1950's semi layout

[weekfour]

We have a rather boring extended 1950’s semi. I don’t like it but I love it’s location.

It’s bog standard with a side extension with a garage with master bedroom/ensuite above it. It’s currently got a crappy kitchen that wraps around the back of it and is knocked through into the original dining room. There’s a separate, pokey lounge that we can’t comfortably fit two sofas in. It’s on a tiny plot so we can’t extend.

We’re considering reinstating the wall back to the kitchen and then knocking the lounge into the dining room to create a through lounge/diner. Has anyone done this? Do you regret it? Do you miss having a separate lounge? I’ve always considered through rooms to be a bit old fashioned... there are two adults and three kids living in the house if that makes any difference.

I can't quite picture the existing or proposed layout but I'd be asking myself the following: if there's a space big enough for your entire family to hang out, for visitors to be entertained, do you want a separate room to 'escape' to from the children etc. Think your lifestyle through and that will be your best guide.

I can't quite picture your current layout from your description either, but (having 3 dc grow up here), I'm so glad we made the choice of having two living rooms.
Yes, the house isn't great for parties / gatherings - but that might only have happened once or twice a year. On the other 363 days every year, we have 3 dc (+ me and dh) all having times when we need to be in a room where there aren't other noises going on

• music practice
• homework (dc can, in theory work in bedrooms, but both dh and I also have work to do at home)
• watching one prog when someone needs to watch something else

or -above, but someone else wants to go on the x-box

• someone wants friends round
• dh or I want to have some sort of meeting (re one of our hobbies / volunteering)
• the dc were just generally irritating each other / winding each other up

I could go on and on, but I do scream at the property programmes "don't do it" whenever Kirsty is threatening to knock walls down in houses

I can't work out your kitchen but I think your house was similar to ours. Personally I dislike lounge/diners. I used to have one and I hate that mess finds itself in the lounge.
We're currently doing this to ours. The study is a snug - it only has a sofa and tv in it

As your kids get older, if you're anything like us, you'd really appreciate a separate space you can sit in, downstairs. The design of our house gives us ostensibly separate sitting and dining rooms but they are separated only by folding glass doors, which gives a nice big space when opened up, but are not properly separate. And our kitchen is not big enough for a table.

When dds were still at home I often thought of adding a curtain to make the living spaces more properly separate, but the design of the house means that both rooms would lose a lot of light. However folding doors in between the rooms might be a solution for you. Open for entertaining, closed when you want separate spaces.

Sorry about my rubbish description. But @Baxdream is right- our layout is similar. The lounge is small and we're struggling with two sofa's in it.... but I was concerned about losing the lounge as it's the only toy free zone we have. I'm pretty convinced by the comments that a lounge/diner isn't the way to go. Back to the drawing board!

And I'd considered folding doors as well... my DH thinks they wouldn't last two minutes with 3 D.C. hanging off them and he's probably right. I feel a bit trapped in a house that isn't fit for purpose by school catchment areas.