What building work etc in your home are you most pleased with?

[Echobelly]

In our last place we extended a the tiny box second bedroom into the hallway (we didn't need such a big hallway in a flat) and then got a joiner to build a full-height wardrobe into over a bit left sticking out of the wall. Thank God we did that as we ended up in that flat for about twice as long as we expected and with two small kids, so the storage in that small room really made that so much more manageable.

In our current house we're really glad we moved the bathroom door and created a laundry cupboard upstairs so that we don't have to have a machine in the kitchen/be dragging laundry down there. Also unreasonably pleased with the door we put in for downstairs loo - we got the house with the old downstairs loo still opening to the garden and it was really hard to work out where to move it. It went by hallway in the end, which is really narrow, but builder suggested a door that slides into a gap in the wall and while it was pricey, it's so nice that we don't have an awkward door in that space.

Opened the kitchen to the dining room, and removed the door to the kitchen from the hallway. We don't have an under stairs cupboard as we have a cellar, so where the kitchen door was is now a sort of cloakroom type thing which is so useful. Also moved the washing machine upstairs like you (gamechanger)!

We also opened up kitchen to back reception in the same work as moving the loo. Kitchen (which was originally a middle reception room) is actually up 3 steps from the back of the house so we had steps put across the width of the opening - couldn't afford an architect, so couldn't be sure what that would look like but everyone agrees it looks brilliant. Also, because of the steps and the opening ony being 2/3rds the width of the kitchen, it means that while the spaces are connected, it's not too open plan and the kitchen isn't too 'in your face' from the lounge/dining area. Which was something I was a bit worried about, as our kitchen is usually a total mess!

Thinking of doing some works and considered moving the washing machine upstairs but concerned about leaks (which have happened twice for us) ruining downstairs.

Upstairs washing machine is the best move ever.

I re-did the upstairs toilet myself. Apart from the actual toilet, it was horrid. Stripped everything, replastered, tiled the bottom 3rd, new flooring, new fittings etc. It's a completely different room now, light and fresh.

Made the extension wrap around the house so we have a walk in pantry, bigger utility room and little snug downstairs as well as the new kitchen conservatory. Upstairs we made 2 offices and a walk in wardrobe. Suprisingly the extra bit didn't cost much more but the house has so much more now.

Few bits really. Knocked kitchen into utility and store cupboards and also pushed the kitchen door pack about a metre into the hall - gained about a square metre but it just squared the kitchen off and enabled us to have a wall of full height floor to ceiling kitchen units on one wall
Knocked out a corner chimney breast in the hallway which gained triangle shape 1 x1x1.5 metres approx. Squared off the room and meant I can have a proper console table and lamp there, plus room for a bigger dining table
Lost utility room to kitchen but created a utility cupboard with stacked washer and dryer from an odd shaped downstairs toilet. Does the job!! Sometimes small changes can just better sense of the layout

Getting our hallway repainted was also a massive improvement. We're in a deep terrace with high ceilings, but previous owners have cream anaglypta wallpaper and all the Edwardian woodwork stained very dark brown so the hall, upstairs in particular was very dark and dim. Got that all woodwork painted palest grey, blue patterned paper up to dado rail (downstairs) and then rest of the wall white. Was a massive job but such a difference - I was upstairs on a bright day shortly after it was done and it took me a moment to clock the lights weren't on and it was lit naturally.

We opened up an old very narrow attic staircase, put a velux in the roof and an internal window into one of the attic rooms. So much ,ore light into the hall. Also means can get furniture up the stairs.

Previous house the owners had put as many veluxes as the could to let light into hall, ace.

We had a couple of big cupboards built while doing extension, really useful use of space so have a coat and shoe cupboard and big new cupboard in kitchen.

I clad my existing extension internally in brick slips. Instantly warmed it up and added texture and character. It's my favourite feature!
I also got the gas fire serviced and now have it on every night.
I also moved my washing machine from downstairs loo to upstairs. Here I have to give my surveyor credit - I asked him about making the box room at the front of the house into an en suite or laundry room and he said it was too far from the back (where the drains are) to have enough slope to run a pipe under the hall floorboards. But why not deepen the shallow cupboard in the hallway that was near the bathroom, taking some space from second (guest) bedroom and then boxing in the resulting alcove as wardrobes? Excellent idea! I now have an upstairs laundry cupboard and built in wardrobes in the guest bedroom.