Garage conversion - access through utility room or hallway?

[IHeartKingThistle]

This is seriously NOT the most scintillating thread, is it?

So we have a big attached double garage and want to convert one half of it. Most of the neighbours have done the same thing and they access the conversion room through the utility room off the kitchen. One uses it as a study, another as a games room for teenagers.

But I don't want to build a lovely new room and then have to traipse through the hall, kitchen AND utility room to get to it!

We'd use it as a playroom first, then probably a den. So it is intended for a fair amount of use.

Punching through the hallway to get access would be doable but obviously more expensive and would involve re-sizing the downstairs toilet and reducing the width of the hall a bit. I just can't help thinking it would be a lot nicer to have the conversion as part of the living space of the house.

And I don't want kids and people going through my utility room where all the piles of washing are, but perhaps I'm being stupid.

WWYD? Is the expense and inconvenience worth it to get access through the hall? Anyone done this?

TIA for reading boring thread

It's own hall doorway, I used to have a similar room as my bedroom via utility room as a Nanny and it was noisy and disruptive.

I agree with messiness. Access the new room from the hall. It'll feel like a fully useable space then. Also remember that if you access it from the utility room then that effectively turns the utility room into a cluttered passageway.

If or when you come to sell the house, a proper room opening off the hall will look so much more normal, rather than a secret add-on room hidden in the utitliy room.

Agree - the hallway.

IMO it will be nicer to live with, and when you come to sell, it will look like you didn't just go for the cheapest design you could.

I think a little more money now will pay off later. It will annoy you daily if you use the utility!

Another vote for hallway here, for all the reasons Oreo said. I am sure the extra hassle and expense now will pay off if you decide to sell, and make it a much nicer living space for you now.

Another vote for hallway, we converted a double garage into a playroom and retained the back 5ft across both garages as a store room.

We had to move the soil pipe from our en-suite to miss the new door from the hall to the playroom. It is lovely to have it as a separate room and I can shut the door on the mess

Don't go though the utility, our neighbours did this and it feels wrong.

I knew I was right! Good to hear that you did this successfully Fizzy - I would love to convert both garages into an enormous kitchen but DH is adamant that a house needs at least one garage to store crap in.

I just can't imagine spending all that money on a conversion and then saying 'kids, go and play in the playroom - don't fall over the ironing board on your way' or 'come and see the conversion - just ignore the piles of washing and carrier bags' .

Just have to convince DH that the extra money will be worth it and that it will be worth sacrificing a little bit of hallway width.