Open plan in a Victorian terraced house?

[nevermovinghouseagain56]

I'm considering buying a Victorian terraced house which has an open-plan living room and kitchen area. I'm not the biggest fan of open-plan living, I can see that it can work in bigger, newer houses but I just can't get my head round it in such an old property.

The downstairs is basically a living room with some kitchen units shoved into the corner. The house has many other features which I really love so overall it's appealing to me. The house is very small too which in itself is not a problem, it just gives less to work with obviously.

I'm toying with the idea of whether I would be able to replace the wall to define the kitchen again but am concerned whether this would reduce some of the light in what would become the living room.

I'm also wondering whether I could add an extension on the rear to create a proper, separate kitchen.

Does anyone live in an old (small) property which has open-plan? Does it work for you? Have you restored it successfully to two separate rooms?

Any advice would be welcome.

I live in a small Victorian terrace, originally 2up 2down. It has a ground floor extension built I guess 30 years ago knocked through from the original kitchen with a very dodgy kitchen fitted. We stripped out the kitchen and had one put in the original kitchen, added patio doors and use the extension as a second lounge, giving us open plan at the rear and a cosy sitting room at the front. We love it!

The first picture is the 'before' the second mid renovation, the last shows the new kitchen. The doors are south facing so although there is no window in the kitchen, it's still very light.

Thanks Soontobe60. Your kitchen looks lovely.

Is your house still open-plan right through to the sitting room? If so, how do you find the level of noise and smells from the kitchen?

My friend did this to hers a few years ago (area is a commuter belt for london). It did look lovely when it was done, but she said it felt bigger when they had walls. The stairs were unchanged and had always come off the dining room, but now this was in the open plan space too. I imagine sound would have travelled as the living room where the TV was as due to no walls or door to limit this. There would have been no change to kitchen smells
From cooking as there was never a door between the galley kitchen and dining room.

If you reinstated a wall and worried about it being dark there are clever things you can do with lighting to mitigate this.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

The front room is separate. I think if you have a big house, you can get away with everything open, but in a smaller one it's not as easy.

This was what it looked like when we bought it, you can just see through to the back.
We needed a LOT of imagination!
Our sitting room is now much cosier with a wood burner fitted.

I wasn't a fan of open plan when we bought our current house. We have a sitting room in the front & huge open plan living/kitchen/diner at the back. I have to say I am surprised by the efficiency of it. I can cook while kids study/play/paint, one of us could be working, doors open, garden time etc. We don't use the sitting room a huge amount now even though this was our favourite place in the earlier house.

Smells worried me too, but a proper exhaust with vent when cooking seems to deal with it well. Low fabric in the living space means there is no stale air wafting around later.

Things seem to get done quicker & family is together most evenings. Beginning to grow on me.

Sorry I meant to say you should try it a bit before you decide to change & how.

I have a kitchen that’s open to the lounge in a Victorian flat and with extraction in the kitchen it’s fine. It makes the flat light and airy and a closed off kitchen would make the kitchen dingy. Much prefer it open!

Thank you JuliaAndJulia and BubblesBuddy. That's very interesting to hear. I totally get the practicalities with children etc so that's great for when I've got visitors but mostly it'll just be me and DH.

The smells issue doesn't seem to be a problem for either of you so that's great too.

I won't be making any alterations for the first few months anyway, so like you say, see how I like it. It just strikes me as odd in such an old property.

In my Victorian terrace the corridor, sitting room and dining room have been knocked into one. Separate kitchen leading off the dining room. Having previously lived in both an unaltered Victorian terrace (lovely big rooms but laid out for a Victorian lifestyle!) and a modern house (convenient layout and easy to clean, but poky), I feel this is the best of both worlds.

Btw not saying all modern houses are poky - just the one I happened to live in, so that's what I have to compare to.

Just because a house is over 120 years old, you are not obliged to keep it as it was built. Essentially this kept women out of sight in a tiny kitchen. Having the space opened out means you can chat to others whilst cooking. Or DH can chat whilst he cooks! It’s a far more sociable layout. Seeing what you think after living with it is s good idea but you don’t have to be a slave to Victorian architecture and family hierarchy!

@BubblesBuddy, thanks, you have made me smile this morning. My DH does do the cooking actually, so I guess a plus point will be that I'll be able to keep an eye on him ;)

Have a lovely day! I wish my DH cooked!

does the conversion have building regulations approval? Find out before you make an offer. Look at the approved plans and see if they match how the house actually looks now.

Non-compliant building work is likely to cost more to put right than buying a different house and doing it properly.