Ahh so annoying, perfect location and plot, bloody awful layout

[Finaldrop]

Been looking for a new home for DH and I to downsize to for a while. This dormer bungalow has come up for sale on a lovely plot, tucked away in a corner, plenty of parking, garage and a south facing garden.

Then the kicker, a bloody awful layout. Long narrow lounge and dining area, stairs, down into the lounge. Pointless narrow bedroom at the rear. Walk into the house into a porch and straight into the kitchen.

I’ve attached the layout and what I’d like to do but I don’t think it’s possible. I’d want to have the stairs coming down into the hall but it faces the wrong way. I want to make the now dining area into a second bedroom and knock the wall down between the now back bedroom and lounge into one with bifold doors all along the outside wall. Bathroom should be where the utility and bedroom cupboards are now, making a larger square kitchen.

Its all been modernised inside so technically its move in ready but the layout is appalling. I’m so annoyed!

How about knocking through between the current kitchen and bedroom to make a large room, then the current dining area can become the lounge (with stairs off it), and two bedrooms at the end of the house?

The only problem I see with it is foyer into kitchen being a bit weird, but it looks like moving or removing just one wall could make it a whole load better. I'm thinking move the kitchen onto the dining area, but then not sure what you do we current kitchen space

Could you put the utility in the foyer, and then turn the existing utility (and cupboard in bedroom) into the entrance way?

Honestly, if the location and the garden are perfect, and the price is right then buy it.

Then live in it for a while to get a feel for how the layout works, and what you want to change. You will be surprised at how your ideas change.

That's easy. You move the front door to where the utility room is. You make the current kitchen into a bedroom. Turn the foyer into an en suite (drains etc permitting). Then you do what you want to do across the back.

Great minds! Moving the front door is key to all this. After that it's not complicated.

Can you move the entrance (that might solve a lot for you... and do you need 3 beds?

If its just you 2 and its your last home I'd be inclined to go for it and knock a few walls.

Separately might be worth talking to someone like Karen at one plan (she must be a millionaire from mumsnet) about what you can do

This is very true - it took us 18 months living here to work out how to change the layout of our current place and for a while it seemed impossible to work out something satisfactory, but it's great now it's done.

This. I'm so glad we didn't do the extension/room changes we wanted to when we moved in - they wouldn't suit how we actually live in the house!

Exactly. Buy it, live in it for a while, and it looks as if there’s a fairly straightforward solution.

Oh you might just have solved this. Thank you. Back to the drawing board!

I’m going to drop the full listing here.

The school to the side does not bother us at all.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174140180?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I assume we can do something to the flat roof to make it a terrace that you can put chairs / table on and put a fall edge / balustrade on?

very unlikely to get permission to do a balcony on a flat roof due to overlooking the neighbours

I assume we can do something to the flat roof to make it a terrace that you can put chairs / table on and put a fall edge / balustrade on?

I doubt it.

The rest of our proposed changes would work well, though. Very easy to change the front door to the side, not the front.