How to reconfigure this 3 bed semi

[KimGa]

We are buying a house with this floor plan. We don’t have enough money to extend, but we have a bit to make some internal changes.

More kitchen space is the number one priority. We are planning to take down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room to make a kitchen diner. It’s load bearing so we will need to get a steel put in.

We are thinking it would be good to install French doors on the dining room side and block up the single back door in the kitchen so that the units can be a sort of C shape. Keep the kitchen window. We are thinking we’ll keep the internal kitchen door off the hall but block the living room one off.

If we do this, would it be weird to put more kitchen units in the dining room side - along the wall that joins to the living room, opposite the French doors?

We’d really like to add a downstairs loo. We think under the stairs is the obvious place if there’s room. But at the moment the washing machine is there. Where would you put the washing machine (and ideally tumble dryer)? I’m thinking it could either go in at the end of the dining room hidden in kitchen units I was just talking about? Or could we make a really narrow utility room in this same position with a door off the hall?

I’ve also wondered about trying to make the upstairs toilet a utility room, and putting the toilet into the bathroom. It will mean moving the boiler which is in that big cupboard currently in the bathroom. Not sure where to.

Have also considered moving the kitchen to the dining room side, but think removing chimney stack which I presume would be necessary might stretch budget too much and be horrendous. Then obviously moving all the plumbing too. Would be interested to hear if people have done this though.

The whole house needs re-doing cosmetically so it doesn’t matter too much if lots of rooms are interfered with. We have got to live in it with two kids though and budget is a big consideration. Also don’t want to make it ‘odd’ as re-sale is important!

When I say dining room it is actually labelled as living room on the floor plan pictured. We would make the front room our living room.

Pinterest! Has loads of ideas for units in dining room.
Could the washing machine not just go in the new kitchen?
What's the small rooms next to front door and kitchen? Room for toilet?

Is there potential to extend into the attic in future?

It's just your 3rd bedroom is tiny, which will be OK for a good while if your DC are small, but it will be too small at some point. Just wondering if this is something that can be fixed later or if it needs to be addressed now?

If you can, find a space for the washing machine (& dryer if you have one) separate from the living areas as they get so noisy in the spin cycle.

It could be a cupboard space next to the kitchen, off the hall. One stacked on top of the other would work.

Or upstairs would also work, saves carrying laundry down and up all the time.

Would agree with blocking off back door from current kitchen p, changing to a window with units/sink below.

If you want a downstairs loo the easiest thing would be to close and wall off the kitchen door. Use the other door to access the kitchen diner.
Put up wall as far down the hall as possible and add a toilet and sink under the stair.
If the regs and space allow stack the washing machine and dryer on the kitchen door wall.

In the kitchen have a Ushape with space
Use the new wall ( where the kitchen door is now) for a tall fridge/ full lenght storage.

Close the kichen door into a window have a full run of counterspace there.
Have the table dining area across from that.
And seating/ tv in the middle area so the kitchen area is partially hidden.
And install the new door.
So you enter in the front door up the hall into the existing door with a natural path along the existing wall to the back garden

Watching with interest as your house layout is nearly the same as ours, but we already have the loo under the stairs.

I feel like there should be a pre packaged plan available for this layout to work better for modern families as it’s so very common

I think your ideas are good OP.
Rather than kitchen units against the back dining wall, what about having a whole wall of floor to ceiling cupboards there to use as storage. Paint it the same colour as your other walls. Could be have sliding doors to save space.

The small ‘room’ next to the front door is just a cupboard at the moment, but yes I do wonder whether a toilet there is a possibility.

I think by the time we’ve got a fridge freezer, cooker and dishwasher in the kitchen (even once the wall is down) that if we put a washing machine is as well there will be so little cupboard space. I know going open plan means you lose the chance of any wall cupboards on the wall you remove.

I like the idea of floor to ceiling cupboards on the dining room side, thanks. I’ve only used Howdens for kitchens or bought ikea furniture in the past - I guess I’d need a carpenter to make them?

I’m not so keen on the idea of blocking up the internal door to the kitchen (off the hall), because then when you come in the front door all you see is a wall.

There is potential to extend to the back and in the loft, just no budget for that right now unfortunately so we’ll just have to manage on the small 3rd bedroom front.

Oops i missed putting a door in my under stair loo wall suggestion.
I would build a wall with door just a little back from the living room door and have the washing machine & dryer in it with a toilet under the stairs

I think your ideas sound good. I’d cost up moving the boiler but I love an upstairs utility and u shaped kitchen but moving the door also sounds good. The only thing would be to think about where the stairs would go if you want to do a loft conversion and try to make sure anything you do now wouldn’t need to be re-done. I’d also agree with making the storage in the dining room not too “kitcheny” and it will look great.

Yes, KimJa, a carpenter would be able to do the cupboards how you want.
Have a think what you need to store, and get the cupboards built with shelves etc where you need them.
When I put a toilet under the stairs I lost valuable space for my vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket etc, which I hadn’t taken into consideration.