What would you do with this house?

[UnconsideredTrifles]

I need ideas!

We are in the middle of buying a house, and are trying to fill the waiting time with planning what we'll do with it.

It's an old stone house, surprisingly light but with quite small rooms. It opens directly onto the pavement, and has a single block garage running alongside the kitchen and about 3-4m further out into the large garden.

I'm thinking it needs a bigger kitchen, maybe a utility, definitely a downstairs loo and husband is keen on a sunroom. Leaving aside issues of budget - what would you do with it?! I have been staring at it for weeks and need some inspiration!

[Dino90]

It’s difficult to advise without room measurements

[UnconsideredTrifles]

Good point! The measurements are a bit confusing because they're not in the same order for each room, but here they are!

[Alexandernevermind]

My advice would be to live in it as it is for a few months if it is liveable, then you will get the feel for the flow of the house. You could open up the kitchen into the dining room and garage to create a huge day room? Definately get an architect to plan it out with you, they don't cost the earth.

[WhereDoesThisToiletGo]

Do you have family and if so what ages?

[UnconsideredTrifles]

Two children - 2&3. I work from home, so one of the bedrooms is going to be a study.

The house has some fairly serious damp, so it's going to have to be hacked about before we move in - so I was hoping to get all the renovations done at once to avoid too much chaos! (Always the dream...)

[UnconsideredTrifles]

Also @WhereDoesThisToiletGo - your username is exactly what I'm asking myself!

[Ladycoo1]

If you want a new kitchen and sunroom. What about knocking the kitchen and dinning room wall out and then knocking thorough to the garage or partially knocking that wall and get that part of room insulated. Lovely big open plan kitchen, dinning area and family sun lounge. French patio doors to patio.

[Curiosity101]

If money was literally no object then I'd hope to replace the garage with a double height extension and join up the space between the rear porch and the back end of the garage.

Then the current dining room/sitting room becomes the adults sitting room for when you want somewhere quiet/relaxing. And then living room can be family space with all the kids toys, TV etc.

Then from the rear of the house I'd have toilet, utility room (with access to outside), then a nice big kitchen where the current kitchen/diner where the current kitchen is. Upstairs I'd add a bedroom and an ensuite.

No idea if you'd get planning for it and it'd cost a small fortune though. What have other houses in the area done?

[Curiosity101]

Wow... So many typos.

Then a nice big kitchen where the current kitchen/diner where the current kitchen is

Then a nice big kitchen/diner where the current kitchen is.

[UnconsideredTrifles]

@Curiosity101 I like that idea! DH loves the garage so it would be a bit of a battle...

The area is a real hotchpotch, there's nothing remotely similar so they're tricky for inspiration!

[UnconsideredTrifles]

@Ladycoo1 I may be able to get a compromise on using part of the garage - thank you for the ideas! Love the patio doors approach - I like easy garden access.

[Curiosity101]

Hmm, let me have another think then...

What does he want the garage for? General storage or storing a car?

Does the garage extend along the current sitting room or just from where the kitchen starts?

[justasking111]

How much land is there with it and how tight is your budget?

[user1471538283]

An open plan kitchen diner is fantastic with little ones as is a downstairs loo or even shower room

[justasking111]

The reason I ask is because we had an old stone cottage, we totally ignored messing with rooms, built on a big kitchen, big utility downstairs wet room and a playroom. The kitchen then became a playroom. Above that a big master bedroom, bathroom, dressing room. We also had all the damp, rewiring, dry walling, heating, etc. to do so just went for it.

Do find an architect and let them advise you a visit is free in Wales you only pay when you agree a contract with them.

[UnconsideredTrifles]

DH wants the garage for storage and thinks that, in resale terms, a garage with space for a car is more valuable than more living space (there is space for only one car on the drive so I do see his point a bit, but there is no issue with road parking.) Garage starts about level with the kitchen then keeps going past it - it looks quite odd!

Budget is fairly flexible, as long as it's the sort of improvement that adds value - the house is £30-80k cheaper than the neighbours so there's a good bit of wiggle room.

We're not talking acres of land, but enough garden that knocking off 4m for an extension won't make much difference (and the house walls are about a metre thick so any knocking through adds a ton of space!)

[UnconsideredTrifles]

Thanks @justasking111, that's good to know!

[SoupDragon]

I would split the back of the garage off to form a utility room/toilet and then extend across the back to make a large kitchen diner with double doors (or no wall!) into the living room. Depending on budget, I would demolish the garage and rebuild it with foundations sufficient to take a second story extension (if there is room in the budget, I'd build the top floor too).

[OliviaBenson]

Off topic but if it's a stone house, the damp needs to be properly diagnosed by an independent specialist used to old buildings. Injecting DPC wouldn't work in stone (and they mostly don't work in brick either). Lime plaster will help (and don't go near tanking!)

[UnconsideredTrifles]

@SoupDragon I thought utility in the back of the garage too - I hadn't thought of a full height side extension though! Now to go and check the cost...

This is so helpful, thank you!

[tara66]

You may be able to relocate the stair case - especially if you extend to the rear and go into some/all of the garage. You need an architect with good ideas, imagination and experience with these sort of houses' ''makeovers''. Moving a staircase may not be too difficult a job if the space between ground floor ceiling and and first floor floor is not a concrete layer. Of course there will probably be thick joists to work around. You would then be able to totally re-plan the house.

[SoupDragon]

With a second storey extension that's just the depth of the kitchen, you could get a bigger family bathroom with the corridor in the top part of the current bathroom and the bottom part of the current bathroom being added to the front bedroom.

[yomellamoHelly]

Okay. I would make use of the single-storey side extension to knock through from the existing kitchen. I would reconfigure the kitchen to make it twice the size. Then in the front of the side extension I would put a downstairs loo and a small utility. I would keep the garage doors at the front and use the space right at the front for storage (bikes and bins?). I would then wonder if the kitchen was large enough eat in. Then I'd consider whether the dining room could be turned into a wfh space. I'd also consider a playroom in that space.
I'd want to investigate where a shower room could be put in upstairs too. Maybe as an ensuite to the front left bedroom and knock out what looks like the boiler cupboard.

[Curiosity101]

I totally agree with everyone suggesting you should get an Architect. But here was a thought I had. This doesn't touch the garage at all, but does use around 3x3m of the garden.

[SoupDragon]

Definitely get an architect :) I do love a game of "tweak this floor plan" though 😂

With Curiosity's layout, I would ditch the proposed small bedroom, square off the front bedroom and have a bigger family bathroom instead.