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Original poster

House modernisation/extension what would you do?

17 replies

Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:09

Money being no object and a large back garden - please give me your ideas for creating your dream house!
It needs complete modernisation. I’m not a creative, so AIBU to ask you to help?

OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:11

Here’s the floor plan

OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:12

Sorry - here!

OP posts:
Goldengirl123 · 01/11/2026 12:21

Still can’t see the floor plan and pics would be good

Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:24

Sorry

OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:25

Now?

OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:25

I can’t see if Mumsnet are holding the picture back.

OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:44

Has this worked?

House modernisation/extension what would you do?
OP posts:
Original poster
Florence4170 · 01/11/2026 12:47

Sorry about all that kerfuffle! I’m a bit reluctant to post an actual photo of the house - it’d not mine.

OP posts:
bababamama · 01/11/2026 12:48

I’d knock through the kitchen and dining room myself and think about bifold doors onto the outside but otherwise it seems a good house

Wadsworthy · 01/11/2026 13:10

Employ an architect - have a look around at local firms and see what they've done. I went for someone recommended by a previous client & then I saw what he did via his Insta account.

I've done a few renovations and I have good ideas about space, but talking to an architect always offers further ideas and possibilities. And they can project manage. My architect works with an excellent buyilder, and also knows all the Council planning people. Worth the cost!

Earheads · 01/11/2026 13:12

What is the aspect of the back garden?

Where is the evening sun?
Does it hit lounge side or utility side?
That would hugely affect what i would do.
Do you need a study stand alone or could it be part of a bedroom, or landing?
How many children do you have, or are planning?

Have you thought of a small outside office that can be built as part of the renovations with wifi etc all set up?

Future proofing the house if this is your forever home.
Needs change as children grow.

Be careful of bifocal doors.
Have heard they can be problematic and a very expensive fix down the road.

GrapeBaby · 01/11/2026 13:13

More information needed. Do you need more space, for one?

Catza · 01/11/2026 17:19

I wouldn't do anything to start with. I would live in the house for a few months, figure out what all the pain points are and go from there. The only issue I can anticipate from the plans is no direct access from the kitchen to the dining room. That's a potential for the room to essentially remain unused and everyone either eating in the kitchen or schlepping straight to the living room. I'd explore moving the entrance.
A little hall between the main hall and the snug is also a waste of space so I would consider closing the entrance to the snug and putting a loo there. Plumbing permitting.

Growlybear83 · 01/11/2026 17:36

I think it’s lovely that youve got several separate rooms on the ground floor. We’ve recently moved and the thing that put us off more than anything was lovely old houses where everything had been knocked into one and they had lost all their character.

Wadsworthy · 01/11/2026 18:20

Totally agree @Growlybear83

I live in an early Victorian/late Georgian townhouse and the separate rooms mean I can heat rooms as I need them. The old house designers knew a thing or two about efficiency.

But looking at @Florence4170 's floor plans, I'd think about moving te kitchen or somehow extending it through the snug and study. I'd keep the formal sitting room, kitchen an dining room separate.

But I'd be looking with the aspect first, seeing where the light is at different times of the year, and would live in the house for at least a year to see how it works.

Original poster
Florence4170 · 10/11/2026 12:36

Thank you everyone. It was a house I was interested in but it is sold now.

OP posts:
stealthninjamum · 10/11/2026 12:42

it depends on your life stage / children etc but I’m not sure it needs to have anything done. I know that some people would prefer a kitchen diner but that looks big enough to have a small table in the kitchen for kids to eat on and to use the dining room less often. i suppose you could knock down 3 ft of wall into the snug so that it’s more visible from the kitchen but as a mum of teens now I wouldn’t need that.

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