Thanks. That certainly does look more spacious. The current cupboard arrangement is there to make use of the old stairwell so I need to keep those walls for structural reasons (the doorway into the living room is formed by concrete lintels in brick walls).

Ah, I see! Like this.

WC

WC

View from entrance

View from lounge doors

If there is opportunity to make the front lounge bigger at the expense of the hall then do it.

But I really like the hall and the only thing I would do is add a side window.

Amazing job Wumi!

I'm stressed now. I was almost hoping there was no better way of doing it.

There's a lot of love for your plan Wumi. I will speak to the architect tomorrow and get it changed I think. Thanks a lot. I had a gut feeling the original plan was wrong but needed a shove in the right direction.

Glad my suggestion could help ☺️ Very exciting yet stressful time I’m sure. Good luck!

We have Everhot cookers in our Herts showroom if you need advice. Good luck 🔥

This might be a useful read :) https://www.houzz.co.uk/magazine/6-times-houzz-professionals-made-the-most-of-a-middle-room-stsetivw-vs~126884621

If you are making the toilet bigger I would look at a way of incorporating the washing machine/drier in it also as I don’t see a utility room. There have been some really nice photos of combined downstairs toilets with utility cupboard in them.

If you can’t have the hallway lead straight into the kitchen then it’s hard to see how to avoid the dog-leg and feeling of the middle space as a high-traffic corridor rather than a room. So it seems you need to either embrace the fact that it’s a (potentially quite wide) corridor and think about how to make use of that (we always struggle to find places to store boots, coats, and children’s gear) or make it so big that it can’t possibly be confused with a corridor (which it is hard to see working really).

All that said maybe talk to an architect if you have time — a basic consultation where it’s clear you are looking for ideas, not a plan, shouldn’t cost too much (relative to the cost of the build) and might reveal some completely new solutions.

I think the larger toilet makes the middle part look too narrow and ‘mean’. I would leave it as the original plan and have a good sized cupboard along the wall parallel to the stairs. Either a sideboard with a big mirror above it or a ‘armoire’ for coats, boots etc. Paint the walls and staircase a rich colour or patterned wallpaper, so you walk through from the front hall into a dramatic space between the kitchen and the hall.

I appreciate the feedback and appreciate all of the comments. I agree that the corridor effect makes it difficult to envisage how to use the space. I am playing around with ideas for cutting off the corner of the room. It makes the flow much better and would be much better for lighting. I just worry that the 'diagonal' might look a bit odd. Grateful for any further opinions?

Or this with the shower in the corner. Might be a little cramped but the shower would not be used regularly. The house will be 3 double beds plus a box room (would fit single bed), with only 1 bathroom, so a shower downstairs might be a useful addition but I hear mixed reviews on how often these get used.

Why not make it slightly smaller instead. I suggested popping the boiler in there, but if it's going elsewhere, you can shave a bit off. Yellow line your original plan, red is my first suggestion.

Didn't see your shower post before I posted. I don't think you have the space for a shower, toilet and sink unless you eat up more of the hall.

I agree the shower is ambitious. Definitely not room for a shower tray. I was thinking of a wet room design where the shower basically would be ornamental most of the time. Shower curtain rail (for hanging washing on!) and a shower curtain (much as I dislike them).

There is a 'utility' double full height cupboard in the kitchen).

I like the idea of putting a shower in there. Could be useful even just for spraying down mucky dogs, football boots etc. You could have the door opening into the hall to give you a bit more room in there. I would also consider maybe putting the door on the diagonal wall so you have room one side for the sink and the other side for the shower. Out of your various plans I liked the one (I think it was the second one) with the largest diagonal wall.

The door on the diagonal is the best use of space but not exactly private when sat on the loo :-) The more I thought about it the more uncomfortable I felt with it. I agree that some short of shower facility will be very useful for hosing down various kids/dogs/wellies the list goes on.

I'm growing to like (not love) the diagonal. Maybe I can get creative and follow the lines for seating/shelving under the stairs!

If you are going to make the wc bigger consider if you need a shower or your washing machine in there more.

Totally agree with your thinking on this, the layout is too zigzagged,
Doesn't flow , I would start from scratch with a blank canvas, reduce the hallway/walkway space
The entrance hall doesn't work for me,
Draw a new floor plan, or consider an architect for advise

Have you extended? Why not make extension smaller, start your kitchen in the "hall" Just seems like you are trying to fill a space, think it'll always feel like that.

Bit late :-) I always knew I was sacrificing the middle room by moving the stairs to the side (you can't have stairs in the same room as kitchen without fully enclosing them). I am fine with having the middle room as a sort of glorified hallway as you don't often get that space in older houses.

You can have stairs open into your kitchen, we renovated last year and planning permission was granted no issues with the council. Regulations may depend where you are. We are in Scotland and here it depends on where the stairs go - since our stairs only go up to one more floor with 3 rooms then it wasn't an issue. If there was another staircase up, that would have required enclosing the stairs.