Should we knock down part of a wall to create a snug/sitting room
Hi everyone, can I have your thoughts please?! We have a large kitchen/dining room which is great and we spend a lot of time in here. I'd like a cosier sitting area, (a sofa and TV) and although they do feature in our 'back room'..it feels a cold/boxed off/and generally unwelcoming. We rarely sit in it and it used at the moment for storage and drying washing. We've thought about making it into a dining room and moving a sofa into the kitchen area, but as the bifolds lead out onto the patio I think it's nice to eat meals and look out onto the garden. What do you think? I am very lucky as my husband is a builder, and I've suggested we knock down part of the wall in between the the rooms. Maybe get rid or block up the fireplace and pop a sofa on that side, with a TV on the opposite side? Or is there another way we can make this feel like a room with purpose???
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6 years agoRelated Discussions
Should we knock through from dining to kitchen?
Comments (13)Thanks Jonathan. That's definitely one of the options for the long term as we are planning on extending into the loft to move guest or master there. We are thinking about extending to the side of the kitchen (to the left) and incorporate the back reception room so that the open plan kitchen/dining/lounge is L-shaped. And then we could have the existing dining/breakfast room as really nice laundry/mudroom/dogroom with the back door into there. Alternatively, keep the back reception as it is (formal dining or separate lounge for growing kids), keep the dining in the breakfast room and extend out to the right to make kitchen a little bit bigger (big enough for island between galley sides), big glass doors to garden, etc - but also add on space to the right to make separate laundry/mudroom/back entrance. Above that we'd put ensuite and walk-in closet onto current master. And this is why I don't know what to do with the current 'temporary' kitchen solution - in all likelihood it will be there fore 3-5 years, so don't want it to be just thrown up without thinking about it, but I also don't want to have to re-do work later, and I especially don't want to take down period features and ruin room proportions for a 'temporary' fix. And of course we need to know what we want to do before we can get the electrician round to re-wire the house, so it's not something I can consider for too much longer......See MoreNo support when knocking down reception room - HELP
Comments (7)They should absolutely have put acro props in. These are steel props which look flimsy but carry a surprising amount of weight. My mum's just doing this with her flat. The buildings inspector came round and specified how many props and where they had to go before anything was touched. The RSJs were specified by a structural engineer and also passed by the building inspector. It's a vital part of getting it passed by building regs without which you'll have serious problems when you come to sell, even if it is safe. If there are acro props up, get in touch with building regs before it goes any further.If there are no acro props up, phone another builder and ask them if they can put some props up ASAP. A good builder should automatically prioritise it over any other jobs they have since it's a super quick and also urgent job but will probably want it in writing that someone else took the wall down. Also get in touch with building control (building control is the department which issues building regs and will send a building inspector). The exception to all this is if the wall is not structural but that's unlikely if there's a floor above it and impossible if there's another wall directly above. Also, your builder must by law have public liability insurance for if this sort of thing goes wrong. I can't give any sort of time frame for this. It's likely that any damage is already done but possible that cracks are propagating over time and may cause more damage if you leave it. It's entirely possible everything will be fine even without props. I've seen some awful things including a case where a man with obvious mental health problems took out all the walls in the basement of a 3-story building without using props and it somehow still didn't fall down....See Morehelp creating open plan kitchen/dining room/snug!
Comments (5)If the utility becomes a dumping ground currently - at least you can close the door to it . If you open everything up then all that dumped stuff will just be visible to all surely? Why not look at what’s dumped - is it laundry ? Is it waiting to be ironed ? Or waiting to be taken upstairs ? Or dirty washing to be sorted into colour/white/darks etc. If so - redesign the utility to have an ironing board area and shelving for folded washing, and sorting baskets for dirty laundry, hanging pole for ironed shirts on coat hangers etc. If the stuff dumped is outdoor coats boots dog walking stuff etc then it might be better to design a boot room space instead ? Do you see where I’m going with this? The space isn’t currently working - so yes - some redesign is required - but needs lots of looking at WHY it’s not working in order to fix it properly. I’d suggest you go though this in great detail. Look at what’s wrong and then start making it work better. ( this is the sort of project we often work with clients on ! You aren’t alone !)...See MoreWhich wall to knock down
Comments (11)I agree that your current snug interrupts the flow somewhat and that you don’t actually need it. It would make a great pantry. If it was me I’d open up the kitchen and diner, keeping the kitchen minimal with storage in a new pantry space made from the snug. I’d put up a wall so that the front living room was a separate ‘grown up’ space and keep that middle area as the gaming space. In effect, it could be a night time cosy snug if the partition doors were closed so you’re not really losing out. If it’s already partitioned from the dining area with folding glass doors it should be light enough? If you have a young family it’s great to have an open space with kitchen/diner/ seating and rear garden access. You’d have this layout. When kids get older a separate living room/snug space is really useful too. I also wondered if it would be worth converting your smallest front bedroom into an en-suite if it almost above a downstairs toilet with an accessible soil pipe....See MoreEllie
6 years ago- PRO
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6 years ago Colette
6 years agoSorry for the dodgy sketch but here’s a bit more of an idea of the room layout! We have a utility room but it’s very narrow and not ideal for drying clothes. I can obviously tidy that room of all the unnecessary ‘stuff’, and it looks exceptionally tidy once a year at Xmas. However we don’t use the room at all regardless of how tidy it is. What I’m thinking is creating an opening beside where our dogs bed is, blocking the door off into the back room and make it into a nicer snug/tv room as we could sit here in the summer with easy access to the garden. The opening could maybe make it feel more part of the kitchen, rather than a box beside it?
Ellen Van der Auwera
6 years agoEllen Van der Auwera
6 years agoThis is a quick sketch I created on how I would adjust the living room. Since the furniture isn't against the wall it will look a lot nicer. As for the big bookshelves, switching between books and decoration is a good way to make it look nicer. This is an example: https://ml.houzz.com/AzGf/5mYGVI1fVJ I hope this helped you.
minnie101
6 years agoCan you (structurally) create a bigger opening between the dining area and the room as that to me is closing it off a little (I wouldn't create an opening the other side). There is also quite a contrast between the flooring. Smethung like these could work or alternatively add a rug under the dining table in the same tone as the carpet. I wouldn't be removing the chimney breast, I'd reinstate a fire for cosiness. I might also consider swapping the sofa, which looks a little low to be comfortable (?) and adding a coffee table
Colette thanked minnie101- PRO
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI still think the kitchen / Utility area needs amending. I don't know why you have french doors in to the Utility? One standard door would be better. Then move the fridge freezer. I would not knock through in to the back room.
This will improve your sitting area.
This improves the whole use of space a bit !:-
Without any dimensions it's very hard, but this would be a kind of embryonic starting point.
Najeebah
6 years ago
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6 years ago
Ellen Van der Auwera