House layout help please

[surreygirl1987]

We are viewing a property this week that has been available for a while and also been reduced. I can see why - the floor plan is crazy! However, it's in a great location and only available because nobody else wants it, so I'm wondering what can be done to make it workable.

I'd be grateful if anyone could have a look at this floor plan and tell me if there's any obvious fixes? The main issues are that the master suite is only accessible by another bedroom, and also the downstairs is quite odd - the kitchen, for instance, is a really awkward shape/size. I love open plan - the more the better - and usually just say yo my husband 'we'd just knock this wall down' but I really can't work out the best layout for this one! Many thanks!

Oops, included an uncropped photo, sorry, but it doesn't matter.

The two front entrances makes it look like one side is a garage conversion. Is that right?

I'd say one hallway is enough. The second hallway is dead space and could be merged into another room.

Do you need 4 bedrooms?

I would block the other outside door off,
Make the wall where the hob is straight with the door to the right, kitchen area green, living dining in orange.

Do you need 4 bedrooms?

Many thanks! @moonshine11 I like that a lot but then wouldn't that mean losing the downstairs toilet?

@Chocotrio the bit labelled 'storage' is the garage conversion. I think all they've done is take off the garage door though? The extension is the other side of the house, but in my opinion not well- through through!

We only 'need' 3 bedrooms for our family, but a fourth bedroom would mean having a place for guests to stay. One day I guess we could convert the 'storage'/garage into a 4th bedroom is necessary, but seems tilly to lose that if there's a workaround the bedroom access issue! As there's an en suite, we'd only need to go through the guest room if the kids needed us, but I'd feel so weird about that and I'm sure our guests would too. Guests would most commonly be the inlaws. But also, aside from that I'd worry about resale and also about paying too high a price if it's not really a proper usable 4th bedroom?

Totally agree with the second hallway (left) being dead space. The toilet seems to be the issue. We really do want a downstairs toilet. But how do I get rid of the dead space issue and keep a downstairs toilet?

I thought it was a shower room 🙈
Utility and WC where purple is

Is it marketed / priced as a 4 bed?

Downstairs I’d make the entrance the door next to the garage (if it isn’t already) then put a wall up across the sitting room.
Knock through the current kitchen and dining room plus the stolen space from the sitting room to make a big kitchen diner. I’d also consider pocket doors between those two spaces so it can be fully opened up.

I’d make the garden room a playroom or something if you needed one.
Finally square off the other door, funny shaped corridor to make a bigger loo and utility.
To square off the room I’d make the existing kitchen window end storage possibly even a larder (with or without the window depending on size).

@moonshine11 ooh I like this a lot! Thanks you!!!

Yes, get rid of that pointless second front entrance (maybe add a porch to the main entrance for muddy shoes etc). Looks great. Would it be difficult to change where the WC / utility stuff is though? I'm going to sound like such a novice (which I am) but I thought it was tricky to change their locations because of where the water pipes are? Or would that not matter because it's only around a metre difference?!

Only thing I can think for upstairs is loose the bath storage and create a new hallway, block door between master and 4th so you aren’t loosing the 4th bed

@mimisunshine these are such good ideas! Thank you!! Reassuring to know that there's things we can do to it to make it a less bizarre layout.

It is marketed as a '3/4 bed' and yes I do think it is being priced as a 4 bed, especially as it has one of those annoying OIEO labels on it (but EA said to view anyway as it's just not shifting and we can negotiate). Will have to negotiate hard, but I think it's clear a lot of work and money would have to go into sorting this house out. Other 4 or 5 bed houses of a similar size and similar garden have recently gone nearby for less, and it also needs 2 new bathrooms (horrendous!). But the location is ideal for us and if we can have an offer accepted we'd be pleased with it. Just wanted to check it's not impossible to sort out but you have all reassured me - with regard to the downstairs, anyway!

Upstairs, though...? Any possibility of making this an actual 4 bed place, or will one bedroom simply have to be a dressing room/study? I'm also not sure what that weird hap between the main bedroom and the en suite is about?!

@Moonshine11 yes, that could work couldn't it! I thought T meant Tank though (water tank?) So I wonder how difficult that would be. I agree I can't see any other way around it though. Thanks for your help and ideas - really great!!

[quote surreygirl1987]@Moonshine11 yes, that could work couldn't it! I thought T meant Tank though (water tank?) So I wonder how difficult that would be. I agree I can't see any other way around it though. Thanks for your help and ideas - really great!![/quote]
Oh does it?! My fault then, I can’t see another way round it!

Upstairs I’m assuming the T in a cupboard off the Barth room is for water Tank so possibly a nightmare to move. Therefore I’ve assumed it’s staying.

I would possibly steal some space from bedroom 2 (but this may not be needed) by straightening out the wall to take that bedrooms cupboard into bedroom 4.
Then I’d spit bedroom 4 in two.

Make one portion a small ensuite shower room off bedroom 1, create an L shaped main bathroom around it, using the existing door as access.
Then remove the bathroom and put a wall up in bedroom one and turn that big ensuite into bedroom 4 creating a bigger upstairs landing space too.

Offers wise. If other similar sized abd even bigger houses have gone for less or even what this is on fir them I’d negotiate very hard on the price.
Tell them it’s only a serviceable 3 bed and therefore your offer is x which is more than what they’d get for a 3 bed but not 4 proper bed size offer etc.

I'd make the sitting room a big kitchen diner and the dining room a lounge , use the old kitchen as a utility or snug

Make the bathroom smaller and make a passage way to the master .

Upstairs you could extend the bathroom to cover the landing to the right then shift the bath across and put the basin between bath and loo. Your entrance to the master would go between the airing cupboard/tank and the bathroom i.e. where the basin currently is.

Does it need a new boiler that could then get rid of the water tank? (I hope I'm right with this- I remember we got rid of a big water tank when we had a combi boiler installed!)

Have attempted a picture of the new landing and bathroom

Chances are with a house that size a combi boiler wouldn't cut it so you probably will need some sort of a tank

Here’s my suggestion - make the kitchen/diner one large open plan space and the old kitchen a pantry
Upstairs create a master suite and smaller family bathroom to allow for entrance

@AKAanothername

Have attempted a picture of the new landing and bathroom

I take mine back. This is better and would easier than relocating both bathrooms 👍🏻

@AKAanothername

Have attempted a picture of the new landing and bathroom

This!

@AKAanothername oh wow thanks! You have solved the unsolvable! You're right, it can be done! Brilliant - now I can go and negotiate hard knowing that if we got it we could (eventually!) make it work!

@mimisunshine yes you are so right! We have no choice but to negotiate hard anyway, as we can't afford it's asking price (or OIEO!). It has just sat there though, for months, in this climate, and EA said there's been no offers so not to worry about making a low one. He said its not shifted for a reason. We wouldn't be able to do it up immediately but if we could afford to actually buy it, we'd be able to afford to get it sorted out within the next few years, and it's liveable for the time being at least. But I didn't want to buy a lemon that was impossible to reconfigure so it's brilliant to know that it is do-able!

Thanks so much everyone - fingers crossed the vendor takes my offer seriously!