Help design lootility
Hi all,
We want to convert the space under the staircase and part of the hallway into a utility + loo. We have attached a suggested layout including dimensions but feel there might be a better way (although haven't figured it out ourselves!). In particular, we feel that in our design it might be difficult to open the door of the dryer. The orange column is part of the stairs and cannot be removed. The striped area has lower height (coming down from 2m at the dryer to about 1.5m at the right of the striped area. Who can help us?! We very much appreciate any suggestions/ideas!
Thanks, Paul & Fiona
Comments (14)
dianahartaboyne
5 years agoPaul Tutein Nolthenius
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Help with odd shape lounge design
Comments (17)There are lots of very minor and/or free tweaks that you can do to the whole floor space which will change the feel and lift it. Firstly move the floor standing lamp (and side table?) out of the way and push your sofa right up with an inch or two to spare before it touches the wall. Then on the opposite end site the lamp (and side table?) and put your telephone on it rather than balancing it on the back of the sofa. By moving the sofa up, the space immediately feels larger when you walk in. The lamp by the door and over the back of the sofa will serve two functions -1. it will make a nice soft over light for reading or relaxing & 2. it demarks room division (which you have done very nicely with the shape of your sofa.) Next move the sideboard to the right of the radiator so it is covering the plug points to the left of the fireplace (as you look at the fireplace sat on the sofa) Hang the wall mirror over it and keep what you have on it already - that's a good job. You now have penty of space to walk around the table especially if dining guests are mingling bewteen the kitchen, dining room and lounge. Lower the height of the mirror and wall art - it should be at eye level. You have lots of lovely art in similar frames. They are mounted a little too high and you could gain more impact by grouping them as they are relatively small in size. Re. the art I would suggest making the frames darker in order to match the dark chocolate colour of the sofa. At the moment you have lots of oak (incl. the floor) and consequently nothing is "popping out" as a feature. Darkening the frames will achieve this along with grouping the art. You have a great colour palette but maybe you could add a colour pop? Gold or organge would add to the space - change the rug, add a throw, fill the mantel piece with vases and containers of flowers of various heights in a couple of colour popping colours and bijouterie. Add texture. What you have done so far looks great but sometimes it takes a fresh eye just to tweak. I am at this stage with my lounge. I'll be posting it up in a week or two. It's finished but it's missing something and I don't know what!...See MoreNeed help for kitchen and sitting area design....
Comments (33)Hi so this is what I had in mind. Although it ideal I think it would be too expensive for now to remove that lone cupboard. So an idea would be; 1. Paint the walls white 2. Paint the cupboards pale grey: http://www.farrow-ball.com/paint/Paint-For-Kitchen-Cupboards 3. Get nice oak laminate floor from Homebase or B&Q 4. It may cost between £200 and £300 to fit the floor with underlay. But totally worth it. 5. Cheap grey sofa (maybe not corner sofa) or second hand sofa, max those dimensions on the plan. I bought two cheap ones from Homebase for our back room and they're totally fine. 6. Farmhouse table with bench / Eiffel chairs 7. Tv bench and side table from ikea 8. If you keep the freestanding fridge paint it with chalkboard paint. http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/wrust-oleum-black---chalkboard-paint---750ml-125028 I'll post some photos of the sort of look I had in mind....See MoreI need to ID the designer/s of these chairs, can anyone help?
Comments (2)You're welcome. I'm not sure if Ekstrom did the yellow ones too, but at least you have one of them identified now....See MoreSpace planning and interior design help
Comments (15)Instead of looking at it like a tv problem I would look it like A wall problem. Ask yourself What do want to feel when I look at that space? Do i want to feel calm? Thought provoked? Homely and catch up with the outside world(hence TV) Personally I would make it a feature wall and hang some thought provoking art. Something that gets your quests talking every time they are in the kitchen....See More
K Fitz
5 years agoK Fitz
5 years ago
Daisy England
5 years ago
Gabby Wong
5 years ago- PRO
User
5 years agoUnless the washing machine is a top loader, then you'll also have problems opening the washing machine door against the basin. One of the smallest you can buy is a Naro from Drench at 427mm wide by only 288mm deep, as shown on here to scale.
So, as you have the width, i'd go for a corner basin. The room already looks more spacious.
Then i'd stack the machines to give you sorting space. You could do one of two things depending on what the gap under the stairs looks like. Put in stair storage, have the machines on the left and a cupboard next to it for bits and bobs and sort on to your cupboard.
Or, if you don't want / can't have for structural reasons the stair storage, swap the machines over to cover the stairs and have the cupboard to the left with little shelves above.
You could even block the stairs off for a more finished look and still have visually more space. I like this last one the best, but it's your house, your call,
Paul Tutein Nolthenius
5 years agoPaul Tutein Nolthenius
5 years agoDear all, this has been extremely helpful - thank you for that. We have one additional consideration/question. The floorplan we showed above assumes we create a wall in line with the column of the staircase (the blue line in the below ground floorplan). It would however also be an option to move the wall further into the hall (e.g. where the orange line is), which creates more space but might make the staircase look odd/dark having a wall against it? Also part of the room would have a low sloped ceiling being the part under the stairs. We have attached 3 pictures of the current situation. Note that the two doors on the left will be closed off and replaced by one door closer to the cameraman. What do you think?
- PRO
User
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoIf you bring the cupboard out you would need to go right up to the bannister height at the top of the stairs and back fill on the return. Can you see what i mean? Otherwise you'll have a gap at the top to the left. The hall ceiling isn't flush right the way over.
Paul Tutein Nolthenius
5 years agoJonathan
5 years agoIf you extend this cupboard into the space I think you will have a full height section below the upstairs landing (shown with a blue wall line) but you will have to have a section between this wall and your current low height understairs cupboard with a slope (shown red)
I had is in a previous house and although practical I thought it looked naff. In your case I’m not sure you gain as much as you would be loosing.
Jonathan
5 years agoPersonally I think the best looking choice is to keep to the original plan of putting the door to this small space below the top risers of the stairs.
This leave a space about 1m deep with us just about enough for a cloakroom suite and a stacked washer + dryer.
I notice the boiler is in there. You should check with your gas safety engineer that there is enough space to stack the washer to the side of the boiler. You might also ask them to try and tidy up the pipe work so that the room is more presentable as a guest cloakroom
Jonathan