Will this devalue our property?

[Partypartypartypartyparty]

Currently, we have a living room, a large kitchen/diner/living area and a large study (4m x 4m) downstairs.

We no longer need the study.

I’d love to knock through and turn the study into a large utility/boot room and turn our current tiny utility into a pantry (1m x 2m).

DH says this will devalue our property when we come to sell as we are essentially removing a living space.

Keen to see what mumsnet thinks!

IABU - yes it will devalue your property
IANBU - no it won’t, the house is still the same sq ft.

Oh just seen living room 🤦‍♀️

If you were clever about building in your laundry appliances with storage and some attractive boot racks and coat hooks it would be easy to stage the house as being flexible when you sold. Just by moving the boot racks and coats or housing them in cupboards you can add a desk or stage it as a playroom.

I adore my utility boot room and its smaller than 4x4.

How does your current living space equate to the number of bedrooms? For example, if you have a two bedroom house then you're not likely to need as much separate downstairs living space as if you've got four or five bedrooms.

I would love a utility room, but a bedroom (which I assume it could be used as?) is often a necessity, whereas a utility room isn’t. It will be the same square footage but the “useable space” will be less. But if it is modern and all in good repair then it will be more attractive however many bedrooms there are

@Partypartypartypartyparty our house had a 6m x 2.5m study. We split it into two rooms, so have a perfectly normal sized study, then the other part is now a "snug/gaming room" with a sofa bed.

As so many people WFH, then not having a study would massively devalue your house.

I would split it in two, then have half as a utility, then the other half as a study.

With more people working from home, I'd say the study will make your house much more attractive.

Can we see these bootilitiys please? I have been thinking about how we can do this but haven’t seen exactly the right set up yet.

As others have said. What's your future plan? And how solid is that plan? Worst decision we ever made was putting in a new kitchen based on planning to move shortly afterwards.

Can we see a floor plan? I'm wondering if you could create office space in the kitchen/living/diner as that sounds big.

I would worry that a kitchen and big utility and pantry with only one proper reception room would make the house feel unbalanced.

Try not to get too hung up on the idea that your house is an financial investment - it's a home, have it the way you like it and enjoy it !
There are many more important reasons why your property will likley devalue over the next couple of years - and they are all outside of your control anyway. Your DH is being a bit tight arsed...

Depends how long you want to stay? We’ve got our forever house which has a massive office and also a bedroom with a big en-suite which makes the rest of the room an awkward L shape. It’s a 5 bed house with 3 bathroom 4 toilets. It’s our home and we’re making it for us so ripping out the ensuit to create a 17ft x 13ft kids lounge.

It sounds like a good idea to me, in principle. Whether it will work hinges on the floor plan though - where is the current study in relation to the kitchen/diner, where is it in relation to the front or back door? I think if it’s tucked away in a far corner of the house away from the current kitchen and/or entry then it will feel disjointed.

As a compromise, if your kitchen is big enough could you keep the study as is and reconfigure the kitchen/diner space to accommodate what you want?

I love decent sized utility room, but 4 x 4 is huge. Can you post floorplans of the whole house @Partypartypartypartyparty ?

I think if you incorporate a downstairs wet room into the 4x4 space, along with the utility/bootroom, that would really help to offset any potential devaluation of losing the second living space.

I would worry that a kitchen and big utility and pantry with only one proper reception room would make the house feel unbalanced.

I agree with this. Can we see a floor plan? Two reception rooms are far more flexible than one and give the option of one of them being a study or playroom or bedroom or library or music room or snug or cinema room etc etc. You've already got a big kitchen/diner, you don't need more functional space.

My maths is excellent, and you are spot on , @soupyspoon !

You would get four 2x2 spaces out of a 4x4 space.

I think a study and utility/ boot room each roughly 2m x 4m sounds great.

You got there first, confirming @soupyspoon , and I apologise for responding to her before seeing your reply

This

People do like a home office space but it doesnt need to be big.

All it needs is to be big enough to fit a decent desk amd chair and have some natural light.

What is your upstairs living space like? If 4 beds for example them i’d think it was top heavy and lacked living space downstairs…An older family might want a snug for teens and a younger family might like a playroom…if you are thinking about value and might sell up then i wouldnt change it.

I’d love a massive utility and boot room! Different spaces work better for different families, unless you’re planning to sell fairly soon you should make the space work for you. We currently have a room converted in to something that very few other families would ever need, so would likely put off buyers. But we don’t plan on selling so it’s irrelevant, and it works for us at least until our children leave home.

I would rather have a second room downstairs whether as a study, snug or possible downstairs bedroom. Do you have a downstairs loo, is there possibility to have a shower room?

I need a floorplan and also to know where sun is coming in.
For example if its a bright sunny room and one of the few in the house ( like ours ) it'd be utterly wasted on a boot room. But if near back of house and back door most definitely yes.

I’d keep it the way it is - I would want the study. It depends how long you plan on living there though - if you are not selling any time soon then have it the way you want it, but I would think your DH is right, more people would prefer to keep the study space as it is, more versatile living space.

I think people buy the space.
Its not hard to turn it back into a study.

Can it be an office with built in cupboards for
coats and boots?