Is this houses’ floorplan too cursed to buy?

[Proie]

We have a found a house we like in an amazing location. It definitely needs modernisation but it’s not too bad that we couldn’t do it over the course of a year or so. We really would be left with a dream house. The interiors are ugly and outdated but not minging.

It’s a period home with nice bright rooms, high ceilings. But the layout is just insane to me. I am normally good with being able to figure out a design but I’m stumped on this one.

Do you think the floorplan is too far gone?

I was thinking of converting the garage into an amazing kitchen?

What do you mean cursed?

This isn't something I have much experience in but I'm not sure what the problem is, other than the pantry is too far from the kitchen - but if you convert the garage that's easily solved as you can then reserve a space for a new pantry.

Ie it makes no sense

There’s a lot of through rooms which I would want to resolve

I don't really see the problem, tbh. Having a pantry in the middle of the living room is a bit odd, but presumably you could store other things there too?

The dining room is a hall effectively and the family room is only accessible via other rooms. The pantry location makes me think the layout's been mucked about with in the past. Are you able up ask the sellers if they made changes or know what changes have been made.

That's only really a problem when it's a bedroom though. Anything else, it doesn't really matter. I would probably convert the current kitchen into a dîning room, and the current dining room into a play room for the kids.

I’d want a structural engineer to have a look and tell me what walls could be opened up.

It looks like it could be a fabulous house. It’s definitely higgeldy piggedly.

I don’t mind it tbh. It does look like it’s had a few bits added on / extensions. I’d move the pantry to garage probably. Can you fit a dining table in the kitchen?

Smash the right side into a mega kitchen/diner, move the door to the right as well, then turn the existing kitchen and dining room into a lounge and reception?

Probably refine that a lot though!

I would keep kitchen as is, and turn the garage into an amazing utility room and second toilet (I know someone who did exactly this and it is fab).

If you aren't going to use the pantry you could knock it out to make the family room bigger.

I like a separate lounge and family room. It's great if you have kids and want to entertain

I think fundamentally the kitchen needs moving. Probably to where dining room is. Is it raised timber floors?

I’m presuming there’s an upstairs with it saying bedroom 5
make the 2 rooms on the right into 2 big separate rooms indicated by red lines
knock the conservatory down at 5ft wide it must be line a tunnel
put a corridor in indicated by blue lines knock to stop you walking through one room to get to another
if you wanted knock through to garage to make a massive kitchen/ living room

Surely the kitchen would go where the sitting room is?

This makes a lot of sense!

The pantry away from the kitchen is supposed to be a butler's pantry not a cooking pantry. You keep the tableware, silverware, glassware, table linens and wine in there. You may consider putting a 2nd dishwasher in there so that the table can be cleared into there from the dining room without having to troop everything through to the kitchen. Obviously pots & pans stay in the kitchen

I did think that, could work

It has one currently

That is indeed a cursed layout! I like keeping original internal walls, so if these are that, then I'd be trying to figure out the rooms original purpose. If they were added in then I would be looking to change that up considerably. See what can come down and then start from scratch!

Moving the stairs to the right of the dining room would help, and have the dining room as a massive magnificent entrance hall.

I’d knock through or rearrange some walls on the right and turn the sitting, pantry, family and dining rooms in to the kitchen, pantry and dining areas. Flip the house over. Left side for bathroom, study, sitting areas.

Getting rid of a garage is always a bad idea unless you have no plans to sell and will be there until you die or you have space to build a new one. It's like a downstairs loo. some people will regard that as essential and you'll be alienating a big market section.

Can you extend out on the right hand side to make the storage and family room line up so that you have one big regular rectangle on the right hand side.

Honestly if you are serious about it, I would take the plan to a local architect for a 10 minute preliminary opinion because that is a skilled job and it would give you a professional sense of what options were open to you realistically.

Start by saying what you need from this house. How do you live day to day? It's no good suggesting plans that suit others if the rejigged space won't suit you and your family. Do you WFH at all? do you have children and if so, how old are they? Do you like to have friends and family around much and do you host big sit down meals, Christmas gatherings, or casual eating? Do you need that downstairs ensuite bedroom for anyone to sleep in, whether regularly or from time to time.

Secondly, is the house listed? What's your budget? because professional fees and knocking down or through load bearing walls is very costly and £££ soon eaten up.

I was going to say knock the outside storage and the hotch potch of rooms adjoining into a big dining kitchen, larder, utility and downstairs cloaks. But then what to do with the original kitchen. I'd have another reception room and keep the original dining room as is, but that might not be of any use to you.

I would say, what ever you decide, don't think about taking those huge chimney breasts out, that really would be a huge job.

It's certainly odd. I'd go so far as to consider moving the entrance to the current dining room to have a lovely big entryway with a fireplace. It's big enough that it could have a library/reading area or a boot room setup. Remove the conservatory and put a bigger window in the new entryway so that you have a view to the garden as you walk in. (I'm assuming it's a plastic conservatory and not a wooden orangerie). Merge the kitchen and garage to form a large kitchen, dining area and utility room. Put a downstairs toilet in the pantry. Leave the sitting room as is. Leave the stairs where they are, unless you are planning a big job upstairs too. It's all fixable if you have the budget.

If it were me, I would put your dining room where your current kitchen is. If you don't want to utilise the Garage then put your kitchen where the current dining room is. Without doing anything else at all, that makes more practical sense. It's nearer the other living spaces for trips to the fridge etc etc.

As others have said and I agree with you too, change where doors are so that there are fewer 'through' other rooms to get somewhere