What would you do with this ground floor (not extending)

[drinkwithanumbrellainit]

Hi

We recently moved to a house with this layout on the ground floor. It is lovely, but has quite an old style dining/ living and separate kitchen layout. We don't want to extend. We would ideally like the living room to be a separate room. To go from kitchen to dining room now, you have to use the corridor which feels daft.

We thought about putting an archway between the kitchen and the dining room, but given the placement of the kitchen door not sure that would work. I wondered about just separating off the dining room so we have 3 rooms, but DH is worried that will make it feel boxy and like there is less space. So would you:

1. Leave as is?
2. Knock an archway (or possibly serving hatch) between the kitchen and dining room and if so what would you do about doors? Then add a stud wall to separate the living room and knock a door back through.
3. Separate into 3 rooms, again with a stud wall and extra door into the living room?
4. Some amazing other option we've missed, that doesn't involve massive moving of walls/ upheaval/ destroying any of the nice rooms we have already (don't want to lose the kitchen which is really nice, or the bathroom ideally)?

Properly stumped on this and it is getting in the way of us doing any decorating so would really appreciate any thoughts!

I'd put a wall back up and make a separate front reception room.

Then I'd brick up the door to the kitchen, open up the wall completely, not just an arch, between the kitchen and the dining room. Even if you need a support in taking out that bit of wall it won't be too expensive.

So you'd have the one door into your dining room/kitchen.

Probably I'd go with with the archway with a doorway and stud wall between living and dining rooms.

Alternatively, would this work - remove the wall section in red and add new walls/doors where the green line is?

Thanks @mandoforever. I do like that idea, just worried it would make our north facing hallway very dark and closed off feeling. Definitely think it could work though.

@Keepitonthedownlow I think the main issue would be we would end up with a toilet off the kitchen which I'm not keen on.

Why do you want a separate sitting room? Is it to make furniture placement easier or because you want to be able to use the dining room and sitting room at the same time for different activities or you want to just heat the sitting room when you aren't using the dining room? In that case, you probably need to split the rooms (option 3). Alternatively, you could have folding doors between the 2 reception rooms or even just a curtain but neither of those would give you great sound insulation.

I don't think any of the other options would look great and they would be a lot of work.

It looks like the kitchen has a table or island? How often do you actually use the dining room? Could you use the whole space as a living room and have a drop leaf folding table for occasional use?

If you brick up the kitchen door, as well as making the hallway dark, you wouldn't have a direct route from the front door to the kitchen with shopping.

I'm not sure Keepitonthedownlow's idea leaves enough space for a large dining table. It will fit but it will feel cramped. It will also make the 2 reception rooms feel higgeldy piggeldy as the chimney breasts won't be centred. Plus it's not great to have a loo opening into the kitchen. It might put off future buyers, even if you don't mind.

Sorry to be so negative!

What about switching the kitchen and sitting room over. The sitting room could have extra doors added to look out to the garden, the eating area would still look out to the garden. It would depend on sorting out the drainage, but should not be too difficult

I’d turn the kitchen into the living room and have the kitchen where the current dining area is open plan to a dining table in what’s now the living room. It’s some upheaval, but if the kitchen is good quality then you won’t lose the units and appliances as you just refit them. I think it’s the only way you’ll get a proper dining kitchen.

Option 2 works for me. Moving the kitchen to the living room
Sounds like a lot of work and expense for not
Much gain.

Swapping the kitchen and sitting room is defintitely the best layout but it will be very expensive to move gas and water, and make good the kitchen walls, change the flooring etc. If you are going to go to such expense and disruption, I would at least consider an extension instead. You will get a return for your money as it will increase the value, whereas swapping the rooms wouldn't.

I'd go open concept and remove the wall.

Option 1 and a trolley until you've spent a winter in it and discovered how difficult it is to keep the current living room/diner at a comfortable temperature.

Folding doors between the sitting room and dining room (you'd need to open a door into front sitting room from the hall of course) and a large sliding doo in the wall between the kitchen and dining room - so you can have easy access when you want, but can shut it off when you want to as well.

Swapping the kitchen and sitting rooms sounds very expensive to me, though and original design that way would have been sensible.

I'd investigate sonething similar to Keepitonthedownlow but not change the natural line for the dining/living split.
Then I'd move the toilet door to make a smaller room, and add a second door, making small coat hanging area before the downstairs WC.

Personally I never use my separate dining room. So if it was me I would:

Remove the island in kitchen and replace with a table.

Make reception room larger incorporating the current door.

Make what’s left of dining room into a utility.

Some really good ideas, thanks everyone. Definitely not got money or appetite for moving rooms around although agree that would work well. Some of the other ideas are intriguing.

Some really good provocations from @Cheshirecat as well. Our main driver is to keep food smells out of the living room and have a simpler route between kitchen and dining table. We can certainly live with how it is though. Swapping island for table I have thought about, also like the idea of coat cupboard through to toilet.

Live in a house with this footprint. If you remove the kitchen/ dining room walls making furniture placement almost impossible.Some Neighbours who have done this have put it back. Same with having one through room.
What has worked is tables in the kitchen, you could remove the outside kitchen door and move some cupboards to gain space for this. And some have conservatories joining kitchen / back room. And that is their "formal dining room" this looks / works by far the best. If i had the money i would do this.

@InTheLabyrinth

I'd investigate sonething similar to Keepitonthedownlow but not change the natural line for the dining/living split. Then I'd move the toilet door to make a smaller room, and add a second door, making small coat hanging area before the downstairs WC.

I agree @InTheLabyrinth add another door separating hallway/dining room do that you have to go through two doors to get to the bathroom. The first door could lead to a small cloakroom

@niveaessential

I'd go open concept and remove the wall.

That would look pretty nice.

I'd put an additional door onto the bathroom with a small cloakroom (space permitting)

I'd block up the wall between the existing dining room/sitting room and create a door to the sitting room from the hallway. Funds allowing of course.

Sorry, lost a bit there??? The furniture placement in the dining room becomes really awkward.

If you have kids / teens DONT go open plan.
Non of it will ever look clean, and you will have nowhere to get away from them.

Personally I would just knock another doorway in the kitchen end of the dining room. Minimal disruption, keeps the layout which looks good but gives you better access to kitchen. I live in open plan and I really hate it. It looks great for a study while but it's unliveable. There is no privacy. Don't make dining and kitchen one area, you're just constantly looking at mess and washing up whilst trying to eat (unless you are very good at clearing up as you go along).

I have almost exactly the same layout OP. We are putting a small glass box corridor 1.6m x 2.3m on to join our kitchen and dining room, with a sliding full height door between them to open up.
We've tried working with the space we have by knocking where you are thinking of and we like the openness of dining to kitchen but if we add the box then we gain the room for an island.
If I were you I'd knock first and see how it works but if not then look at a small extension.