Help me with the layout of my bungalow!

[legohead09]

I live in a small bungalow. I don't want to move.

In an ideal world we'd have a loft conversion - but it's completely unrealistic financially right now.
I also think an extension could be out of the question due to cost. Maybe a conservatory if they're cheaper?
We have a budget of around 10-15k to make improvements.

Is there a way I can knock walls down, change the layout to make it feel more spacious?
Right now we feel crammed in! (2 adults and 1 3yr old)

Floor plan attached. What would you do with the layout or what could I do?

In the lounge I've marked where the tv currently is in green, the rectangles are my sofas and the circle is my table. My lounge is very narrow and is a walkthrough to the other rooms as you can see.

Any ideas welcome!
Thanks

Could you afford to lose a chunk of the top bedroom?

I would be tempted to extend the lobby into the top bedroom and then you can have a door directly into the kitchen from there and block up the door from the living room

Otherwise you could take the door down between kitchen and living room to make a larger open space

Sorry, the bottom paragraph is meant to say you could take the wall down

Not sure how much a conservatory costs but I’d add one to the back behind the kitchen to create a dining room/playroom.
then you can lose the table from the lounge and rearrange it better.

Would something g like this work op?

Don't add a conservatory. We did ages ago, perfect place for drying washing but as is always said it's too cold in winter and too hot in summer. Save up a bit and have a 'proper' extension. Please don't go up. So many bungalows have roof conversions which depletes the housing stock for us who are less mobile! Bungalows are at a premium round here.

To be honest, no, it’s too small, a conservatory is fine, just add heating and blinds. It’s useable all year round that way. It’s the best you can do with what you’ve got.

I agree don't do a loft conversion.

Either save up and extend out the back, or if you can't wait, do a conservatory.

They are much better than they used to be and can be used all year round if you put in heating and have an insulated ceiling.

Could be used for dining and if big enough also as a playroom. Would make it a really nice size / layout for your family.

Thanks for the ideas.

We have thought about just knocking the wall down between the kitchen and lounge to open it up - but I don't really like everything open plan.

I'm also not sure about having the bedrooms straight off the lounge without the lobby as a 'buffer' when I have a 3yo.

I can't really afford to lose much off the bedroom at the back as it's small as it is and my husband works from home in it!

Loft conversion is being quoted at £80k so won't be an option even in the future.

I think a conservatory is my cheapest way of extending but I'm so unsure as I only ever hear about them being too hot/cold.

A proper extension would be great but again right now thing it would cost about £50k and it's a bit out of reach.

I know it's a very small house with limited options so I appreciate the ideas here. Thank you.
We can't afford to move and we actually really like our road/neighbors/garden/school etc so just want to make this place more family friendly with a tad more space!

Ideally, you want the bedrooms at the front and the living room where the back bedroom is. It looks like that's where the doors to the garden area are as well. But you'd need to create some kind of hall or lobby from your front door. I think it could be done. What have neighbours done?

May sound crazy but as you need seating for 2 adults and 1 child for the next 7-8 years look at down sizing your sofa soft furniture from regular to showhouse sizes move the sofas up nearer the door.

install a drop leaf table

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ingatorp-drop-leaf-table-white-00423108/

And stackable chairs

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/svenbertil-chair-oak-broringe-white-s69251213/

Tuck them against the wall between the kitchen and livingroom

Visually it creates a empty space when the table is not in use.

Depends on your view of kitchen layouts but I'd put a bit of a wall by the entrance and have a bit of a galley kitchen there. Followed by dining area. I'd stick a glazed bifold/double door on to the new living room (maybe even a window) so you can see through and get a corner sofa.

I'd put the bedrooms on the front, either side of the front door and make the whole back of the house open. Kitchen where it is and lounge diner next to it, if you can afford a small extension to make the living bit even bigger that would be nice.

Could you have a front door on a side of the house? Would give us more options to consider.

I’ve looked at a lot of bungalow floor plans, when searching for my mum, and a long narrow hall from the front entrance is one of the downsides (unusual for yours not to have a hall), I suppose that’s why many bungalows have the front door to the side.

Don't waste money on a conservatory or on moving walls about with bedrooms etc.
That would be just as much upheaval as a proper extension and without the benefits and it will use up all your savings so far.
Instead, work out a proper savings plan toward a loft conversion. With two bedrooms and a small bathroom upstairs you will have all the space you need down stairs and it is likely to be cheaper than an extension. Don't listen to people who tell you not to do the loft because of some moral duty to the bungalow housing stock. That is nonsense. This is your home to make work for your family.

As a short term measure I would change the round table for a rectangle with benches or stackable chairs as that will optimise space. And move the table to the kitchen end of the room.

I would also replace the 2 sofas with a corner sofa to be located at the window end of the room and get an arm chair which can then be moved to and fro around the room or into a bedroom if you want the space. This will create more space in the centre of the room for play and zone the room more effectively.

Declutter ruthlessly and put up large mirrors and lights to bounce more light around.

Pay an architect to do drawings for how you would the loft extension and reconfigured downstairs to work. You then have something to feel inspired by, save toward and can start the journey to a real solution.

With 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs reconfiguring downstairs would be very simple. You could take out the walls between the kitchen, rear bedroom and lounge, and retain the 3rd bedroom and downstairs bathroom. Add a utility zone next to the bathroom, and have a new kitchen and family space across the rear onto the garden. There is also space for a smaller study where you currently have your dining table, with the new stair case and lobby area to be located in the heart of the house.

I like the side door idea but it's a lot of work on the budget.

The easiest thing to do it create a more spacious feel would be to take down the wall between the kitchen and lounge. Then have a u shaped kitchen with a peninsula large enough to eat at (so double width to give you a big table or prep space)

You could then have a corner shaped sofa at the front of your living room where the table is so the walkthrough would have a much more open feel as everything would be against the walls

I'm in a bungalow too, and added a new conservatory a couple of years ago, the old one was knackered. They are alot better now than years ago, mines attached to the kitchen and used as a dining room with a sofa and tv in as well. I use it all year round.

A table like this that folds down from the wall might help

www.wayfair.co.uk/furniture/pdp/17-stories-bronislovas-folding-dining-table-u002315750.html

Like this sort of idea

Can you swap your two receptions rooms around? Have a small cosy lounge then a big kitchen/diner with sofa in?

Long shot, but is it possible to move your front door to the side?

The problem is that your living room is long and thin and has a corridor through it which makes it feels longer and thinner again.

You could get a bed like this and then your bedroom could be the TV room so your lounge was a dining room/playroom

www.wallbed.co.uk/product/electra-sofa-wallbed/

A conservatory will make your house really dark.

try binge watching ‘your home made perfect’ on iPlayer or streaming. Conservatories are not an extra room. They are just an extra expense. Honestly.

I do also like the idea of flipping the kitchen and living room round if the plumbing would work.

That might future proof better if you ever wanted to extend the back as redoing a living room to make it larger would not involve ripping so much out