen can become a building in such a short space of time.