Remove chimney breast and add pony wall/cupboards to improve dining space?

[radiatordrama]

Edit: cross posted to AIBU

Our dining room is way too small and I'm terrified someone will fall down the stairs between it and the living room.

I am considering removing the chimney breast and removing some of the stairs / adding a row of cabinets to the living room where the stairs are removed.

Imperfect ChatGPT rendition of this plan below, along with the living room as is.

Would love thoughts on this plan!

Thank you. Will try to check it out.

Ok, based on feedback here, I'm thinking of instead going with the solution in photo two below.

Below.

Photo not attaching!

You’ll gain space if you change the round table for a rectangular one.

Oblong table not round?

Should have refreshed the thread!

An incredible shame to remove the chimney brest I think the space will suffer for it

Have you ever had a nose under the reception room floor @radiatordrama ?

I’m bemused that it’s so much higher.
That’s very unusual especially as you walk in the front door, through the hall and into your dining room without needing any steps. So the reception room is higher than the hall too ???
You sure the previous owners haven't buried someone under there 🤯

I think there must be stairs in the hallway that are not shown on the floorplan, otherwise the dining room, kitchen and utility would all be sitting in some sort of sunken hollow.

I agree
Either that or it’s my previous explanation 😳

We had a rectangular table before. This creates a far more spacious feel

Someone dug up the cellar to install a garage. To make this work, they also raised the living room floor and turned the door into that room into a window.

This is part of why it's essential to ensure there's a very clear path through the dining room - it's the only way to get to the living room.

Edit: the living room used to have a very 1960s gas fire and any original cornicing etc was also long gone. We added a chimney breast and period-appropriate fireplace back in there.

Wow so it is higher and clearly if you want the Garage you can’t lower it back

( as an aside Assume there’s buildings regs and fireproofing )

Id go for a rectangular dining table or switch one of the reception rooms to dining

Yes, we do everything to the letter and this fire is very safe.

I can't even imagine what it would take to lower the floor. We are looking to keep any structural work very minimal while maximising the value of the house and making it fit our lifestyle!

In case of interest, here's what it looked like before

This app is being super annoying today

If you wanted to lower the floor and lose the garage you have most of the materials already

Beams can be lowered onto brackets because the depth of beam required won’t change structurally

Floor boards and skirtings could be reused if you take them up carefully
Youll need to make good the wall. So That’s a plasterer or panelling if you don’t like third parties
Plus you can put the door back in which is so much better than what you have imo.

Price wise
Depends on the add on ££ for the benefit of a garage but if there’s a garage im guessing there’s a drive / slope to get into it. So it’s not like you haven’t got anywhere to park

A few people could relay that floor.
I’ve done one on my own because the basement was held up with trees. Yes silver berch🤣. So I put in beams and relaid the timbers ( I am a woman btw in case you think I’m a muscly male ) and skirting

Ps
by fireproofing I meant the underside of the garage ceiling .
Garages need extra fireproofing, if there are habitable rooms above, for building regs

Gosh, idk. The surveyor didn't flag any issues.

Tbh I would never surrender the storage space in the garage. And my husband has his bike trainer thing down there.

Ah
I’d check and see if they have building regs approval
If you can’t find it ask building control around to check

I’d say to save money initially look up at the garage ceiling
if you see the timber joists and they aren’t clad or coated it’s not protected
If you see the underside of your reception floor it’s not protected
If there’s a boarded ceiling as a minimum that may be fire board so there’s a better chance Theyve followed bregs