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Floorplan help!

23 replies

ThisGirlCantAlways · 21/04/2022 22:14

We’re really struggling with the downstairs layout of our house, wonder if anyone has ideas?

Kitchen is 9x12 (short across the sink side)
Kitchen layout currently L shaped
Door to garden is under the “E” of details
Dining room is dark
Dining room is 17x13

Hallway and that line of the dining room is single storey, it is original with the house, about 100yrs old
The opposite side of the house is adjoining neighbours

Ideally would like separate kitchen/dining (I wfh in dining room) (dh is a messy cook)
Would love to have a downstairs toilet
Do not have money for extension, so looking to make the most of what we have

Any suggestions?

Floorplan help!
OP posts:
Geneticsbunny · 22/04/2022 09:58

Where is the upstairs bathroom. Any downstairs loo will be a lot cheaper the nearer it is to the upstairs one.
Could you WFH in the living room and / or put a door between the kitchen and dining room?

SollaSollew · 22/04/2022 10:31

I think I'd be tempted to swap the kitchen and dining rooms around and add some large doors on the wall where the sink is.

I'd also have glass doors between the kitchen and dining room so it could be opened/closed as needed but still let light through.

Then loo/utility under the stairs/along that wall.

ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 12:04

Thank you for your replies.

i am tempted to swap the rooms over, but cupboards would need to go along the internal walls so backing the stairs and neighbours, what would we do with boiler and tumble which ideally need external walls. So kitchen would be an L round that side breaking for the under stairs cupboard (maybe to become toilet). Toilet off kitchen ok? Is 9x12 big enough for a 8 seater table?

lounge is small say 12x12 so no room for a desk,
2 sofas, original fireplace and tv take up all walls.

bathroom is above dining room, but I imagine there was a bathroom where the back half of the kitchen is at somepoint.

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ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 12:10

So if the kitchen went into the dining room, we would have 2x9ft run of cupboards, maybe washing/tumble where the red swiggle is.

Would the toilet in the kitchen be ok?
2 runs of 9ft cupboards doesn’t seem a lot in what is a big room…. Didn’t know if an island and then double doors into new dining room would fit?

Floorplan help!
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chesirecat99 · 22/04/2022 19:06

The right hand side of the dining room where the window is is a real waste of space because of the door from the hall. It's not very useable. As you said that part of the house is single storey, have you had considered extending just that part to square off the room and add in extra windows/french doors? It might not be that expensive, at least, compared to a full on extension...

I agree with swapping the rooms over, although that won't be cheap. Have you thought about pocket sliding glass doors between the kitchen and dining room so you can open up the 2 rooms without needing to leave space for the doors to open?

chesirecat99 · 22/04/2022 19:08

Also, is there any reason why the wall/door to the dining room can't be brought back in line with the staircase?

ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 19:27

thanks for your reply, we thought extending that corner where the dining room window is to square off the room could be expensive as that is where all the drains are outside that window…?.. the windows are really long/low in line with your knees, hence not usable space underneath. It is really pretty as you come in the front door you see straight out and there is a pretty tree outside that window…. It’s probably my favourite part of the house to look at, albeit completely wasted!

im not sure what we’d gain by bringing the the door back in line with the staircase, maybe 1ft (and the hallway is tiny already), interesting thought though - I will give that some further thought… thank you

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ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 19:29

double pocket doors are a fab idea…

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titchy · 22/04/2022 19:45

How about squaring off the dining room, creating a lobby (blue) which leads to existing kitchen and downstairs loo (yellow). 'S' in dining room becomes study area.

Floorplan help!
chesirecat99 · 22/04/2022 19:58

It's worth a quote from a builder to find out, that costs nothing!

I thought moving the hallway door would make the dead space by the window a bit more useable rather than just a corridor into the room. Especially if you went for a pocket door there too. If the windows are knee level, that complicates matters a bit. I have low level cupboards in my kitchen with a seat cushion on top to make a window seat.

You could have a longer run of cupboards against the staircase wall if you move the hallway wall back and have a pocket door or swap the door to be against the outside wall and opening to the right. If you went for a glass pocket door it would make the hallway lighter too.

ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 20:22

@chesirecat99 Really interesting ideas, it’s true moving the hallway back would make a difference, something I’ve never thought of! That part of the dining room is really just a hallway isn’t it.

Thinking now keep kitchen where it is, give some of the dining room to the kitchen. Double pocket doors linking the two. L shaped kitchen with double doors to the side which is out to the patio. Although some of the old dining room which has been squared off could hold the washer / dryer - freeing up more room in the L.

Two negatives with this; 1) dining room then about 9ft wide - is that wide enough - the chimney breast would have to come down. 2) no downstairs toilet, but I just think all the swapping etc would work out too expensive…

I love this old house, but some of it really annoys me 😁

Floorplan help!
OP posts:
titchy · 22/04/2022 21:34

My idea is exactly the same as yours but gives you a downstairs loo Confused

IAmSantaOhYesIAm · 22/04/2022 21:44

Could you turn the lounge into a kitchen diner? Turn the dining area into a new lounge and the existing kitchen is divided into a downstairs loo and study?

ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 22:08

@titchy Sorry it is, just didn’t want lost space of a lobby area when I don’t think either room is of a generous size. Thank you for taking the time 😀

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ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 22:10

@IAmSantaOhYesIAm The front room is only about 12x12 and again the windows are quite low so not sure that would work 😊

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Geneticsbunny · 23/04/2022 10:59

If your toilet waste pipes are near the window in the dining room then they will probably be too far away from the understairs cupboard to give enough drop for a soil pipe from a loo. You might have to have a macerator. Macerators are bad and if I had to choose I would rather not have a toilet than have one with a macerator. They break down regularly and are noisy.

titchy · 23/04/2022 11:22

ThisGirlCantAlways · 22/04/2022 22:08

@titchy Sorry it is, just didn’t want lost space of a lobby area when I don’t think either room is of a generous size. Thank you for taking the time 😀

You could use the left hand side of the lobby area for a WM/TD - make it a small utility area?

ThisGirlCantAlways · 23/04/2022 12:05

@Geneticsbunny thats interesting to know about the pipes, they are indeed by the dining room window and yes we wouldn’t want a macerator …. Frustrating layout

@titchy interesting thought, think I need to get the tape measure out again, would make dining room 9ft wide - think that’s a bit narrow, I can’t quite visualise it. Also with a single door from kitchen to dining through the lobby I worry room would still be dark, maybe a roof window in the single story part of the dining room….

OP posts:
titchy · 23/04/2022 12:06

Alternatively make the dining room a kitchen/diner, and the current kitchen into a loo/utility/study.

chesirecat99 · 23/04/2022 14:34

How big is the corner of the dining room (where @titchy put a loo) if you square it off in line with the wall of the kitchen? You only need about 1m width and a bit more in length for a space saver loo and sink combination plus stud walls if you have the door opening outwards.

www.bigbathroomshop.co.uk/milano-lurus-white-modern-square-toilet-and-basin-combination-unit-500mm-x-890mm-64066?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIytDeopaq9wIVDpntCh0SYAFHEAQYASABEgJl6fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/seattle-combined-two-in-one-wash-basin-toilet?campaign=googlebase&pagetype=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIytDeopaq9wIVDpntCh0SYAFHEAQYAiABEgIzGPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I think your idea risks spending a lot of money that will result in 2 irregular shaped, small rooms with lots of wasted unusable space, instead of 1 big and 1 small room, that will look a bit bodged so future buyers' first thought will be that they want to spend money on redoing it, devaluing your home. Whereas swapping the rooms so you have a big kitchen would make the house more attractive to buyers and building a small extension like I suggested or adding a loo would add value. I think you need to get quotes for all the options and weigh them up against how they affect the value/desirability of the house. It would be silly to spend thousands on works that devalue the house when you could get a future return on your money for a few thousand extra, even if that means waiting a bit longer.

My suggestions (in order of expensiveness based on my guesstimates):

Keep the layout as it is but put in pocket glass doors to the kitchen, making it effectively open plan so the size of the kitchen matters less), and move back the hallway wall and replace with another glass pocket door. When you replace the kitchen (not necessarily now), you have just enough room to have units in a U shape. You can add a dresser or display shelves on either side of the chimney breast and window seat cupboards in the dining room for extra storage for crockery, wine glasses, wine storage etc, things that you use in the dining room rather than the kitchen. You could even have a drinks fridge or extra freezer under the stairs.

Move the wall of the kitchen as you suggested and put in glass pocket doors to both the kitchen and hallway. I think that just about gives you enough room for a 6-8 seater table running lengthways towards the window in the middle of the dining room and a window seat cupboard if you move the hallway door (3 feet either side of the table). There will be enough room for sitting in front of the chimney breast. Square off the kitchen and turn the corner alcove bit into a walk in pantry, a desirable feature, so you don't end up with a weird, irregular kitchen and add kitchen cupboards in a U shape, as above. That would add desirability, if not value.

As above, but turn the alcove into a space saver loo opening into the dining room so you don't have the issues of a loo opening into the kitchen and you don't end up with a "corridor" into the kitchen (as in titchy's plan), which makes the extra space you have gained in the kitchen unusable. I think there is just enough room to have the door opening outwards if you also move the hallway wall. A loo would add value.

Swap the kitchen and dining room with pocket glass doors in between. A large kitchen will always be more desirable than a large dining room. You could probably fit in a larger loo like titchy's plan if you did that, with the door facing to the left wall (so not into the kitchen), creating a lobby to the dining area. It's a bit of a waste of space but wall space is more important than floor space in a kitchen IYWIM?

Look at the costs of extending the one storey part of the house to square off the dining room and add in a loo and utility area next to the kitchen (accessed from the kitchen by the current back door). If you can save money by not replacing the kitchen now, you could invest that in something that increases the value of the house. A basic single storey extension costs about £1 - £1.5k per square metre. I don't think it would cost much more to extend all the way to the back of the kitchen than swapping the 2 rooms over (although you seem to have gone off that idea), which would be expensive for no gain in value.

Calmdown14 · 23/04/2022 19:24

I think getting a loo in is going to spoil potential lay outs so I might do without that.

I'd swap the dining and kitchen.

Could the opening to that cupboard go into the living room instead? It would give you a big l shape.
I'd also consider whether the dining room door could be angled to slice a small corner off the hallway. It would then bring you in in the right place for walking across to the dining room.
It would free up the nice corner you describe for a breakfasting area Small round table or even a lower one so you can have a morning coffee and enjoy your tree.

In terms of outside walls, could the boiler stay where it is but build a nice cupboard more in keeping with dining space around it? Get a condensing tumble drier or put it in a shed.

You would need to pick furniture for the dining room carefully but does it need to be set up for eight all the time?

TeddyBeans · 23/04/2022 19:33

Could you knock a doorway through the cupboard and access your kitchen/dining room that way? Then you could block off a chunk of the current dining room to access from the current doorway as your office, use a bit of space next to the new office wall as the downstairs loo and still have space for a large kitchen diner?

ThisGirlCantAlways · 24/04/2022 09:49

Knocking a doorway through from the under stairs/lounge doesn’t work as the lounge is full with 2 sofas and a fireplace so it wouldn’t be good as a walkway.

my preferred choice would still be to swap the Roma over, I was just mindful of costs. We pay off our mortgage next year and I’m really not keen on getting into debt for expense housework, but maybe that’s what it needs to be. I need to re think.

yesterday we had family round for big birthday bbq and all ended up in the dining room as the lounge is more snug size. So now thinking actually dining room does need to be of a decent size otherwise we’ll have no where for whole family to be together.

I need to clearly think about the costs and also whether a kitchen/diner would be the end of the world… or indeed the best solution….

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