Keep quirky layout or re-open former doorway?

[camtt]

Our new house is a double fronted early twentieth century house. When you walk in there is really no hall to speak of only a small lobby with the stairs in front and, now, one door leading into the dining room. The room that was originally the parlour perhaps is through the wall on the opposite side of the lobby but only accessible by going on a trip around the ground floor doubling back to the front of the house. The old doorway is still there, not very firmly blocked up (although with a radiator in front of it in the lobby). It hadn't really occurred to me to change it back as I quite like the quirky layout and I will lose usable space if I have two doors in the room but a few visitors have said it feels a bit like a semi as with a double fronted house you would expect to have rooms opening up on ether side. I'm looking for opinions before I add this to my extensive list of new house jobs!

[PigletJohn]

open it.

[Liara]

I would probably open it too. However, it's your house, you should do what works for you (unless planning to sell soon)!

[lalalonglegs]

My instinct would be to open it unless the room is so small that you can't get a sofa in (or whatever) with that extra bit of wall lost. It would annoy me enormously to have to do a U around the rest of the rooms to get there.

[camtt]

hoping not to sell again for a long time! I think ideally I would probably open it up, and if I am going to I should do it before I sort the room out etc. But I wonder whether the previous owners felt the house was cold without the extra radiator in the lobby (not that anyone is going to be hanging around in the lobby I shouldn't think), and I really hope I don't have to spend as much on every room in the house as I will have done on this one which has also had some damp work, and needs more ...

[camtt]

it's a room about 12ft by 12ft, a little more maybe. The house used to be a guest house and I think the former owners wanted to seal off their living quarters from the business part of the house

[lalalonglegs]

If you're worried about heating the hall, could you put a section of underfloor electric heating? It doesn't cost very much to run in small areas.

[SoupDragon]

Open it.

[ClaireDeTamble]

Another vote for open it as I'd love a double fronted property.

[NickNacks]

I think we have the same house. We keep it shut in winter because the sitting room gets drafty, the Christmas tree goes in that corner, in the summer it's open again. I like the chop and change!