Pick holes in my floor plans!

[Fourcurrantbuns]

We have recently moved into a 1920s chalet bungalow which needs a full renovation.

Due to budget we’re aiming to keep as many of the existing walls where they are and have come up with the below layout. This involves demolishing the single storey extension to the front and extending the width of the current ‘Bed 5’ to become a lounge and a master bedroom on top.

Before we commit to technical drawings I thought I’d share the plans here and allow you good people to throw rocks at them!

One particular thing I’m wondering is whether the en suite/dressing room layout in the master bedroom might mean we’re picking through a messy wardrobe to get to the bathroom… I wonder if there’s any other way to position these? Any other ideas welcome.

TIA!

Do you have a drainage survey for the house? If not then get one - you would like to move a lot of rooms which need wet services around so you will need to know if the existing drainage makes that feasible.

If you look at the floors, can you mark on the plans where you have floorboards, and what the direction of the boards is? The structural joists will go 90 degrees to the boards so it will help you to see which walls are structural

I'll keep having a look at the plans but you want to make a lot of changes.... what sort of budget do you have? I was quoted £55k builders costs (I had to buy all the fixtures and fittings on top of that) for a 1 bed flat... Your proposed work looks quite expensive...

@Fourcurrantbuns I really like the layout and especially like how you don't go straight into the en-suite from the bedroom.

I think it looks really good the only thing I would suggest is to not stagger the doors to the dressing room and the en suite. It could be annoying having to wiggle through that room each time you need th bathroom if you see what I mean. Instead you could have a door to the dressing room that is in line with the ensuite door. I’d fill in the wall that is currently partially open next to the bedroom door and have a row of rails inside either side of the dressing room. Could even do it without having a door from the bedroom to the dressing room at all, just maybe a doorway or an arch. That way you’ll get natural light in there which your current plan doesn’t allow for.

I don’t think you need 4 bathrooms.
I would make the en-suite to bedroom either a study/office as long it wide enough for a decent size desk or a linen/storage closet. Somewhere to keep towels, sheets, winter duvets etc

Personally I would make bedroom 1 and 2 on the current plan into your master as I would want morning sunlight (from the east) currently your master bedroom has one south west facing window so will get evening sun. It's not that important but if I could do anything I wanted I would prioritise sunlight in the right places at the right time.

It is a good plan @Fourcurrantbuns , but even for a sizeable family, 4 bathrooms might be a bit too much space dedicated for this purpose. I get it, what if everyone needs to go at the same time, but realistically, how often will that be the case? 3 should suffice.
Having said that, I would never in a million years have a bathroom or WC that has no windows to the outside. We've done full renovation ourselves, I know full well about the systems that can be in place, and it is a massive no-no for me. I would get rid of that WC, or move it somewhere where it would have a window..

The utility room looks ridiculously big! Id be tempted to put the WC in there too, remove the one you've planned and really open up your hallway into the kitchen/living room.

If the bedroom downstairs is in use it looks like the occupant has to go upstairs to have a bath or shower. I'd lose the 2nd ensuite upstairs and put a shower in downstairs. Why do you need such a huge utility / boot room and why do you have a 'back door' so close to the front? If you hang washing to the rear of the house then locate your utility room there otherwise you'll have a long walk round the house or (more likely) you'll cut through the downstairs to go out.

Same. We built a house with access to the ensuite through the walk in robe and it worked really well, and gives an extra layer of privacy for the ensuite, which is always nice.

You’ve put WCs on the left where there are none now
You need to check the location of your sewage runs or you’ll spend a lot on digging up the externals and linking through
I’d swap bed bed5 with the utility so there’s direct access from the kitchen.
For the family bathroom id swap the bath around with the whb and WC. It won’t feel so cramped on entry

Thanks so much for everyone's replies, what a helpful hivemind this is! ❤

I'm now very tempted to lose the ensuite to bedroom 4 as a couple of you have suggested as four bathrooms is quite a lot. This will eventually be a teenage girl's abode but I survived without an ensuite growing up and I'm sure so could she! She'll be right next to the family bathroom too.

Re the wiggling to the ensuite in the master bed 1... based on the replies here, I think we'll keep it how it is for privacy reasons and just add a rooflight above the dressing room to gain some natural light.

@potas, that's a very interesting idea... I'm also big about lighting so will have a think and do some doodling as we could still get three bedrooms along the right hand side wall I think.

Regarding the downstairs loo not having a window, I wonder how much of a deal breaker this would be... we do need a large utility room (it will also be a 'plant room' for all of the heating/plumbing systems etc as well as a boot/coat/storage room) so I wouldn't want to sacrifice too much space for the downstairs WC. @SleepingisanArt , we hang washing outside of this door so it's well positioned for that as well as entering after muddy dog walks.

This is all such helpful food for thought, again thank you all!

I think it looks lovely. I like the kitchen in the middle of the house, and how it goes through to the playroom.

Just to check - is there going to be a spiral staircase right between the dining table and playroom doors, that goes down to a cellar? If so, wonder about a) the safety of that with young children, and b) it being right in the middle of the walkway from the hall to the living room.

I would move the door going into the master suite right back to the landing then change the door to access the en-suite into a pocket door from that new corridor. That will give you much more space in the dressing room for floor to ceiling hanging. It also means that in an emergency guests (children) can use your en-suite without going through your dressing room.

I would keep the en-suite in bedroom 3. I think 2 bedrooms sharing the family bathroom is perfect.

@TheOtherBear thanks for your comment and good observation. The staircase is a totally unnecessary (IMO) wine cellar dream of DH's who insisted we put it in the plans 😂It's highly likely we'll never give it access.