Help with this layout...

[aiskabash]

Hello,
I am interested in potentially buying this house but would welcome ideas on how to make his downstairs layout flow better.

The current utility room would likely need to be reconverted as a garage/storage area as there is no room to build a separate one.

Thank you for any and all suggestions.

What dont you like about the current layout, which way is south, how does your family like to live/eat, do you have dc?

@SeaToSki

What dont you like about the current layout, which way is south, how does your family like to live/eat, do you have dc?

Hi SeaToSki,

The current layout feels like a collection of separate narrow rooms in corridors.

Ideally, we would like a combined kitchen/dining room. We would like to live more with the kitchen connected to the garden.

The study is windowless and looks into the garden room. The garden is south facing.

DD has gone to university but only in first year. Thank you.

Is the garden room a 'proper' room, or is it a conservatory?
You say it's a collection of narrow rooms - can you give an indication of some of the dimensions?
What do you want to store in the (current) utility? (or do you need it to be a garage to put a car in? (you mention converting it back).

@ReviewingTheSituation

Is the garden room a 'proper' room, or is it a conservatory? You say it's a collection of narrow rooms - can you give an indication of some of the dimensions? What do you want to store in the (current) utility? (or do you need it to be a garage to put a car in? (you mention converting it back).

Thank you Reviewing,

Attached are two photos of the garden room. I am also attaching a clearer (hopefully) floor plan with dimensions.

My husband would like space for his sailboard, other hobbies and possibly a motorbike. Cars can stay on the drive. I would still like a utility room.

Thanks.

Not knowing if any of these changes are possible! Could you move the utility to beside the stairs and square off the remaining kitchen/utility/dining/study space into an open plan kitchen (with or without island) with space for a family area and dining near the garden Room, and build a wall at the end to block the sitting room into a more formal space. The garden Room could possibly be used as a study if you needed it?

Oh I missed the bit about sail board storage. You could keep the current utility as storage and instead of a square open plan space, open the rest of the floor and put the kitchen where the current study is?

The current layout feels like a collection of separate narrow rooms in corridors.

You could certainly change the purpose of various rooms, but I don't know that you'll necessarily be able to get away from this ^. We don't know which walls are loading bearing, etc - but it will have been built the way it has for a reason. It's generally not easy to just move the kitchen from the front of the house to the back either.

So leaving the walls and stuff broadly where they are, the way I'd re-configure it is:

• Convert the utility room and "lower" half of the study back into a garage.
• Convert the "upper" half of the study to a utility room
• Move the kitchen into the dining room and have the garden room as the new dining room
• The current kitchen becomes the new study

Move the utility into the kichen. Covert utility to storage. Knock the dining room, study and garden room together and put the wall back up between living room and sitting room

I would turn the kitchen into a small private sitting room. Combine existing study / sitting / diner and garden room into an open plan kitchen / lounge / diner.

The problem is the awkward access to the rest of the blouse that is across the back corner of the existing kitchen. It makes the current dining room a corridor.

I would have a long think about the finances involved to do the configuration personally, as the expense of a new kitchen and conversion you described could be quite expensive but not add much value back IMO.

We have just moved from a house like this with the kitchen at the front of the house. It is possible that the foul drains drains are at the front the house which is why the bathroom is at the front too. This then becomes an issue if you wish to have the kitchen facing the garden as then you will pay more to have the drains from back rooms to the front.

BTW, this is not the reason we moved. We accepted this layout and it was fine for us. We moved to get a bigger house.

If you aren't too bothered about a utility and happy with a kitchen diner i'd be tempted to make the rooms much bigger. The space at the end of the old living room seems a bit of dead space so I'd be tempted to put an office in, especially with all the light from what looks like a big window

Thank you all so much for taking the time to make suggestions and recommendations. A lot of very helpful ideas. Much to think about.

CraziFoobz - yes, the finances would be a concern as the house is already crazily expensive and still needs modernising without even looking at a more sociable layout.

Thank you.

Just noticed you'd like to keep a utility - is that mainly for washing machine? could that go where the shower is in the downstairs toilet? or utilise the space under the stairs?

It all depends on plumbing and drainage. I'd make current utility a store room, block doorway between utility and knock through kitchen and dining room. Make lower end of study a windowless (?) utility as presumably some plumbing on that side from current utility. Then knock out rest of study walls and walls to garden room.

But I think that would end up with a lot of steels and may not even be possible. And you may just end up with a disproportionately big room? Not sure where the study would go either

@Notyetthere

We have just moved from a house like this with the kitchen at the front of the house. It is possible that the foul drains drains are at the front the house which is why the bathroom is at the front too. This then becomes an issue if you wish to have the kitchen facing the garden as then you will pay more to have the drains from back rooms to the front.

BTW, this is not the reason we moved. We accepted this layout and it was fine for us. We moved to get a bigger house.

The foul drains are at the front. Not my favourite look! Would you know how much it would cost to move the drains?

Thank you.

@SwedishEdith

It all depends on plumbing and drainage. I'd make current utility a store room, block doorway between utility and knock through kitchen and dining room. Make lower end of study a windowless (?) utility as presumably some plumbing on that side from current utility. Then knock out rest of study walls and walls to garden room.

But I think that would end up with a lot of steels and may not even be possible. And you may just end up with a disproportionately big room? Not sure where the study would go either

Hi SwedishEdith,

Each improvement is like opening a can of worms! Perhaps we might have to look at a house with a better layout further away from the preferred town? The house is already at the top end of our budget so will have a think.

Thank you.

@AmIAWeed

Just noticed you'd like to keep a utility - is that mainly for washing machine? could that go where the shower is in the downstairs toilet? or utilise the space under the stairs?

I had hoped for a washer, dryer and a walk-in utility room. Perhaps a stacked washer and dryer could fit into the shower space?

I have a tall cupboard next to the bathroom that we're having converted to house the washing machine and tumble dryer, we've already got water pipes and waste super close - literally other side of the wall so the plumber claims its easy...whats less easy is pinning the bugger down to a) quote and b) do
I'm almost at the stage of saying don't quote, just do it, don't waste more time!

It looks like the original house was extended to the side and rear and then the garden room added, so assuming that and not wanting to move any structural walls, then I'd suggest the kitchen diner goes into the garden room and rear area. But this would require pipes moving. However, if you want the kitchen at the rear, pipes will have to move wherever it goes.

I can't really think of what to do with the current dining room but there's probably something smart which could be done using sliding doors or opening it up to the kitchen or sitting room. It depends what most appeals - a sofa area off the kitchen or a liberty area off the sitting room, for example? Therefore I haven't put any doors in!

Trouble with last redesign is that the current dining room would have no light. It's a shame the garden room isn't crappily built and you could just get rid of it as it's hampering your layout.

Agree, that's why I said I wasn't sure what to do with it. The ideal solution given the lack of light would be for it to become the utility. Largely depends what other rooms the OP wants though, there is a lot of space to play with.

However, if this is top of budget as it is, is it the right house?

@MaggieFS

Agree, that's why I said I wasn't sure what to do with it. The ideal solution given the lack of light would be for it to become the utility. Largely depends what other rooms the OP wants though, there is a lot of space to play with.

However, if this is top of budget as it is, is it the right house?

Yes, rethinking if it is worth it to bash it around. It’s the location that works well for us but at close to 900k you would hope to have less hassle!

If finances are likely to be an issue, moving the kitchen is a no go I think.

I've looked at the layout loads of times and still haven't come up with something that is workable but won't cost the earth.