How would you deal with this (very tiny) floor plan?

[Newhouse76]

Very very small property!

Ideally I would like 2 bedrooms albeit the second would be very small. Would replace the bath with a shower, reducing bathroom size and extending bedroom to allow a single bed to fit in?

Was also considering talking down the living room wall so as to walk straight into the open plan living area.

I need to keep one eye on potentially renting the property out if needed in the future and I'm not sure if there are regulations around kitchens needing a fire door. Not sure if a front door can be the fire door though .

Will be just myself and DS who is away for much of the week so I'm not trying to accommodate a cast of thousands!

Many thanks

[Wiifitmama]

I would make the bathroom a small shower room and move it halfway into the larger bedroom so you gain space in the smaller one.

[Newhouse76]

That's a great idea Wiifit!

My worry is that it would leave the bedroom with only one very small window (40 by 40 cm, not inches) so not a huge amount of light

[mumblebumble]

Would a single bed fit along the front wall under the window in the smallest room? Agree that making it more open plan seems like a good idea, the hall seems like a waste in a space that small. Although if you were going to rent it out I don't know if there's still the rule about having two doors between kitchen and bathroom?

[Wiifitmama]

But on the plus side, the bathroom would gain a window.

[Newhouse76]

That's a great idea mumble re putting the bed the other way!
A single mattress is 190cm but beds are usually around 200cm by 100cm give or take the headboard so one may just fit in. The room would be pretty square though, leaving a metre space towards the bottom of the room rather than the bathroom

I'll need to look into the rule that you mention

[SouthWestmom]

Keep the hall for coats and shoes otherwise it will just be a mess. Put the bed along the window side or use a futon or sofa bed in there.
Shower room would work well.

[SouthWestmom]

Ps who is Saima?

[sparechange]

How about moving the bathroom to the end of the master bedroom against the wall where the kitchen area is, which means the plumbing and waste will already be there
You'd have to have the door to the bathroom and bedroom close together but you can give over the current bathroom totally to the smaller bedroom

Or, leave a tiny wet room where the current bathroom is and put another tiny one in the master bedroom, against the kitchen wall
I've seen them within the footprint of a standard bath, with sliding doors, so won't necessarily take up too much space and will be useful for privacy in an otherwise small space?

[Abitshyaboutthis]

Could you carve off c 3'7" x 8'7" of the bigger bedroom (the section behind the door) to make a small shower room. You might need to angle the doors to get it to work. You would then have the main bedroom at c 10' x8'7" and the second bedroom c 6'8" x 10' (guess). If you had the door to the second bedroom opening closer to the front door you could probably fit a double bed in which would help with rental I expect. And yes open plan to the hallway makes sense.

[Abitshyaboutthis]

Snap - sparechange!

[Newhouse76]

Thanks everyone - can't keep up with responses

Floor plan is slightly misleading in that the main bedroom looks as if it has plenty of space behind its door - in fact the space behind the door is only 45 cm wide, it's less than it looks

Let me review your responses - keep them coming!

[Newhouse76]

Hi ok - I see abitshy and spare change have had the same idea about the bathroom. How could I make that happen with just 45cm behind the bedroom door? Could there be a way of changing the bedroom door to a narrower no standard version to save another 10cm. That would leave 55cm ish width, I think the smallest shower I've seen is 70 cm. please let me know if I've got the wrong end of the stick here

[Abitshyaboutthis]

That does make it a bit tricky but I think if you angled the door into the bedroom then you would be able to gain more space. Also if you did it as a wet room then you wouldn't need it to fit a shower tray - though of course 45cm is a bit narrow to be practical!

[sparechange]

Change it to a pocket sliding door, so it doesn't open into the bedroom but slides towards the window.
And go for a wet room rather than shower cubicles. That does mean you'll need to have bathroom storage elsewhere but the hallway is big enough for a couple of chests of drawers so that shouldn't be a problem

[Cressandra]

Main bedroom door opening outwards might make the main bedroom space more useable.

I think you could get a bed into the tiny room if you just swap the bath for a smaller shower. Might need to be a built in. You can cram a normal size mattress on a slightly shortened base.

I am not sure about taking down the hall wall. I can see the hall's a waste but I don't think I'd like the only loo coming straight off the only living room and kitchen. Not enough, um, sound privacy... I think I'd prefer to keep the hall with some efficient storage.

[PettsWoodParadise]

All great ideas here but unless this is a bungalow I am assuming it is a flat and any structural changes would need permission of the freeholder. I appreciate some flats can come share of freehold too but that is more unusual. Also wet rooms in flats can be tricky depending on the structure between floors and what level you're on - we have a rental first floor flat and wood flooring is not permitted in the leasehold details for example so as to give ground floor people 'quiet enjoyment' of their flat. Don't mean to put a damper on things, just highlighting a potential pitfall.

[sparechange]

petts
That is indeed useful advice but I don't think any of the changes suggested are structural...

[lalalonglegs]

If the flat opens onto a communal hallway, you probably can't remove the living room wall as it will compromise the means of escape for you and OTHER leaseholders. I agree that turningt he bathroom into a shower room would be the single best thing you could do and I'd have the hall lined withs shelves so there was a place for everything. Is there enough room in that angle at the end of the hall to create a small cupboard for Hoover/ironing board/coats/whatever?

[PettsWoodParadise]

Moving any wall even if not a supporting wall is usually considered a requirement for request for consent to the freeholder as far as the typical lease is concerned. You should be able to see the lease on the land registry website for just a few pounds. If you don't put in the proper requests to the freeholder it can be deemed a breach and worst case scenario you forfeit your lease but still have a mortgage to pay on a property you no longer own. I only say that not as a negative thing but not wanting things to go wrong for you. Also I've pulled out of purchases in the past where my solicitor or agent has found out that variations have been made without the right consents as I frankly can't be bothered with the legal wrangles to sort it out. I've also pulled out where the freeholder is non-communicative during buying process when I've enquired about likelihood of changes being permitted. Some freeholders charge substantial admin fees and then also use it as an excuse to up the ground rent as it is a variation of terms. See other threads on MN eg www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1816791-Leasehold-flat-internal-alteration-without-consent and property sites like www.leaseholdknowledge.com/wideboy-freeholder-cuts-4000-demand-for-leasehold-flat-refurb-to-2000

[Newhouse76]

Hi everyone - Thanks for responding.

It looks as if I may need to review the lease in order to determine whether the living room wall can be removed.

The flat is semi-ground/basement floor with its own front door - not sure if that impacts in terms of structure as I think opening out yur hall areas would be good for increase floor space 😁

Thanks - keep them coming

[cunningplan101]

Don't think anyone has suggested this yet:

• Turn the living room into master bedroom, with an en-suite shower room at the back where the kitchen currently is.
  
• Have current bedroom as bedroom 2, and install a small en-suite wetroom plus a storage cupboard
  
• Turn the hallway, study and bathroom (and sliver of space up to bay window) into an open-plan living room with kitchen