Downstairs possibilities

[OttilieKnackered]

Hello!

Previously I have seen loads of threads where mumsnetters help others to reconfigure floor plans so thought I’d give it a go!

We’re hopefully about to buy the attached property. In time, I would ideally like to add a downstairs loo and utility space. They can be one and the same or separate.

I would also like to swap the kitchen diner so the diner part opens out onto the garden.

The obvious thing is a side return extension, but that feels like a huge investment for a extra metre of space (and one we may well never be able to afford).

What is it possible/legal to put into a lean-to? Can a loo go in? Can washing machine/tumble drier?

I would ideally like to keep the two separate receptions as they are.

All suggestions enthusiastically welcomed!

We had a loo in a conservatory extension and it was "emergency use only" because it was usually freezing. Loo under the stairs would be good if at all possible, and then the utility is a much easier problem to solve. You could consider having a utility cupboard kind of thing in the 2nd reception room, looking like built in storage.

That isn’t something I’d considered (utility cupboard) but yes it could work, although the room is already pretty small.

loo under the stairs I like - does anyone know if it would be easy enough to do? Soil pipe runs exactly where you’d imagine, down the side of the diner wall, down from the bathroom.

When you say utility room, do you just mean somewhere to hide the washing machine?

If you can get a toilet under the stairs, you could put the washing machine into the back reception room. We did this to make the kitchen more useable. We have a long run of built in units running on one side of our back reception room. In it is hidden washing machine and extra fridge and freezer (all undercounter) with wooden worktop so it looks bit like giant sideboard. TV is above this.

To add any kind of cupboard would have made it too long and narrow but this keeps the feeling of width.

The door could be a problem so I might be tempted to make this a window and to make the window in the dining end of the kitchen a door so you look into garden/patio without changing your kitchen.. though this depends on what you'd be looking at!

Haha, yes @Calmdown14 basically I do. That’s not a bad idea actually. DP would probably love to have a fridge in there! And presumably plumbing could go through to the kitchen.

we would probably need to move the door from the hall to the back room down a bit but I don’t think that’s a bad idea anyway.

And yes, double doors at the end of the kitchen diner are a certainty when we can afford it, I think. Garden not much to look at yet but we hope to make it so.