Extension exterior.....help!

[4yearsnosleep]

Hi All

All our extension plans are done and the builder is booked for June. However, we can't decide on whether to finish the extension in stone to match the rest of the house, or whether to clad it. The extension will be finished in a more modern look than the rest of the house, so we like the idea of the exterior of the extension being a contrast to the rest of the house. The window & bifolds will be in anthracite grey, though if we stick with stone, I'd consider them being white on the outside to match the rest of the house and grey on the inside.

I've attached a picture of the house and extension plans. One of the local schools has a modern clad extension against the Cotswold stone & it looks great (although my picture is terrible!) what are your thoughts? We're keeping the house for at least 10 years, so we definitely want it to be what we want rather than it being saleable, but it's hard to imagine exactly how it would look.

Will your local planning department have views on finishes? What have you put on the plans you submitted for pp? Sometimes they require finishes to match existing or local design statement. Have you checked this out. What does your architect say? Around here there are separate approvals from the planning dept for finishes but we are AONB. They have to be submitted in detail for approval.

I’m not sure about cladding for just the extension. We have it, partially, on our holiday house but so does everyone else.

I've checked with the planning department and they are happy for it be finished however we want as it's not in a conservation area. So it's just up to us. Cladding saves £900 on the build, but I'm not too fussed by that