Dividing living room (floorplan attached)

[Pinkfizzed]

I have a long (extended) living room which I am looking to divide into 2 functional rooms and would like some inspiration, please.

The room is 13.7m wide and runs from the front to the back of the house - the front faces east, roughly). I realise we barely use the living room unless we have guests and would like to make 2 functional, smaller rooms out of it, with minimum work but a proper separation. At present, the space under the rooflight is being used as a dining area, the middle of the room has the sofas and chairs, and the front has a daybed and some toy cupboards and not much else. A nearly blank canvas to fill.

I feel I can then create a smaller family room at the front of the house, a more formal living room and dining space in the middle and back. Would this make sense with daylight, though? The front of the house gets light in the morning till noon from the bay windows , and then the sun moves overhead - light through the rooflight, depending on time of year, light to the back of the house through double glazed French doors leading to a patio and small garden. Unfortunately none of the windows face south.

I would ideally like a solid wall or stud wall where the red line is, to give some sound insulation between the 2 rooms, although this may block some of the light the middle of the room gets. Worst case- I could use a dividing sliding/crittall door. I may need to purpose the front space as an occasional guest room for guests who dont want to climb stairs at some point. I will also break the wall next to the rooflight / dining area, to give easy access to the kitchen, but this will happen later. At present, it is a very long walk from the kitchen to the dining area and we mostly end up eating in the kitchen unless we are entertaining. I am not a fan of open plan at all, so not considering that.

Any alternative suggestions on making this space work as 2 rooms? I plan to install underfloor wet heating to replace the current radiators which take up so much wall space that it is a challenge to plan furniture around them.

Thank you.

A sliding door or just wooden bifolds would be useful for resale.

What about vertical radiators to free up wall space horizontally?

I’d make the front room the formal sitting room and the open plan space all family space.

@Crouton19 thanks - is there a reason you would not recommend ufh? i think that will add to resale value although not looking to sell imminently - just making the space more usable for myself. i would like 2 distinct rooms, so the doors would not be ideal, but could be an option. I know i will lose some space with the internal wall- but probably only 30cm or so.

I've put pocket doors into a similar, although not as big nor already separately defined, space.

They work really well with being able to have the two separate rooms or open up the space.

I also have tall thin radiators to free up wall space.

@Chasingsquirrels thank you. do you feel the vertical radiators heat as well as horizontal ones (even assuming BTU is similar)? given heat rises, i am concerned they may not be as efficient at heating.

I find the heating fine. House is approx 1998, so reasonably well insulated albeit not to current standards, and ceiling not massively high.

Previously the room (12ft x 24ft) had 1 medium double (where the sofa is now on the long wall with the double doors) and 1 large single (under the window which was approx 6ft further from where the pocket doors are now) previously.

I've now got those 2 rads either side of the patio doors in that room (12ft x 18ft) and another the same to one side of the window in the newly created extended room (12ft x 12ft).

I was a bit concerned before hand as both rads are partially blocked by the units next to them, and at the end of the room, but no issues.

I did go oversize on the BTUs a bit I think.

I do really like our underfloor heating but it takes a long time to change/heat if you want to turn it up. I kind of wish I'd kept one normal rad for a quick boost - I did ask our architect and builder and they both said it wasn't necessary. Our plumbing works were one massive bill, so I don't know how much it cost exactly but it was expensive! We could justify it in the extension end but we did also rip up a wooden floor in the living room (that always used to be cold and is now insulated under the Pipework) and dug down through clay and it took they a really long time.

I think go for your plan! Is there a way of having a glazing strip up high in the partion wall? I'm not talking 80s glass bricks, but some double/truple soundproof glazing? I know you said no to crittal or glass doors/wall but I'd go for that if it were my house. You could get a frosted glass.

I had wooden byfolds in my previous house though we rarely shut them in the end

I would go for pocket doors between the two rooms. You could have glass in the tops of the doors to let more light in.

I don't think pocket doors would give the sound insulation I am looking for in this case. Any other option vs just a solid/ stud wall in between? I don't think the walls are usable (eg for hanging a picture) if one installs pocket doors.