Ground floor layout suggestions required (narrow house)

[Ginglebell]

Hi, Any suggestions how to improve the layout of this ground floor?
The house is narrow and has an extension at the back which was built by the previous owners.
The previous owners removed the hall to make the living room bigger but this makes the living room really cold and there isn’t much space to have the coats and shoes. I’m wondering whether to reinstate the hall but don’t want to make the house seem even smaller if it creates a narrow hall and small living room.
Id also like to change the ground floor to make the utility bigger so we can have room for ironing boards mops etc.
We are happy to move a wall if needed but can’t afford to spend loads
We will get a builder in but they all seem to want us to have the initial suggestions as did the architect I spoke to

it looks like a pretty good layout to me. you could in theory move walls around to get a bigger utility, but you'd probably have to move the loo & all the plumbing, so it would be v expensive for not much benefit.

for warmth, you could put a giant velvet curtain across the frontdoor / staircase area (like some grand restaurants have), if that fits your style. it would make things warm & cosy in the winter but could be drawn back (or even taken down) in summer.

if you really need the storage, this option gives a big coat / laundry cupboard (C). I'd use double pocket doors (blue) from hall to living room to keep things neat.

If money was no object, I’d swap the kitchen and the living room, and reinstate the hallway.

OP, if you can't afford to spend loads then leave it as it is! It's a good layout for a narrow house. You can see just by looking at it that Parietal's suggestion will make the living room feel much smaller. I think you either live in it as is or buy another less-narrow house!

Thanks all for comments, the floor plan makes the utility look more usable than it really is due to an annoying boiler position.
Swapping the kitchen and living room won't be possible unfortunately.
I will enquire about moving the loo but also like the sliding door and extra cupboard suggestion. I knew others would have better ideas than me! Thanks again

Why not just add a cloakroom to the utility? Hallways don’t really add value to narrow / small houses. You could maybe have a tiny boxed landing area by the front door like some small houses do but then that might make the living room even smaller.

How good is the porch area? If it's well built you could remove the internal wall with the second door and reinstate it flush with the bottom of the stairs. That would leave you with a small hall, which might not sort all the coat storage, but better to keep more living room space than sacrifice too much for coats.

Alternatively, box in the stairs with a solid wall up the side instead of banisters, to reduce drafts and improve privacy between the floors. Use the cupboard under the stairs for whizzy coat and shoe storage pull out units. If your front door is more than ?10 years old (I'm guessing), consider replacing with a composite door to good spec and use a thick curtain as PP suggested. Front doors are expensive but a good one will really help to keep the heat in.

What is the layout of the utility?

I have a 40cm wide tall cupboard with small wire shelves to one side in my kitchen. It houses the iron, ironing board, mops, window pole, and laundry baskets and some junk. The big shelf at the top is full of kitchen paper and tissues.

I think a hallway is preferable if possible. Makes a front room more homely from experience. Something like this? The toilet is off the hallway which is also nicer. This would depend on cost of moving the toilet stack and which walls are structural.

Do you actually use the dining room or is it more of a walk through corridor?

The fact the door comes through the centre probably doesn't help the narrow feeling. Do you actually need a utility room if it's too small to be practical? Would you be better moving the sink next to the toilet and then having a cupboard with your washer in it? So it's all in a line and the door can come in where the utility sink is (and assume original hallway was if you want to reinstate) opening up the corner more and perhaps offering better furniture layout in living room even if it is narrower as no longer needed to access rest of ground floor

But it would only make sense if they are stud walls and you don't need to move the boiler.

The layout doesn't look that bad as it is

I would turn the utility into a lootility. We had one in our last house which was a similar size and it worked really well, I have no doubt it helped sell the place. As with ours, your house isn't massive and I don't think anyone expects three sinks, a downstairs loo and seperate utility in that square footage.

To do it, you'd take out the wall separating the loo from the util. Remove the tiny sink and replace it with something larger and more flexible for a second downstairs sink, perhaps with storage underneath.

That would allow you to remove the sink that's presently in the util, giving you an extra cupboard slot and a completely clear work surface. You could then have your washer and dryer side by side, with the boiler above one or other and shelving in whatever wall space is left. In our old place; this section was boxed in entirely by floor to ceiling double doors hiding the boiler and appliances. You're not making any major changes to services or moving walls, so it shouldn't be massive money.

If you're worried about sound, there's additional soundproofing you can add to the walls to absorb loo sounds. Tbh we never had an issue with this.

I would put a wall in to create a hall, as I hate the idea of people walking straight Into my living room from the street; but that is personal preference.

Here is my crappy diagram

Do you need the window in the utility? You could brick that up and then have a floor to ceiling cupboard there.

Also, by the front door you could reinstate a short stretch say 1.5 metres of waist height wall and then have the top section with wooden slats so it feels open and not corridor like. But offers significantly more protection from drafts but without closing both sides off with a full length corridor. They do this a lot on your home made perfect etc. Am going to try to attach a couple pics. None of them are exactly what i have in mind. But they would all be low cost to implement. Google or pinterest room dividers and scroll away.

Is the kitchen part big enough for a dining table? If so I'd repurpose the dining area in some way.

Don’t brick up windows – natural light is so important and makes rooms feel nicer. And important in a utility or utility to be able to air it out.

Can you move the boiler? Expensive but getting the right position tends to unlock lots of other options. Back of utility door for coats? That’s what my parents use, no dedicated cupboard but everything’s hidden away.
I think I’d embrace the small sitting room – call it a snug, if you must – and reinstate a corridor as I hate an open sitting room, I need four walls to feel cosy.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think step one is to sort the loo/utility and there have been some great ideas so Thankyou. It might cost a bit but moving the boiler and utility meters would give us much more space (but could be expensive!)

I will also get a better door / curtain or room divider of some sort.

If I'm still unhappy I will look at reinstating the hall ;)
Thanks again everyone it's been very helpful

Mine idea is similar to DogShark's

Could you build an external enclosed porch to make the lounge warmer? You could hang coats in there.

When the last owners did the works, did they block up the door from the hall and make that into the utility as that might be what's making it hard just to out a hall back in if that makes sense.

Personally I'd massively scale back the utility arrangements and have a small toilet/ basin somewhere and a utility room for washing machine etc/possibly freezer and storage of hoover etc but would remove the sink.

I wouldn't do the work though if that still means you'll have to walk via the living room to the kitchen.

They are all great suggestions Thankyou . The utility they built did use the old hall so I have to decide if I want access to the kitchen to be via the living room or add a hall and loose some of the loo/ utility. Decisions decisions!

Alas we can't do a porch as cant go out at the front

Do you the sink in the utility? If not, I'd stack the washer and dryer on top of one another, then have a bank of floor to ceiling cupboards next to them along the wall for ironing board etc. may even be able to fit a shoe/coat cupboard.

Do you have a garage?

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz We might combine a few ideas and have one sink for loo and utility then we could do what you suggest. Alas no garage