Would like advice on front door position of new house

[tracyk]

Just moved into a bungalow. Large front garden but no back garden. At the mo there is a 'front' door round the right hand side and a 'back' door round the left hand side of the house. Only windows to the front.
Driveway comes up the left and branches into a Y shape - one bit to the right and one bit to the left.
Everyone cmes to the 'back' door and NEVER uses the 'front' door.
I want to brick up the front door and use the hallway for more useful space. But dh says 'you can't have people coming in the back/front/main door straight into the kitchen!
Advice please??

Try using it for what you want first for a few months without bricking it up (perhaps double lock the door) and see how you feel. Put a sign on it saying please use door around the corner or something to stop other people using it and remove door furniture like bell, knocker letter box etc.

Perhaps you could build a porch onto the door leading to the kitchen to avoid the feeling that you come straight into the kitchen.

I had suggested putting a porch on but dh is still not convinced - I guess I have to get an estate agent round to let us know if it would affect selling later on. But the previous owners were here for 20 years and never used it - we've been here for a few months and never used. Only the postman uses it as it is nearer the side gate for him to nip in. But friends/deliveries/us all come to the kitchen door!

I'd be a bit worried about fire exits. If your only exit is via your kitchen, what happens if you get a kitchen fire?

(If you can go out the windows reasonably easy, it could be ok - but not legal, iyswim.)

We have large patio doors to the front of the house too - which would be the obvious place to have the front door - but would mean giving up a chunk of garden/decking and also the pitch of the roof is too shallow. So fire escape would be ok I think. I wouldn't even know where the key is for the front door to escpae out of tbh!

I think that not having a front door would seriously affect the resale value of the house. Though if you think you'll be there for a long time, you could conceivably reinstate the front door before going on the market. Why brick up at all, for that matter? Why not just use the space as you want to, and see how things go along? Can you put a bit of fencing or planting across the branch of the Y that leads to your front door, to stop it being used?

I don't think the branch of the Y needs blocking off - no-one goes to the front door anyway. Its not only round the side of the house - but tucked into a corner behind where the front section of the house is iykwim. A lot of the houses in my street have patio doors/windows to the front as they face the sea. So I spose the builders of our house put the entrances to either side of the house so that it freed up the front to have your dining table gazing at the lovely view!

Sounds nice.

It is lovely - but dh and I cannot agree on anything to be done in the house and every room needs re done - so everything is a battle!

Agree with general sentiment so far - don't actually brick up front door, but put a hatstand or something in front of it if you want to use space better. You could even put in a little desk and chair and use it as a study. If you're going to do this you could change the actual door for a full-length glass one to get more light into the new 'room' and make it feel less like a hallway but still be able to dress it as a functioning hall if you come to sell.

My PIL have an ensuite bathroom with a door to the landing that's never used, but rather than blocking up the doorway just keep it shut, with the aforementioned hatstand in front of it.

NB re coming straight into kitchen - in many small houses you step straight off the street into the living room and everyone copes with that.
Just means you have to make sure it always looks passable in case guests appear, and have a handy cupboard for coats, shoes etc.
If you're redoing the kitchen you can make sure that the 'traffic flow' from the door is such that people don't get in your way if they walk through while you're cooking or whatever.

thats the one sticky point that I can see MrsB - I am the worlds untidiest person - and just know that the kitchen will never look like the magazines!
We either spend the money on landscaping the driveway to 'force' people round to the existing 'front' door or build a porchy type thing to exaggerate that the 'back' door is really the front door.

Was going to say...the one at the front...but then I read your post properly . I would seriously advise against getting rid of front door - I can see that having everyone coming in through the kitchen would be a right pita after a while. Could you just make a more obvious path to the 'front door'? Doesn't really have to be an extension to the drive...couldn't you just get a proper path put in?