Help me with my 1930s semi side extension and loft conversion!

[Suuudohnym]

I have two things I would love help with please!

1.We're knocking down our garage to create a single storey extension. We need more living space so are turning this into a snug/TV room for the kids with an ensuite shower room. I'd love to also use it as a guest room too. Problem is, it's only going to be about 1800mm wide - so although we could potentially get a small sofa bed in there, it'll fill a lot of the floor space when in use as a bed, meaning we couldn't put much other furniture in there. Also, what sort of seating could we realistically get in there so the kids can sit and watch TV? Has anyone created a similar sized room like this and managed to get a decent layout?

2.We're converting the loft into a master bedroom. I'm not a fan of Juliet balconies, but they seem to be the norm for lofts. It just seems a bit impractical that if you want a through-breeze in the night, you've got to sleep with the doors open! I also don't really get the idea of having doors that open out onto nothing... Anyway, I'd love a big window (with an opening) instead. Would this be more expensive? Anyone seen any lovely examples of something like this?

not sure on the balcony.

for the narrow snug, get an IKEA day bed that can work as a sofa for TV viewing and convert to a double bed for (slim) visitors.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/fyresdal-day-bed-with-2-mattresses-black-agotnes-firm-s19428097/

or if the door is in the middle of the long wall, you could fill one end of the room with a big sofa bed.

Thank you - that’s a good suggestion although not sure how comfy that looks as a sofa but I’ll look for others like it!

Why not a bed that fits to the wall and pulls down?
beanbags for the kids.

Have you had a valuation done? Removing a garage for a small room is generally not a good idea as it limits buyers and can reduce the value of the house. Why is it only 6 foot wide- is that the width of the garage? Thats the size of a loo?

@PepsiMaxCan not had a valuation done but the issue is we tried to move and simply couldn’t find anything to buy. So now we’ve just got to try to make this house work for us as best we can. We desperately need more living space plus another bathroom (we only have one) and the garage is the only way we can get more living space. And my thinking is that when we do come to sell, buyers can use that room as it is. - snug, or an office, extra storage, even turn it into a utility room so it offers flexibility.

Is the extension the same footprint as the garage or is it the whole depth of the house front to back? What about extending over the garage or a two storey extension, are either an option?

For your loft conversion a dormer is the obvious answer. There are also velux windows which aren't just a roof window. Worth looking into.

We have something similar to this in a long narrow study:

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/brimnes-day-bed-w-2-drawers-2-mattresses-white-agotnes-firm-s59497338/

However the room is slightly wider so it fits cross wise at one end. Its fine as an occasional overflow bed for when we have the whole family plus add ons staying and acts as a sofa the rest of the time with some extra cushions.

Depending on where you live converted garages can add not remove value. Around here house prices are high and so converted garages, lofts and garden offices all add value rather than lose it, so long as you still have somewhere to park.

I second a wall bed if there is the space for it. I was watching A Place in the Sun on C4 and they were showing a woman a studio apartment with an ingenious wall bed. I can't remember what episode it was but it was fairly recently - last week perhaps or even this week- and they were looking in the Estepona, Manilva, La Duquesa areas.
Worth a look.

Thanks @C8H10N4O2 , that’s also a good idea.

Yes, our garage is too small to fit a car in. We’d still have off street parking for 2 cars.

@LadyEloise1 would a wall bed need to be fitted at the building stage?

I have no idea. Sorry.

@WeAreTheHeroes the back of our house already has a side extension (the kitchen was made bigger by previous owners) and the garage backs onto it.

we decided against a 2 storey extension - architect said it would be a lot more money and we’d have to do a lot of rejigging on the second floor.

Is a garden room a possibility instead?

Wall beds can be added in after, there's an example of one in the latest Stacey Solomon series about decluttering on iPlayer.
The futon company also do some good sofas that slide out into double beds, plus bean bags for the kids for watching tv.

A garden room is not out of the question… but I would like a downstairs bathroom and converting the garage is the only real way to do that

If you don’t want a Juliet balcony just have a window. We did and one reason was to be able to put a radiator underneath. Otherwise would have lost wall space elsewhere for other furnishing. Also just didn’t want one!

Our second bathroom is in our loft extension. It's not en suite because the door from the bedroom would restrict where a wardrobe could go up there so it opens off a small landing at the top of the stairs.

Your garage extension sounds like it might be a bit of a waste of money: it can't be what you want it to be (ie big!) and what you've described is smaller than our box room and I don't really know how you could sit and watch TV in it. It does fit a double sofa bed, however, but when the bed is a bed ALL other furniture needs removing. And the door doesn't open fully. It's fine, but you couldn't do anything in there that didn't involve standing in one place or sitting on the bed!

I think I’d go for a dormer windows , or a big window ( floor to ceiling ) with an opening in the top

I do nor recommend a velux window , we had one in our old house and every time it rained in the night , I woke up . Every time . People said I’d get used to it . I didn’t . 12 years . 12 long years .
moving on , as it’s not all about me 😀

www.cotswoldco.com/bedroom-furniture/beds/day-beds/burford-sofa-bed/?xcm_campaign=Shoppin-Smart-Bedroom&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=17803969826&cq_con=&cq_term=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAiAl9efBhAkEiwA4TorioomFlMldwEBQY424W5YAc8sp919tsZoXnMkicMvJZqm8FFehQFxzBoC6-sQAvD_BwE
this might be too big , but looks nice and comfy for the snug

What room is the garage next to? Could you put an RSJ along the length of the adjoining wall and open it up to that room?

To answer everyone’s questions:

the garage is next to the hallway and stairs so opening up into one room isn’t really an option.

The lift will cover the whole footprint of the house. There will be a dormer at the back - that’s where I want an alternative to a Juliet balcony. At the front will be the eaves - @Veryfishy if I don’t have velum windows in the eaves, I’m not sure what the options would be??

Yes our original garage built in the 1920s was not built for modern cars - they tend to be narrow.

If you want the option of a double bed then a small sofa crosswise is probably the only option. Our study doesn't have much other furniture - desk, chair and an old narrow tall boy for storage at opposite end to sofa. That leaves room for the door to open when the bed is down. When it's in use as a bed I take out the chair and put in a hanging rail.

You can do quite a lot with a narrow room if it has sufficient length.

The length of the room will be just over 3750mm - the en-suite is in addition to that.

We have no window on the eaves side of our loft room, and we don't miss it at all. The window in the dormer provides plenty of light. We do have a velux over the stairs to the loft though otherwise they'd have no natural light and the landing on the first floor would be dark too.

We also have a narrow snug (about 230cm) but the problem you have is that a bed is 200cm long so would have to go long ways when it's out. You need a sofa bed that is 180cm therefore so it can go on the short wall. Those IKEA ones are too wide.

A wall bed is a good idea, except what do you sit on in the mean time? Beanbags are a good shout if its just for kids. You couldn't have a sofa in there, as well as a wall bed, unless you have somewhere else to move the sofa to whenever you need to use the bed.

I think it depends how often you'll use it for guests - if that's often then probably worth investing in a decent sofa bed. You need to post a floor plan though with door / window placement to see what would work.

It will be a corridor - les that 6 feet wide and 13 feet long
check how much losing the garage will knock off the house value