Beautiful Victorian downstairs design dilemma

last month

Hi friends,

We've recently moved in to a beautiful 1881 Victorian house that has only had 2 owners from new! As such, there is a lot of original features and we unearth more every time we do a little work. What we're really struggling with is how we get that big, bright family friendly kitchen and seating area.

The current kitchen is small and in an extension (circa 1920s) at the north facing rear of the property. It's very dark and cold but has nice views of the garden. I've considered a few different layouts but all have compromises, and our most favoured (extending again) is both unaffordable and seems ridiculous when we have as much space.

Anyone seen an en-suite dining room before? :) Might be handy for the elderly parents staying in the future.

Any inspirations or ideas would be much appreciated! Here's what we have so far:

Rough floor plan from when we bought the house:

Scaled floor plan, note the 600mm stone walls of the main house:

kitchen in sitting room - nice and bright south facing, but doesn't seem to sit right:

Kitchen in current breakfast room - probably ideal space, but so many doors in way that it is comprimised:

Use all of existing extension - good option, but dark in the extension and makes the current breakfast room in to a corridor. Also loses the decent downstairs loo (the wc in the utility feels like it's outside, but I can sort that). This option has been costed by a QS at circa £30k

Extend current kitchen and open up in to breakfast room. This would probably be the best use of space to make it more practical, but it's outside our budget at circa £50k an the current breakfast room could become very dark indeed:

I thought I would ask you good people for some inspiration before getting an architect involved. I'm sure the solution is in here somewhere and we're not precious about any of the walls, but would obviously want to keep all the period features.

Thanks a million, looking forward to hearing what you've got.

Greg

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Comments (17)

PRO
Nest Estimating Ltd
last month
Hi Greg, once you have decided on a layout, we can provide you with a budget cost estimate. The budget cost estimate provides a detailed breakdown of works and expenses as well as highlighting potential areas where you can save money. If this is something of interest please send the plans and photos to hello@nestestimating.co.uk and we can provide you with a quote
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
Thanks Nest - I've had a quantity surveyor look over two of the options, so we have a rough idea on costs. Hopefully the design gurus here will help us finalise our plans.
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I think you're not far off the look you want but, you're right, there are a few tweaks to tie it together. Mainly paint, so only a weekend, maybe two, depending on how handy you are with a brush! I would paint the black blue, and lose the gold frame moulding in the centre of the ceiling (it brings the ceiling down, visually). Love the blue chandelier, keep it! Is that a radiator to the right of the door? If yes, I'd paint it gold to match the skirting (it would also look more Victorian). If you have the budget, you could get it replaced with a vintage style cast iron radiator? They are quite expensive though, so maybe something to save up for down the line? I'd also paint the entry door blue, with a gold frame, to tie everything in together - I think the stark white block in the wall jars with the rest of the room. As per other contributors to this thread, I agree that you need a rug, ideally a dark coloured Kilim or Turkish style rug, going by your inspiration photos. IKEA do some that are very affordable, but you could splash out on a handmade one. If you can find a battered and worn secondhand one, I think would look awesome, it would give you that lived in Victorian look? Finally, the chairs and table are cool, and the colours work for me, but the table is way to small for the space. Perversely, I think it actually makes the room look smaller? I would switch to a six seater, and turn it 90 degrees to how you have it at the moment (pointing toward the fireplace). It does look awesome, and do please keep us posted!
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Hi Vicky. Thanks for your reply. What would work best for you is to create a 'hub' area within the largest rooms, as this is where you'll be spending most of your time. With a small reconfiguration - insulating the conservatory, or building into the original footprint of the conservatory (so presumably coming under permitted development) with beautiful bi-fold doors opening onto a terrace and the garden, and putting a steel beam between the existing kitchen and conservatory - you will significantly open up the space you have for a relatively small spend. It will be large and airy, and have great views from the kitchen, through the family room, to the garden - so you can keep an eye on the kids at all times! You will get all the benefit of a large, functional family space while keeping the location of your living room, dining room and back rooms as they are. The new kitchen/family room along with the living room becoming a 'grown-up' snug space, and the back rooms being functional - storage, utility, WC (all running off the kitchen utilities) would work very well for a young family. What an exciting project!
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Sorry for the delay in responding to the comments... Unfortunately, the after photo was a little dark and really doesn't show the transformation in it's best light - if you'll pardon the pun! The original kitchen was in an annex extension which was demolished, whereas the new kitchen forms part of a new, larger open-plan space. The tiles are Italian porcelain (check out tile suppliers on HOUZZ or alternatively someone like Topps Tiles who may do something similar). There is a mirrored shelf unit about the sink. We designed the internal refurbishment for our clients and they sourced the kitchen from Devol Kitchens. Here is a better photo (probably the one we should have used first....)
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E D
last month
Can you perhaps share some photos of your (beautiful!) house?

Apart from feeding my curiosity ☺️, it may give people here a better ‘feel’ for the house and encourage advice. 😊
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
I'd prefer if people didn't turn up unannounced, but here were the pics from when we bought it: Eskmill House, 2, Eskmill Road, Penicuik, EH26 8PA 7 bed detached house - £450,000 (onthemarket.com)
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
The room with the wooden floor and panels is the living room on the left. The other green room is currently a playroom. I've had quite a few people tell me that we have had to have a big heart taking this on. The previous owners lived here for 50 years. We've so far removed the lead, asbestos and oil boiler. Currently having the sash windows reglazed, and I'm making an en suite and dresser upstairs.
rinked
last month
Let's say this is 'affordable', could this be an option?

The former kitchen could be left alone for now, reconfigure or rebuild that side when 'elderly parents' are in the planning (then move shower room door towards former larder and break out for example, or simply rebuild the whole thing meeting modern standards).
rinked
last month
Lovely house by the way!
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
Not a bad plan! The plant room is fixed in place, as we've just had a new boiler installed, but opening that side up is certainly an option. It would take some decent steels!
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
The only difficulty with your plan rinked, and apologies that it's not on the plans, is the window to the west of your proposed kitchen looks bang onto the side of a precast garage. So it would still be pretty dark. But there are compromises throughout!
Jonathan
last month
Personally I would want the low ceiling parts of the house to be rooms you sit down in and the kitchen to be in one of the best spaces as for me it’s an important room. And I think being able to circulate around the house helps you use more of it.

If it were mine I would have the kitchen in the whole of the left side and use the former kitchen as a dining room.

You might consider moving the laundry upstairs and turning the current utility into an entrance near your parking.... you could even use some of this space for a big guest wc too.
I would get rid of the downstairs shower room because I think when parents become too frail to get up your stairs they won’t be prepared to travel. For me it’s more important to connect the areas so I would get rid of the shower.

I would open up the two reception rooms on the right to each other but I concede a family might prefer separate spaces.

And rather than extend I would be investing in the garden. I would put a patio in the sunniest part and create some new doors to the back from principal rooms (as opposed to going through the back lobby or utility as you must now).
colourwisedesign.com
last month
Your house makes me think of this kitchen. Your combined breakfast/living room might not be quite as wide which would make the island narrower - or have shallow cabinets along one of the walls...? https://www.remodelista.com/posts/dream-classic-english-kitchen-for-family-living-and-entertaining-by-devol/
colourwisedesign.com
last month
And also this one...Julianne Moore's kitchen that doesn't look like a kitchen...have always loved this look... https://www.remodelista.com/posts/house-call-julianne-moore-design-lessons-and-kitchen-remodel-in-new-york-oliver-freundlich-remodelista-book/
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
Loving the ideas, what a great community!
rinked
last month
The idea of breaking open that sweet old kitchen area is not a bad idea either. Plumbing and such is already in place. I would consider decent insulation, hr+ double glazing and some more windows, perhaps even some french doors or something more modern like bifolds, imagine a patio with a second dining table. I tried to create a kitchen in scale.

No worries as the parents are not moving in straight away, might always use part of the utility for a bathroom, right? The breakfast room is quite the thoroughfare, but the sittingroom would make a very good sized bedroom for them. By that time, add a doorway towards the breakfast area. But having said that, perhaps the livingroom should go where the playroom is? So playroom could become bedroom? (I have massive overthinking qualities, noticed?)
Greg ory
Original Author
last month
Great overthinking, it really suits you. I've got a quote for adding 150mm of external wall insulation to the current kitchen extension, just need to finalise what to do with it now! I'm currently drawing up in floorplanner to allow for a walkthrough, might help a little with seeing how it will all piece together!
minnie101
last month
I like Jonathan’s laundry and boot room ideas. I’d also open up the kitchen as Jonathan has with an island but with a separate breakfast area and a window seat in the bay. I think I’d make the existing kitchen the playroom though, open up the bottom bit but maybe change the door to the WC so it opens from there. May be useful for kids coming in from garden and doing crafts etc. The pantry could be left as toy storage and when they’re older it could be a dedicated gaming room or whatever to get all the rubbish out of the way. Dining to stay as maybe with a drinks area in the conservatory and family room becomes formal living room.

Try DIY kitchens for shaker units btw. I suspect they’ll be cheaper than Howdens and come ready assembled which obviously reduces fitting costs a lot
rinked
last month
I'd like to add: please do NOT extend. The Old House would get completely lost. And like you mentioned, there is plenty space to work with. Careful planning, calculating, you'll get there. ;)

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Beautiful Victorian downstairs design dilemma

Comments (17)

Greg oryOriginal Author

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