What to do with this layout

[Peppa2016x]

Looking for advice on what to do with this layout. We have 2 young girls. We’re in the biggest and DD1 in room behind us. DD2 in room next to master but it’s very small. We have 4th bedroom above garage but that’s very cold and quite small too. We have quite a lot of space downstairs. Lounge and bit sitting room at front but kitchen feels quite small. We like the area so want to stay. Thoughts on loft conversion?

Do you need a whole garage?

ideally we’d want to keep some garage for storage so could knock through. Boiler and electrics in there and back onto kitchen wall so might be pricey to move

Building work is still really expensive. It will be a lot cheaper to move than do major works. Do you need to do the works now or can you wait a couple of years until things have calmed down?

I think a loft conversion wont help the kitchen which is one of two things you mentioned. It also wouldnt make current bedroom 4 warmer. Although it might give you a lovely bedroom/ensuite. It would be expensive.

I cant see the room sizes but can bedroom 4 be a dressing area for your smaller bedroom (or other way round) or can you look at better insulation in the 4th bedroom of the only issue is its a bit cold.

It depends what you're actually hoping to achieve? I'm afraid I can't make out the picture very well, so apologies if I get any rooms wrong!

You could insulate the garage ceiling to make the bedroom above warmer and more usable. What is behind it next to the eaves storage? Could that become part of the bedroom (eg wardrobes) to make it bigger?

Downstairs - do you need a lounge and a sitting room?

I think I'd be tempted to make the front room your lounge and then the current lounge could be sort of split so that you have a bigger kitchen/diner with maybe like an open concept playroom against the sitting room wall? I wouldn't want to put up a solid wall to split it off as it has no windows, but a glazed crittall style wall could look amazing and help zone the space.

I'd then look to create a utility area behind the garage.

Downstairs - can you knock through the kitchen wall to the lounge, if you want a bigger open-plan space?

Upstairs - insulate the 4th bedroom? It doesn’t seem too small but can’t make out the room dimensions - what’s the space opposite it by the eaves storage?

An out-of-the usual suggestion - keep DD2 where she is, put DD1 in bedroom 4, use bedroom 2 (DD1’s current room) as a playroom/hangout den space for the girls to share, with a sofa bed for guests.

I wouldn’t bother with a loft conversion personally if you’re a 4-person family in a 4-bed house.

Can you list out your issues with the house /house goals? Can you also share the room dimensions? (I know they're on the plan but not legible). It would make it easier for posters to suggest changes.

• bigger kitchen wanted
• bed 4 too cold

Any others?

Thanks all.

room 4 above garage is 8’7’’ x 8’’
next to eaves storage is shower room. We’d like to keep the two bathrooms as we’re planning to be here for long term and with 2 teenage girls we’d benefit.

room 3 is 9’7 x 7’3, so actually very similar square footage to room 4, but has bulkhead from stairs in it.

the reason we thought about loft conversion is because loft is quite high and big and could be quite large bedroom for one of the girls as they get bigger, but definitely no rush to do this.

the big lounge room at the back is my favourite room in the house. Really nicely done, whilst an option to knock into here to extend kitchen, I’m steering away for this reason.

room at front being used as playroom/ very occasional guest room and office for the 2 days a month my husband and I both work from home. I have considered whether to move kitchen table into here to free up more space in kitchen?

2 main aims:
-bigger kitchen
-warmer room for DD2

secondary aim:
-bigger room for DD2 as she gets bigger

room 4 above garage a better shape for DD2 to be in. So we do need to heat that room better in near future

If you don't want to knock through between the lounge and the kitchen, is there scope to rearrange the kitchen layout? Sometimes a kitchen will feel cramped because the design isn't great.

How about a 2 storey extension to the right / rear both extending the kitchen and reconfiguring and extending the space above to provide bigger bedroom space?

how about this -

expand kitchen (K) into the garage as shown. Add a utility room (U) and downstairs loo. As part of this, you can put in a new kitchen and moving stuff into the utility will make everything feel twice as spacious. you keep the front half of the garage for storage (S).

as part of this work, put proper insulation in the roof of the garage so that DD can move into the better room above the garage. then her old bedroom can become a study for whoever is working from home. and the front sitting room can be a teen hang-out space or spare bedroom or whatever you need.

This does not need a big budget beyond the kitchen update, but should make all the spaces much more useable.