Ground floor layout dilemma, full open plan or separate living
Hi,
We are about to start building works on house and having layout ground floor layout dilemmas. We currently have old conservatory top left in the picture of current layout that suffers all the usual problems of being freezing in winter and boiling in summer and as attached to current house without external doors makes everything really cold. We are replacing it with a brick built extension and had decided to go open plan right across the back with kitchen to diner to living looking out on garden. This also gives us a utility room where can hang washing that can't go in a tumble dryer which currently ends up on racks in living space.
Been reading loads of articles about pros and cons and we are lucky enough to have another small lounge for kids to go to for play/smaller tv if needed. In both layouts the washing machine/tumble dryer would be tucked away so not a noise concern.
We are a bit worried whether my partner who does the kids lunch boxes in evenings normally in peace and quiet would be annoyed by me watching TV at the other end, the smaller lounge is under the youngest kids bedroom and have to always mess with volume when there is a loud bit so would want to be in the main part. Conversely not sure if the dishwasher, vent and banging around would annoy me on the TV - probably not to be honest as I'll likely just turn it up which won't go down well at the other end !
The other option is to leave kitchen where it is and have diner in old conservatory and living room separate. The kitchen will be a bit dark and won't overlook garden so much and we lose the larger utility and somewhere to hang coats and ditch shoes which hang out in hallway at moment.
Absolutely torn over decision as could easily regret whatever we chose, the full open plan is going to be more expensive as if we go that route we will go underfloor heating and definitely go for big sliders also to stop main entrance going through utility would remodel office by removing wall so entrance is straight through and can see garden from front door.
Any advice greatly appreciated as there seems to be a bit of a turn against full open plan living from recent articles read. We could try and get some bifolds between kitchen and diner/living but it is all a bit tight on space with seats on back of island and around dining table.
Loz
Comments (11)
Wumi
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoI think you're right to move the kitchen into the new extension. You can close off the living area with a stud wall or I've seen some half walls with sliding window partitions that allow in light and the ability to open up the space whilst still remaining enclosed.
If you want some flexibility, you could design the windows, services, UFH, flooring etc in a way that would allow you to easily add a stud wall to close off the snug/back lounge, if you decide the 'openness' doesn't work for you further down the line.
I feel like you could make the middle room (anteroom) work harder by relocating some of the doorways from the hall. If you push back and rotate the toilet, the door wouldn't then open out to the front door and you claw back some breathing room at the immediate front entrance.You'd also have light and an open-able window in the utility/cloak area as well as more wall space for the sofa in the front lounge
1 = 100 x 60 x 200 wardrobe for cloak cupboard2 = 40 x 60 x 200 cleaning cupboard
Lawrence Meakins thanked WumiRelated Discussions
Ground floor layout dilemma!
Comments (8)Thanks, I hadn't thought about carrying the corridor on to outside wall & option of a window but it would still limit space in rest of room ( would leave about 2.5 m width). I do like option 1 but just have a couple of concerns about the layout such as the study / bedroom 4 being in an odd location which might be better used as a utility with outdoor access plus I'm worried the new kitchen will be dark with the new utility blocking light from the front window. Plus the new utility won't have outdoor access. Other than that, I'm happy with it but indecisive in case there's a better solution!...See MoreLayout of ground floor, open plan.
Comments (9)Some great comments on this one, we would definitely agree with the comments regarding the study/office entrance, your designer has got that spot on. With regard to the rear open plan area, perhaps another change in levels could give you the bit of 'zonal area feel' you are looking for? There would appear to be a support post/pillar between the living sitting area and the kitchen, this could be used as a step from the higher kitchen area to the lower sitting/living area? It would be easy to achieve, simply remove one step from the current staircase to the rear of hallway and place it around the support pillar/post. This could help combine the best aspects of both your designs, just some food for thought!...See MoreGround Floor - Living/ Kitchen space dilemma
Comments (7)Personally I would make economies such as talking nicely to the fire regs people so that the stairs can stay, keeping the WC in its same position. I would turn the existing kitchen into a study as an extra room is bound to add value. I would then put a washing machine at the back of the garage (rather than building a room for it specially). I would then consider the cost of the bifolds and the likely steel needed and decide whether a cheaper glazing option would allow you to build a modest extra extension to make it easier to accommodate everything in the one room. You might end up saving £6/7k by having French doors rather than the bifolds and this would go a long way towards the likely £12k of extension....See Morelayout dilemma - open plan ground floor, master bedroom layout
Comments (3)You need to consider lots of things when designing overall floor layouts - walkway space, where the sun comes in from, how many inhabitants live here and how many likely guests etc - your kitchen dining for example doesn’t look to have enough walkway space around it and looks too small for six as you’d be overlapping plate space etc etc For projects like this, if you plan to live here some time, it’s worth booking a pro ( like a concept planner ) to either check things through with you, ie working with you to get things right - taking on board all of the info available and coming up with a viable safe design. If you click on my name or icon, you can have a look at the sort of design I’m talking about - as we have some past projects on our pro page. Nb. If this is just a house flip then what ever you do will probably be redone by new owners anyway, so not so important !...See MoreLawrence Meakins
3 years agoJonathan
3 years agoI think I would rather have a separate office with a window, have an uncluttered hall and then substitute the walk though pantry for better storage in the kitchen.
Lawrence Meakins thanked JonathanWumi
3 years agoI too would rather have a separate office. With Jonathan’s plan you could have a utility pantry. Could you add a a side window to the utility room?
Lawrence Meakins thanked Wumi
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