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Downstairs layout, what would you do?

7 years ago

The kitchen dining area is a ground floor extension, so we are going to have a pitched roof and some skylights put in, however we are struggling with the sitting room and pantry areas, the pantry has no natural light, but allows for lots of storage, there is a door from there into the sitting room too.

With the sitting room so large we are not sure what to do, we are thinking about blocking in the pantry door up that comes into the sitting room, however blocking the hall door would make a nicer sitting area in the lounge allowing to split the room into two zones...

What would you do?

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PRO

User

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I agree with doing away with the Pantry door in to the sitting room, it's not needed.

However, although as you say it might make a better seating area with the hall to lounge door blocked up to, I think living with no door will be annoying. You would have to walk through the Pantry and kitchen, through the dining room and round just to get to the lounge. Likewise the same route to get to the downstairs loo, which i presume is on the left of the plan ( or should be ). Access from the hallway to a lounge is a given in any house, and I personally think it would be odd without it.

If you're dead set on doing away with the lounge door, then move the pantry to lounge door right to the front end of the wall it's on instead of having it right in the middle splitting the work surface in two. That way you will have a door in the middle of the lounge and get better unit space in the pantry.

I would also make the pantry area wall to ceiling cupboards with Shelves inside. It will act as an extension to the Hallway, and everything needs to put away.

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Comments (6)

User
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks, we also think the pantry door is best to block up and agree with the floor to ceiling units, just don't want it to be a dark corridor with little natural light.

With the door from the hall to the lounge we are unsure on the lounge layout, we want to create two zones as it is quite large, just unsure on sofa positions with the door where it is. Any suggestions?
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Craig Burman-Vince
7 years ago
I'd see if you could steal some space, maybe 2-4 feet, from the sitting room for the kitchen diner and incorporate the pantry into the kitchen diner. Give yourself a slightly larger kitchen and diner.

I'd block off the door to the sitting room and turn the remaining pantry area into a mudroom/WC/storage/laundry zone - shove everything that doesn't need natural light into that area.
User
Original Author
7 years ago
All the walls apart from the downstairs toilet in the pantry are brick, so cannot be easily moved or removed.
PRO
User
7 years ago
i think i'd go for the lounge / t.v area and then a bookcase / display cabinet with separate armchairs for the other end.
User
Original Author
7 years ago
That is the sort of layout we like however it then makes it a little more tricky in the pantry area and almost like a second hallway.

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