Renovations ideas!

[MumofSpud]

Am new to this - have added a pic of the 2 bedroom ground floor flat I have bought
My ideas are

1. add a small office in the sitting room (there is a window)

2. convert the one big bathroom into 2 (en suite sized with showers) but not sure if one would have the door opening into the hall or they would be 2 en suites

3. if radiators / sockets need changing (updating) - thus would be done first before any painting etc?

Am clueless! Any advice gratefully received

I am also in the same process - converting one bed one ensuite to 2 bed 2 bath.

The advice I received is -
-- What is your target - do you want to refurbish and sell or rent. because the strategy (budget,choice of material) will wary accordingly. i am doing mine to keep it for years and for professional renters (couple or sharers).
-- Then whom do you want to sell/rent ? families, sharers ? sharer prefer similar size bedroom and ensuite.

Yes - good advice!
But for me it is to live in - am downsizing with a teen so the thought of only 1 bathroom....

Why do you need to partition an office is my first question. You will make the sitting room really dark, and to be honest I think it’ll just look a bit weird. If you must, I’d consider some sort of glazed solution so you get as much light in the room as possible, however that might negate the whole point. Assuming you don’t have a garden to put an office in then I’d just make it a desk area without a wall.

Bathroom wise it should be a pretty easy build as all the plumbing and waste pipes already there, so will just be spurring off / into them. The flat is probably worth more with a bath / separate bathroom in it, but if needs must then the job shouldn’t take a crazy amount of time.

I did a similar flat previously, and it's trying to make every sq ft count.

1. what's in your cupboard by the bathroom? We had a huge old water tank in ours. Fitted a very slimline pressured one (about £2k in 2020) and got a few feet of space back for the bathroom.

2. sliding pocket doors into each bathroom will probably work best with the sq footage of the bedrooms.

3. bathroom partitioning and layout might be tricky with the window. Which bathroom would you want to have the window? Presumably the master? I also think it'll be difficult to have one accessed from the hallway, because there won't be the walking clearance around the loo, shower etc. Easier layout will be tuck the shower in one end, the loo on the other end, and have a sink in the middle.

4. home office - do you want flexible space? In which case can you partition it off with reeded glass sliding doors or bifolds? Then you could open it up if you had people for dinner etc. Otherwise, as a pp said, fixed pane privacy glazing would probably look good.

Rather than make a study cupboard, I would look at whether it’s feasible to move the wall between living room and kitchen over a metre, to make a better size kitchen diner with room for a full size table and comfortable seating.

If you have two en suites, where will guests go when they need the loo? I also agree about the office partition making the living room dark and small. I would either make a work area in one of the bedrooms which could be packed away neatly in the evenings or do that but in the living room.

My advice is don’t do anything yet. Live in the flat for a while, notice how you use it and what drives you mad. Then decide what you need to change.

Honestly I wouldn’t create two poky bathrooms there - neither will be a nice space. If there’s only two of you it should be possible to share a bathroom. If you had money to burn you could always refurb it.

I’d consider taking some of the living rm space to add a dining space to the kitchen, and then I’d just put a desk in the living rm without building a separate room. There are lots of nifty things you can do with joinery - eg build a wall of storage with a desk that you can then slide a door in front of to close it off in the evening.

I think you'd lose a lot of space from the living room if you stud out a little office. Might a concealed desk like the one below allow you have a concealed work space whilst maintaining the space that you already have?

https://www.cotswoldco.com/home-office-furniture/desks-with-drawers/chester-charcoal-hideaway-workstation/?xcm_campaign=Shopping-Cotswold&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA1-6sBhAoEiwArqlGPtDbgPgypqyMg-zY4eFll99D3Dr-BxPCCi_K67z5xCGFnrxIJYGaCxoCPNwQAvD_BwE

Lots of great ideas
Maybe it is wise to live there for a bit first before my office idea!
I think as I am coming from a house where the spare room is my office I am thinking I need to recreate it but I'll sit on that idea.

The 2 bathrooms idea - there is no window in either (looking at the diagram I attached it does look though as if there is one. Other people have said about guests too (I don't have any!!)

You might not but will your son/ daughter not have guests?

I would leave the bathroom as is, otherwise when you have guests they will always need to walk through a bedroom to get to a loo

Interesting that many say about walking through bedroom to a bathroom- I am looking at it that if DD has a guest then they can go through her room / use her en suite?

I will see what bathroom person says - it might be best to have one as a normal bathroom that way also the door will now affect the bedroom- ie that wall will not be 'broken up' by a door

I'd definitely go for 'office in a cupboard' and not partition off a space.

do you really need two bathrooms? you will have to lose bedroom space and end up with two tiny grotty bathrooms. I'd keep the one bathroom and teach the teen to keep it tidy and to share.

I agree with people who say live there for a bit first but here's what I'd do.

Two beds, one bathroom, one ensuite, both good sizes. Utility room and open plan kitchen/living/dining.

That is a good layout @Pepper12345 .
@MumofSpud only ensuite bathrooms would put me off buying somewhere but it looks like this layout would solve that issue. The only possible thing with mumofspud layout is that the hallway might be cramped? But that might not matter or be all that bad.

100% live there 1st before making any changes. Yes to office in a cupboard in the lounge. Think seriously if you need an extra bathroom/ensuite, more cleaning involved.

Hi,
So I am looking to by my first post divorce house but it needs work! Do any of you helpful lot can help with the kitchen ideas?

The snag is, the under stairs cupboard and the larder can't be taken down as their walls are structural.

I'm happy to knock walls down and put them up as long as they don't need steels!

@Franklandjs11 you will get more replies if you start your own thread.

Also there arent any walls which aren't structural that you could take out on your layout. Are you wanting more open plan or just a better kitchen layout? A full ground floor layout would be helpful

Personally I think that's a really nice layout with great sized rooms as it is.
I'd agree with the person that suggested taking the cupboard out that sits in the bathroom, so then you'd have room for a separate shower and could have one big luxurious bathroom.
I wouldn't knock any more storage out than that though - cupboards are so valuable in a flat!
I think zoning the area by that back window as an office just using furniture would be much better than blocking things up and making the flat pokey when it is so spacious now.