London victorian house layout query

[SarfE4sticated]

Hi there,
we are currently looking to buy a house near us, and i need some inspiration. I prefer houses with a square floorplan, so kitchen/dining room can be knocked into one and both look onto garden. Most of the houses near us are victorian with a long and narrow floorplan, so I need some help seeing the potential.
I have attached the floorplan, what do we do with that long thin living room? Garden is north facing so the back of the house would be a bit gloomy. we mostly use our living room for tv watching or reading, kitchen for eating/working, and garden for hanging out.
Most of our friends have this layout, and the back half of the sitting room always becomes a bit of a dumping ground for a piano or camping equipment!
We wouldn't have any money for extensions, so would need to make the most of it as it is now.

Sorry what's your question?

I'd never ever by a house with a garden that was north facing, especially a thin Victorian one. It will be absolutely unusable all year round. Honestly wait till a house on the other side of the road comes up if you have visions of a pretty garden with kids playing and bbqs etc.

Nextphonewontbesamsung I guess:

1. how would I make this layout feel more light and spacious?
2. what would you use the back part of the living room for?

I did think that BigusBumus it would make the whole of the back of the house feel gloomy wouldn't it.

In the photos the garden has a very healthy looking lavender, so it can't be too dark, but I do take your point. Thanks.

Use it as a study area, with a desk and bookshelves that you can fill with folders organising all your various bits of paperwork. Use plants and knick-knacks to fill spaces where you don't have books or folders. Put a comfy armchair and a floorlamp in, too. (I love a home office area, as you can probably tell!)

We’ve got that layout. Except Front of house is east facing and back Is west facing.

So we get sun in the garden in the evening.

But kitchen is never that light and neither is back of back room. We have patio doors that let more light into back o back room. We turned it back into two rooms and use the back one as a dining room/kids room. Great when they were growing up that they had own space. We got storage, nice Victorian looking cupboards built into the chimney alcoves so not cluttered.

Front room is light so hang out in there. We Have a table in the kitchen.

I’ve thought about putting an extension in the side return but we’re not staying so not worth it.

The north facing garden, depends how long it is it will get sun if it’s long enough.

Yes a north facing small garden must be absolutely miserable.

In this house, the wall with the passageway has been taken out - that makes a larger double reception room. But it does mean the front door opens straight into the main room, which isn't always so great.

Some layout ideas (looking at the floorplan) -

That’s basically my house as well. Make the front a more formal sitting area and the back part the room, have glass doors dividing the two. That back part is always dark, mine has an enormous mirror in it, and I changed the window to French doors, but everyone always puts the light on in there even in the daytime.

Gah, and make the back part of the room a tv watching room...

I would use a large IKEA kallax as a room divider and use the back half as a playroom. But we have 2 under 3!

Even a small north facing garden will get some sun if the east/west sun can reach it - it depends on what is surrounding it. And you do then have the advantage that the main window in the sitting room will be south facing.

Op I absolutely love this layout! I would use the back half of the sitting room as a study/office area or, if you have dc, make that the play area. You could install some shutters to close off the back if it's looking untidy (though obviously that won't make the room feel light and spacious!).

🤔 home office idea is nice - I like the idea of two rooms instead of one.

🙏🏻 Thanks everyone

I’m sure I could find some shade loving plants for a north facing garden - Monty Don will guide me

We have bi-fold doors between the two reception rooms at the front means we can open it up to let the light in but close it in the evening so it feels cozy and hides the mess in the playroom. We also have a north facing garden but it’s long enough to have a sunny far end so totally not a problem. We have got a kitchen extension with a lot of glass that opens directly out onto the garden and it is very light even in winter

I’d pop the dining table in bit the adjoins living room section, and a big squishy sofa in the kitchen. We’ve got a kitchen ‘snug’ and it’s where the entire family (and every friend in a 20mile radius) collects on a daily basis. Teens especially seem to love it, and the things I hear! We never use the actual living room any more.

The dramas that have been thrashed out on our poor therapy sofa - I maintain it’s the proximity to tea... 🙄

I would have a double sitting room. With the wall knocked trough, at least you'll get a bit of light coming from the front to the back. Also, I don't know how big your family is or if you even have people coming over but if you revert to 2 rooms, there won't be a space in the house that can accommodate more than 5 people.

That’s a lovely idea @DogHasEatenTheSqueaker I really like that idea.

Yes Doghaseatenthesqeaker is right!! Dont put your table in the kitchen, put it in the back bit of sitting room possibly with a chandelier or other funky light low over it, according to your taste. Then put a sofa in the kitchen and poss a tv on wall to make a second place to loaf about. Great if you want to watch different things, have had a row or have a gf over for wine...

Some really nice ideas here, but for us having a south or west facing garden was a dealbreaker.

Would highly recommend sofas with removable covers, or cheaply replaceable ones from IKEA - Heart breaks little every day when I see how ‘loved’ my once fabulous kitchen sofa is now looking thanks to every man and the dogs.

Tv is also very good idea. Teenager banished to kitchen to watch love island. I can ‘pop through’ at vital times though, just so I keep abreast of what’s going on, for research, obviously

George Clarke's programme looked at just this last night. I wasn't convinced that he hadn't just made the back room into a corridor though. It is tricky in these Victorian houses, especially ones that don't have a side return (which is very spendy). Would you keep the utility which is entirely blocking off the garden from the main house?

I’m not sure @whyme need to look at it - won’t have much dosh for building work. I’m hoping it’s a gracious orangerie type structure. 😂 Kitchen is so big I don’t think we’d need a utility.

I don’t like thru lounges. Makes furniture placement hard and they are too long and thin.

I’d get there wall back up. Have one posh sitting room (front) and then the dark back one can be a cosy cinema room/playroom/music room whatever.