Would you have stairs from kitchen/diner leading up to bedrooms?

7 years ago

We have a dining room with a kitchen next door. Looking to knock through.

However we have stairs from the dining room up to bedrooms upstairs.

We have discussed repositioning the stairs to another part of the house but this would result in losing a bedroom upstairs (and losing lots of cash!)

Would you have stairs from an open plan kitchen/diner going up to your bedrooms?

We have lived here over a year and its not bothered us the stairs coming from our dining room...... but thinking if we were doing a knock-through and having builders in then it might be a good idea to get the stairs to come off the hallway.

We have had a couple architects round already and one said move stairs into hallway and lose a bedroom was all that could be done, Other was sooo confused and really couldnt come up with anything other than that.

Now really wondering if it is worth losing a bedroom to get the stairs coming from the hallway, and worth the expense! It would be the 5th bedroom we lose.

Could we make these stairs modern and blend well in a kithen/diner?

Just can't decide! We would have a joiner enclose the understairs and make understairs storage and move the door along the wall another metre or so.

Featured Answer

bfrobson

7 years ago

I agree with minnie101 with respect to noise carrying. What sized bedroom are you looking at sacrificing downstairs? Could it possibly be made to work as an office/study with stairs leading off? There are all sorts of clever ways of incorporating bookshelves and desk space under stairs. This could prove a very positive gain, rather than a loss. The other issue, though, is what happens if you do give the upstairs to the kids? Will you be left with a tiny master bedroom downstairs? Do either of the downstairs rooms have an en suite? Would you want to use some or all of the sacrificial bedroom to provide dressing area/en suite for your future downstairs bedroom? Lots to consider - but personally I'd prefer NOT to have stairs direct from kitchen diner - but then I cook a lot of spicy food and would not want the cooking smells permeating my bedrooms!

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Comments (13)

Daisy England
7 years ago
The pix aren't very clear.

How many bedrooms do you use ie. do you need all 5 if you'll need to get rid of one.

My preference would not be to have the stairs off the kitchen/diner. The main hallway would be better.
PRO
d & b
7 years ago
sorry the pictures are not very clear maybe it will be useful adding a floor map too. To be honest I don't think it is a problem. With clearer pictures and a map I could help you further.
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Hi Keswing, I had exactly the same problem with my hubby!!! Haha! The great thing with concept planners is they will pass their trade discounts onto you! We actually used Gina from Create Perfect on here (but she does exactly the same as OnePlan) who I would highly recommend and the fab thing was that even after her fees it saved us money because she passed on all the trade discounts! I highly recommend getting in touch with OnePlan and Create Perfect and getting quotes from both of them. If you ask them both to send you the list of companies they get trade discount with then you can show that to your hubby and knowing you're in the market for some serious spending on a kitchen and presumably a bit of new furniture then you'll be able to show it's cost neutral! :) We saved over £1,500 in our kitchen alone through Create Perfect getting us discounts with our chosen suppliers (probably worth noting that it doesn't limit your choices as the kitchen company we chose from her concept plan she'd never dealt with before but she set up a trade account just for us, the same for our underfloor heating and actual floor) Hope it helps and good luck!
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PRO
OnePlan
7 years ago
Is it a two or three storey building ? As you would probably be advised that opening the stairs would be a breach of fire regs, unless you plan on installing sprinklers, in a three storey building.
Ellie thanked OnePlan
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for your replies. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs, 2 downstairs. We have 2 children so each have a bedroom upstairs and we are upstairs too. 2 of the upstairs bedrooms are ensuites so the long terms plan is perhaps when the kids are older, in their teens (they are only 5 and 6 yrs old now!) then we may give the kids the whole top floor and we move into one of the downstairs rooms.

We just have ground floor and a first floor. We did ask the architect if we would need some kind of sprinkler system but he said no as its just up to one floor and all the rooms have large enough escape windows.
minnie101
7 years ago
If you plan on spending a lot of your time in here you might also want to think about sound travelling when the kids are in bed. Or when they're older the sound travelling down to you!
Ellie thanked minnie101
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
We already have the stairs in the dining room, we were considering moving them. We have lived with it for 17 months and noise has not bothered us at all. For me its more of a 'how it looks' thing. Could an open plan dining/kitchen measuring 5.5m x 5m including a staircase be made to look good. We would likely do a glass balustrade and area understairs would all be made into shelving to blend in with the kitchen. The bedroom we would lose is the smallest bedroom of the house, the bedroom upstairs. We have 2 decent sized rooms downstairs, both 4m x 4m in size. One with a nice bay window. Neither downstairs rooms are ensuites, 2 upstairs are. Not having an ensuite would not bother me at all, as we have a full size bathroom downstairs anyway.
clairef09
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I am not a professional in any way, but it sounds like you have two bedrooms spare so it wouldn't be a great hardship to lose one if it means having the lay-out you would prefer. I would suggest contacting someone who can come in and give advice on what the value of the property would be with either options, you never know losing a bedroom and changing the lay out might even add value. Good luck!
bfrobson
7 years ago
Hi Mr Mr, that clarifies things.

It would seem that if you go ahead with stairs from the hall then you will lose the smallest bedroom upstairs, presumably currently occupied by the youngest in the family? If so, then do you intend moving them downstairs or will you take the plunge and move yourselves into a new master bedroom downstairs? What will happen to the existing landing at the top of the stair from the dining room - could it be used to replace the lost bedroom? Could it be incorporated into one of the other bedrooms? Could it become a study [if needed]?

When we extended a few years ago we took the opportunity to merge two existing bedrooms to give one larger room. The new extension provided two more bedrooms and we 'lost' one other original bedroom to become a 'landing library' open to the staircase so, in effect, a large gallery. In this way we went from a conventional 4 bed to a much larger 4 bed plus library. The house is just so much more usable in its new format. You will usually find that upstairs walls are easily moved as they are non load bearing. However, I am sure most people would agree that you should make the house suit your needs. It is well worth sitting down with a pen and paper and listing what you'd really like to achieve from the building work. If you are planning on this being a long term home then I'd take this opportunity to 'future proof' the layout for you and your family. If you are looking for resale in the foreseeable future then investing the minimum amount to get your kitchen diner is probably the way forward. Either way, good luck.

P.S. given a choice, I'd still keep the stairs away from the kitchen smells... but see what the consensus is from the Houzz community.
Ellie thanked bfrobson
PRO
Create Perfect
7 years ago
To keep in short and sweet Mr mr, Yes, you could still make your space work and look fantastic with the correct planning, use of materials etc.

It is just making sure you have thought about all the things involved (most stated above) like any regulations, sound travelling, space planning for manoeuvring the spaces and so on.

You have done the right thing getting people out to look at the space but if you are not happy with what the Architect's have said then persevere.

It will help thinking about the over all look that you would live to achieve and start planning the space with scaled floor plans - this will help you lay things out and take a look at the space in more detail.

Maybe consider a 3D image package which could help you visualise the space. I find this helps my clients no end when we are space planning. All the best.
Ellie thanked Create Perfect
PRO
d & b
7 years ago
I m still finding hard to visualize your space without a floor map. I think your best bet is to get couple more professional designers and/or architect to look at the space in the flesh.
I think you need to invest 2/3 hours in meetings, it is very hard to advice you on something you haven't seen. Consultations are, free take advantage of them. Also, sound should not be a big issue to solve, smell yes as it would travel directly upstair, you will solve this issue by increasing ventilation and suction. For anything else, it is your home, there is not a right or wrong the only important thing is what you like and since you re planning staying there for long time invest in a timeless design.
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Floorplan.... http://media.rightmove.co.uk/60k/59084/27985005/59084_212433_FLP_00_0000_max_600x600.jpg

Bed 1 is at the front of the house, directly above the lounge/Bed3.
PRO
d & b
7 years ago
Thank you for the flor plan, In my opinion room number 5 can be sacrificed, the room is very small and you have the chance to create a spectacular feature . it will be a pricier solution but well worth it. Also I wouldn't worry too much about smells from the kitchen, the stairs are quite far from kitchen with few adjustments you shouldn't have any problem.

Would you have stairs from kitchen/diner leading up to bedrooms?

bfrobson

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