House help needed please

[Househelpneeded]

Hi, would anyone mind having a look at this floorplan of a property of a house we are considering? It would be our first home (rented previously) so are novices when it comes to house design etc.
My questions are; on the top left of the kitchen, it shows a detail- cannot figure our what this represents.
In the 2 spaces in the kitchen (old coal cupboards apparently) the L shaped one- would you think it would be possible to put a toilet and sink in there?
The kitchen when viewed looks quite long and narrow as it only has units down one side. I would prefer to make units down both sides and perhaps put patio doors where the sink is? Does this seem feasible? Each of the bedrooms has a fire in which seemed quite strange to me! There is no central heating but if we bought it, we would have it fitted. Would you leave the fires as a feature or board up?
It has a lot of space round the house so extention would be possible in the future (when we win the lottery!).
I know some questions are probably hard to answer without seeing the house but any help would be gratefully received!

The kitchen is only 2.2m wide, so putting two sets of units in (galley style) would leave a really narrow space - barely a metre wide.

As for putting in a toilet and sink... that space looks too small tbh. You could maybe fit a toilet on its own?

I wouldn't decide on any changes until you've lived in it and see how it works for you.

There are always compromises when buying property.

Would it be strange to have one long line of units and nothing on the other side though? It just looks a bit odd to me. Perhaps we would need to factor in extending the kitchen.

I'd advise going to see the house before even thinking about that stuff.

Are they full height doors on the top left of the kitchen? Looks like the worktop runs all the way down but odd why they would show doors. If they are full height it could be a pantry.

As for the toilet in the corner, it would depend on the ceiling height as it is under the stairs.

I would open the 'coal cupboards' into the kitchen by taking down the walls around the small square one.

I wonder if the detail on the top LH of the kitchen is showing where the water tank is (assuming the house has no Boiler)

What about shelving on the empty wall in the kitchen? There are some really lovely brackets, wood shelving combos around at present.

There are loads of lovely things that cn be done in a kitchen of that size.

At first glance I'd consider if the door to outside from the kitchen is in the right place?

If this were moved to the window almost opposite the lounge door the kitchen would be less of a corridor. You could have a table and chairs infront if the newly located outside door and the kitchen more focused at the other end of the room.

I've used wall cupboards as base units in the past 40 deep rather than 60 meaning two runs would give a combined depth if 80 rather than 120. You can get hobs and sinks that fit this but appliances such as dishwashers and fridges tend to need 60+

Thanks for all your help, you have given me a lot to think about. I have been to view the house, I loved it but am trying to be objective and not carried away... my dh is viewing with me this week.

There are lots of narrow kitchen designs worth looking at. We had a breakfast bar on one side of ours.

Your layout will be hampered by the door into the lounge and the fact that it is quite narrow.

Yes to keeping fireplaces in bedrooms! A lovely feature!

@Househelpneeded Would it be strange to have one long line of units and nothing on the other side though? It just looks a bit odd to me. Perhaps we would need to factor in extending the kitchen.

How about a folding table on the empty wall? Maybe a couple of shelves?

@Househelpneeded an extension doesn't come cheap!

I would make the square room in the kitchen a pantry. It may have been one. Not sure it would be big enough for a loo. You could put a free standing piece of furniture like a dresser on thar wall as sometimes narrower than units. You could get bespoke units made in which case they could be less than 60 and therefore could be put on both sides. If you are really keen on it I would ask a bespoke kitchen company for a free design then you can factor in that to the price. We have just had one made and we have a far better kitchen this time. Initially looks more expensive but they brought all their own workman including electrician so I don’t think it would be much different in the end and there were no hidden extras they came out three hundred less than original quote.

My only other concern would be that the bedrooms look a bit small. Bathroom is upstairs which is a plus. If you wanted a downstairs loo you could build on a utility room at some stage and have toilet , basin, washer , drier and freezer in it. We have a stone shed attached adjacently to our kitchen and it was the original outside/ only loo. We have a drier and our freezer plus paint tools etc in it. Easy to nip to loo. It would for up space in your kitchen too.

We put central heating in this house. We have a multi fuel stove which runs seven radiators. You have to be prepared for the work that goes with it compared to flicking a switch but we love it. I would keep the fireplaces as a feature they add character.
Good luck. How exciting buying your first home.😁

Have a look on Pinterest for 'Narrow kitchen ideas' lots on there of units down one side with breakfast bars, narrow storage on the other wall.

I would definitely keep the fires in the bedroom if they don't compromise lay out too much - such a lovely feature.

We had a narrow kitchen in our old house and I wanted floor units both sides. We solved the space issue by using wall units at floor level as they are less deep.

So thankful of you all giving such thoughtful answers! The bedrooms are slightly small I suppose but we wanted the 3rd room to be big enough for bunk beds one day (hopefully!) so didn't want 2 big bedrooms and a box room which is the case in some we have seen.
It is well priced too (£190,000 reduced from £200,000 up north).

re teh square room you can buy tiny toilets with a sink as part of it but their maybe an issue with drainage as i would guess your soil stack is quite far away as likely to run straight down from where the toilet is in the bathroom..
I would guess teh square room bit was a pantry cupboard - and would keep it as you have not a lot of storage so far, so good for vacum/ironing board possibly tumble dryer/coats boots etc

If you've got space behind I would wait and save for an extension as you could just go accross the whole back and make a great space..
although coudl cost 30/40k so if you can get more house now pre-dc than maybe worth thinking about.....

We have a teen, toddler and potentially a baby in the future. We are happy to wait and save to extend on the back though, we just want a house which is okay for now with potential in the future.

I have slim units / shelves on the ‘spare’ kitchen wall and a thin counter top with bar stools

If you knock the L and the square together you could probably fit a loo/cloakroom sink, but I'd be tempted to keep it as pantry storage.

I think there's loads of room to do full-depth units on either side: leaves you with a 1.06m gap, which to me seems luxurious (mine is 90cm!). But shallower ones would be even better. I'd go for all lowers on both sides to make it less oppressive/corridor-like.

10,000% keep the fireplaces! Boarded-up chimney breasts are tragic.

moving plumbing stuff is expensive and can be difficult, so only plan to move the sink if you think it is really necessary.

I would definitely keep fireplace features in bedrooms if they are nice. You can put dried flowers or fircones in them.in kitchen i would have one long run of units down one side with breakfast bar along the bottom. The bedrooms are not large but at least quite square and even sized. Does it have garden? Maybe you could have conservatory added later to make more living room as your toddler grows.you could start with teen in second nicest bedroom and toddler in smallest bit if new baby too, teen move to smallest room and toddler and baby share second room. It looks nice.

I reckon you could just about fit a galley kitchen in. My kitchen currently is 4.2m X 2.4m and works nicely. Cupboards on each side are 60cm in depth which leaves 1.2m floor space.

What is the funny alcove to n the lounge on the hall wall. Can you walk past the stair case and get to the front door?

mummmy2017 Not sure what you mean. It has a little hall at the bottom of the stairs then the living room has that little extra alcove... not sure why! I have a second viewing tomorrow, will have a good look at these things.
I am going to measure the pantry style cupboards in the kitchen. Also bathroom as no measurements are given on the floorplan.
How long do most people take on a second viewing? Do people generally start measuring stuff or are we meant to book an extended appointment for that? As you can see, I am a novice when it comes to this!