Layout downstairs

[TinnedTom]

Looking for some advice on the layout of my downstairs. I feel it doesn’t really ‘work’ - it’s open plan with a living room area and kitchen at the other end. Problem is the space in the middle is a bit empty and is now mainly used for hanging up washing and storing DS’s toys. We’ve tried moving the kitchen table there but it looks too cluttered and gets in the way. Any ideas what would help?

Can you post a floorplan and maybe pics?

If you created a wall would it leave any area, probably kitchen, without windows?

This is the floor plan although it’s not quite right. Instead of a door between the living room area and dining room area there’s a door to the dining room coming off the hallway. I’ve wondered about internal doors between the living room and dining room but not sure if that would make the living room area too small.

No side windows? Is it a terrace?
So you've got lounge at the front with front windows, middle space/dining room, kitchen all flowing into each other? And lounge and kitchen both have light but dining room none of its own?
Sorry just about to go out - to look at 3 houses, we're trying to buy! - but because I'm poring over floorplans and rooms and stuff all the time at the moment I feel very into it so I'll come back later.

What level of adjustments are you thinking of?

It’s a semi. There are no side windows into the dining room.

Sadly we don’t have the budget to do too much eg. moving the kitchen. But could consider a wall or doors maybe. But I’m not sure whether that would work.

I would close off the lounge from the dinning room and open a new door from the dinning room into the hallway. It will give you much more wall space to put furniture against.
I don't like open plan very much though, so you might get different opinions from others.

If it were my house...

I love the utility room idea but sadly we don’t have the funds to change the layout so significantly.

If we do block off the living room I can’t decide whether a wall or internal doors would be better. A wall would give more space for furniture but might make the dining room too dark

If it was my house I'd add a wall to separate the lounge (which incidentally would then make it pretty similar to my house layout now!). I think the issue with very long open plan spaces like that is that they end up a bit like a big corridor with ill defined zones. If light is an issue then perhaps double glass doors rather than a wall.

Yes - it’s like a corridor! That’s exactly the problem

I would want a wall between living and dining but light could be an issue.

Do you have a big curtain, tarp, something you could put in front of it to try?

Sliding doors if not but with an alternative route into the dining room from hall so that you can have furniture backing onto them (with a small gap) most of the time and shift things about slightly if entertaining.

I think the extra cost of direct access from hall to the back of house would be well worth it

It used to be common to have a wall with a high up window between 2 rooms - let some light in but not at the expense of the usable space

And think how to decorate to make the dining room cosy with low light level

If the kitchen table isn't there, where is it? I'm not sure how having the table there made it cluttered? Or it just disrupted your thoroughfare?

It sounds like there isn't scope to alter the utility or loo, so you will have to use the door from the hall via dining room to access the kitchen?

What do you need the space to do?

I would block off the living room too, and sort the light with mirrors and clever lighting. Then if that doesn't work as a dining area, make it a smarter play area, with decent storage, perhaps another TV and a small sofa?

Id reinstate the wall between living and dining rooms - gives you better layout options (sofa against wall, bookcases/shelves/desk against dining room wall). But you could try curtaining it off for a couple of months to see how you felt about living room size?

The kitchen table is in the kitchen/breakfast room area by the double doors out to the garden. In the dining room it got in the way when you were walking to the kitchen and to get to the utility room. And yes access to the kitchen has to be via the dining room.

What do we need the space to do is a good question. At the moment it doesn’t do very much. If we had limitless cash I’d probably make the kitchen area bigger. But a playroom might work well.

Is the Kitchen/Diner an extension, and that's why the middle room has become the weird null space? It's difficult as you need to walk through it to get to the other bit, so it just becomes a corridor. I remember seeing something on the TV about being able to see from the front to the back of the house, with a direct walk. I'm assuming the party wall is on the other side to the toilet, so you can't easily put in a window or anything.

Yes it was an extension by the previous owners and yes we can’t put a window in as it’s the party wall.

Interesting that the consensus seems to be to put a wall in. And the idea of a curtain to test the light/ size of the living room is a good one

There used to the trend to open plan everything. So if there was a wall you might be considering taking it out. It's going to be a dingy space whatever. Ours is a Victorian Terrace, and you have to walk through the Dining room to get to the Kitchen. Add to that the under stairs cupboard. And that leaves three out of four corners being passage ways. Which pretty much means we can't put a dining room table bang in the middle or use the space for anything much. It's annoying, frustrating and probably quite common I reckon. Pushing the kitchen into the back of the space, or toilet, or utility is still a pain because you need to send the services to the outside of the house. Doable but a pain.

Perhaps you just have to go with the corridor thing, and get all your books in there and a small writing desk.