Terraced House Layout Help

[NamedyChangedy]

Another one for you budding interior designers...

After saving up for years we were planning to have an extension done, to have a lovely big kitchen / diner, but having had a few builders' quotes in, have sadly realised that the project would take us to the very top of our budget and beyond.

We've therefore decided to just work with the space we have and get a new kitchen, plus general refurbishments. We haven't done much to the house since we moved in 7 years ago, and it could do with a good spruce throughout.

Can you chuck some ideas at me for skinny terrace layouts that would work for a growing family?

The reason for the extension was that our kitchen feels narrow and it's a challenge to comfortably get 6 people round the table without everyone having to scooch up / bumping their heads on the oven!!

And I'm not sure if you can see from the picture, but the living rooms have been knocked through. The back room is very dark as it just has a little window (which is overlooked by our neighbours). It's where houseplants go to die.

What other info is helpful...?

• DCs are 7 and 5, but at some point will probably want a separate living space.
• We'd ideally like to be able to fit up to 10 people round the dining table.
• We had a walk-in pantry in our extension plans and I love the idea of that, as we have lots of DH's junk essential kitchen appliances that need storing.
• As we're not extending, we have a bit more leeway so are open to moving internal walls.
• There's a piano in the back living room which we'll need to make space for.
• There are 3 bedrooms upstairs, one of which is a guest room / study as I sometimes work from home.
• I've been told that the awkward chimney breast in the kitchen can be removed to make space. We'd probably need to also remove the chimney breast from the upstairs bedroom otherwise it's a big job to support it.

I'd be grateful for any ideas you can come up with - hoping this'll get me excited about things again, as opposed to being bitterly disappointed that I won't get my extension!

(And sorry that was super long!)

No we didn't have a downstairs loo but yourkichen is lnger, so if you went with a utility room you could put one in there?

Is he serious about jehovah's witnesses? It must be a rare occurrence- not sure I wouldbe taking them into my consideration. Do you have an inner hall door behind your front door? We did. Would you not just shut that when they called?

I don't think you can go open plan around the stairs with a loft conversion as the hallway will need to be able to be closed off due to fire risk.

I don't think you can go open plan around the stairs with a loft conversion as the hallway will need to be able to be closed off due to fire risk.

You can but you have to put in a fire supprecent system.

OP about the different levels - I think it is fine to have a step up / down into the kitchen area even if you do it open plan. Not the BEST result but a cost effective one.

I love LuluJakey1's layout.

Just speed read the thread and wanted to just say, if you are thinking at a later stage of putting in another room or two in the loft space - you will need to keep the stairway safe as you main fire escape - so consider this too when debating idea ! Ie don't open up everything you can downstairs at this stage as you will either have to close it all up again or install sprinklers when you changed the loft !
( I work as a freelance concept planner !)

Re. Jehovah's, he is kind of serious - we get very frequent visits round here for some reason. And we don't have a porch or anything, our front door opens right into the hallway.

Thanks Kokusai - agree it would definitely be much cheaper and easier to keep the levels as they are, I just worry about my clumsiness when carrying dishes from kitchen to table if steps are involved - it could work though...

And thanks very much for the fire advice. We weren't aware of that, so will bear that in mind. Lots to think about...

I know 125 k is a huge amount. But what is it in terms of percentage of your house for perspective? I would still 100% do the side return (assuming you can afford it). This will give you the best return on your investment in terms of enjoying your space and resale. I would add a garden office too (or loft conversion if/when you can afford). But without the side return the downstairs will always be a squeeze...

Thanks for this monsieur - I think you're absolutely right, and we do definitely want to extend. I suspect that the uncertainty of Brexit and news of London house prices declining have made me far less brave than I would have been a few months ago. And we've had our hearts set on the fantastic layout that @OnePlan helped us come up with, so anything else would be a poor substitute.

But we might have good news - one of the builders who was over budget has said that he can be flexible if we put him in charge of sourcing everything else as well - appliances, doors & windows, kitchen fitting, lighting etc, and reckons he might be able to come in on budget as a result.

We've sent him the line-by-line breakdown of everything we've budgeted for, and will find out tomorrow if he's happy to take it on. We've liked him and his approach so far and his previous projects look fantastic, so it could still come together...

Fingers crossed !!!

I do love a happy ending !!! :-)

That sounds very positive. Just make sure you get everything in writing and that your contract(s) are very clear and unambiguous.

Can we have pics when its done, or updates please, great thread.

Ah thanks justgive, and don't worry - there's no chance of us getting through this without me checking in with the MN hive at every step. Where would I be without you all!?

The builder's crew are arriving on Monday morning to start work, so it's all systems go! There's still several dozen decisions & compromises to be made before then though!

At the moment one of my big worries is that we're having to order a kitchen that we've never seen, and just hope that come September we're happy with our choice. It's from a supplier in Italy recommended by our builder - he gets a fantastic rate that works out to about half the one I'd chosen from DIY Kitchens.

But yes, there will be frequent updates for anyone who's going through a similar trauma project!