Renovating a 1960's 3 bed semi - help with layout and kerb appeal!
Hi everyone.
My husband and I have just bought our first house - a 1960's 3 bed semi-detached. The previous owners lived there since it was first built, and it needs a lot of love and a bit of a rethink to make it really work as a modern home.
We've been going round in circles trying to work out how to make the best of the space and of our money, and would really appreciate any thoughts or tips you might have.
Top priorities are:
- Rewiring throughout
- Replacing the dodgy utility extension off the kitchen (single skin walls) and squeezing in a downstairs loo/utility space. This is the real driver, as my mother in law is in a wheelchair, so we need an accessible downstairs loo
On top of that, we're thinking about:
- Raising the floor level in the conservatory to match the house, so that it's accessible
- Extending the garage out the front, so that it's still usable - we're probably going to take the space for the loo out of the back of the garage, and my husband has a kit car to store
- Also adding a porch at the front - a mix of aesthetic and storage reasons
- Possibly removing the chimney? It takes up a large amount of space out of the living/dining room
As you can see from the photos, the front drive is long as the house is set back from the road, so we're hoping that will help.
Photos below, as well as the current layout, and some possible new layouts we've been thinking about. What do you think would make the best use of the space and meet our needs?
(Kitchen, looking toward utility door)
Option 1: Knocking through between kitchen and diner, adding loo and porch
Option 2: Same as option 1, but also taking out chimney breast in the living room
Option 3: Same again, but with a slightly bigger, angled porch
Option 4: The megabucks version, with a kitchen extension at the rear as well (probably too much money and not sure how it could intersect with the conservatory, but we're at the blue skies thinking stage!)
Comments (65)
Pippa Ev
6 years agoJonathan
6 years agoIf you put a door at the back of the garage your kitchen extension will be narrower so you may want to extend out further
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6 years agoPippa Ev
6 years agoJonathan
6 years agoSuggested extension footprint to allow you to put a door at the back of the garage for access to the back garden
Pippa Ev
6 years agontzch
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E D
6 years ago
Karin Hogan
6 years agoPippa Ev
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
Lena
6 years ago
Jane Thorpe
6 years ago
PROPippa Ev thanked Celery. Visualization, Rendering images- PRO
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Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoCedar color would work too
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PROOrange Key Design Studios
6 years agoHi Pippa. This is a 1970s renovation & remodel we designed for a Surrey client 2 years ago. As you can see, it's part rendered, part timber clad. A similar render could work well for your house. Also, we agree with The Picture House, think about changing the windows if your budget allows - it will help lift the overall look of the property. Good luck...
Pippa Ev thanked Orange Key Design StudiosE D
6 years ago
PROBetterSpace: The Floor Plan Experts
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howletthobbs
6 years agojanyeo33
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
PROPrime Oak
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoThis is a very drastic change but could give you some ideas on how much you can actually change the appearance of your home and make a traditional home look very modern. We were all stunned by the difference! We built them their new garage on their drive and our sister company Montpelier Joinery replaced their windows. Such a beautiful transformation!
Natalie Tan
6 years agoJane Thorpe
6 years ago- PRO
Prime Oak
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago Pippa Ev
6 years agoHi all,
Thank you so much for all the helpful comments. I thought I'd update you on where we've got to so far and get your thoughts.
Below are the proposed front elevation and floorplan drawings from our architect. We're currently working on the basis that we'll need to split the work into two phases: step one being to extend to the rear and make the internal changes, and step two being to potentially add the porch/changed roofline out front if and when we have the money.
You'll see that we recognised the point several people raised, which was that extending to the rear would be simplest way to open up the space and get in the necessary downstairs loo so that my mother in law (who's in a wheelchair) can use the loo/shower when she visits.
- I still think that the wet room entrance on the right will be tight for wheelchair access. In case you can't see the tiny writing on the plan, the walkway from the utility to the wetroom is 1m at the thinnest point. That said, it's hard to see how to make access easier. Would a sliding door perhaps help?
E D
6 years agohowletthobbs
6 years agoHi there,
With your changes being minded towards mobility, I would question whether introducing a corridor into your wetroom is a good idea. In most extensions, circulation space is poor value for money as it has low amenity value. I would suggest that swapping the utility and wetroom (as shown in my very crude plan) would be wise as you gain a larger utility and larger wet room as you can then absorb the corridor space into the wetroom/utility and you will end up with a far more usable space. I presume you want to retain access through the garage to the garden however in my experience this is rarely used as garages do have a tendency to become inaccessible due to their use as storage areas, for the small amount of time you may require this access, you could retain a door in from the garage which would remain locked for the majority of the time. Alternatively creating a new opening into the hallway might provide this access without affecting your wetroom/utility.
You may also find that swapping your dining and kitchen space may lend itself better to creating the impression of space as you would be able to see directly from the hall through the new patio doors out to your garden and would allow you to utilise the corner which cheats extra kitchen storage.
Best of luck!
Pippa Ev thanked howletthobbs
Ed
6 years agoI would consider losing the conservatory altogether and enjoying the unrestricted view to the garden.
We had exactly the same layout and knocked the conservatory down, and then knocked the old kitchen and dining room together, adding a 3m x 7.5m single story extension that was slightly wider than those two rooms (so would use half of the space between the existing side wall and the boundary, but still leave side access from the rear of the garage into the garden)
Definitely look at your local planning portal to see what other people have done in your street.
Using Bifold’s across the whole rear wall brings lots of light in so that the kitchen can occupy the two remaining walls in the old dining room, with a breakfast bar. It also means you can have a wide and wheelchair friendly threshold out to a patio.
Our friend uses a wheelchair and the house works quite well for her when she visits.
Our plans: https://publicaccess.cheltenham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=N60JV8ELGWM00
Hope this helps.
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6 years agoE D
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6 years agoFran H
6 years ago
PROMirabeau Developments
6 years agoHi
Previously done very similar refurb and extension to what you are looking for
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6 years ago Ed
6 years agoAh yes I see - missed that comment :) Looks good! In fact identical to the first design our architect did. We ended up swapping the kitchen and seating areas in the OPs plan above (to allow for a wider view to the garden), but it wouldn’t work in this design as the lounge/diner remain connected and presumably that’s important due to accessibility. I blocked up the arch between the lounge/diner and then recessed a TV /
Speakers into the wall (stole the idea off a friend). And gives us a toy/mess-free retreat in the lounge for the evening!
vickyviking74
5 years agoThis is very interesting as we are in exactly the same position. We moved into our 1960s property in September and we are trying to decide how to extend and adapt to make full use of the space. I look forward to seeing any updates.
andituck
5 years agoLauren Deane
5 years agoLauren Deane
5 years agoE D
5 years agoPippa Ev
5 years agoHi all,
Thank you so much for all the helpful comments and suggestions, and sorry that it's taken me so long to respond - house renovation and work have been keeping us on our toes!
This has become a long post, so a quick reminder - we were looking to renovate and rewire our 60s house to update it and also make it more wheelchair friendly downstairs for when my mother-in-law comes to visit. We employed an architect and came up with what turned out to be an 'aspirational' design (much more than the budget!) so we ended up deciding to split things into two stages:- Stage One to add a downstairs wetroom for accessibility, remove chimney throughout and add a porch
- Stage Two to do the extension across the rear, removing the conservatory to open out a large kitchen/diner and add a utility room
The layout below shows both Stages One and Two as complete. Bits shown in red are existing walls which have been/will be removed (apart from the wall in red in the seating area below which is between the existing kitchen and dining room - that's a mistake).
So.....the building work is now done - hurray! Stage One is complete, we are much poorer, and we now need to decorate the whole house :-)
Some before and after photos below - please bear with the terrible photography skills. The rooms aren't big enough to allow for expansive photos!:
We've re-plastered throughout, apart from in the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, as we'll deal with those later. Current challenge is deciding how on earth to pick paint colours and flooring throughout....
Anyway - hopefully that gives you a sense of where we've got to.
Best wishesmakatu86
2 years ago
Jonathan