Where To Place The Front Door?
I'm looking to modernise my one-bed London flat and am looking for some advice from those with experience in this field on where to place my front door.
Currently, the entrance to my flat is along the side of the house, off my private alley from the road, as pictured on the left. I want to make these separate kitchen and living room areas into one big open plan space, more suitable for hosting people. What this means is that I'll likely have to remove walls and potentially move the front door from its current situ to an entrance via my back garden, as pictured on the right. The new set up would be a main door for visitors/post in the garden then a primary access point immediately left as you come into the garden, so effectively once removed from the public.
One misgiving with doing this is that I've read that having your front door opening into your kitchen isn't ideal - seemingly primarily for privacy reasons - but if that "front door" is accessed via your own private garden, does this allay any fears over privacy or over-exposure from the move?
Keeping the front door where it is now and opening the space reduces the amount of storage I'll be able to get in and, for me, doesn't change the fact that you'll be entering straight into the living area - if anything, it is worse for that as you'll be coming straight from the public-access area into my kitchen/lounge whereas moving the door means guests are first met at the garden entrance.
Additionally, I plan to use the side return of the garden for an outdoor kitchen/bbq area, so close access to the kitchen is desired.
Would anyone advise against this change, and if so, what would you recommend?
Thanks
TL:DR entering flat into kitchen sub-optimal but alright if coming via private garden?
Comments (9)
last yearI’m not sure what you gain by moving your main entrance.
I think clever kitchen design and furniture placement could achieve the sociable open plan feel you are after. However I wonder if it connects you sufficiently with the garden and whether a more radical rethink might be worth exploring
keystar91 thanked JonathanRelated Discussions
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Comments (103)Thanks so much everyone - this has been great. Sorry for the lack of response - been flat out!!!! It must be hard for you American guys to work on such old English designs.... The ideas have gradually culminated into what really would look good on the house. Ourfarmhouse - these are absolutely great ideas, and thanks Everything Beautiful for getting the jist and putting the ideas onto the house image - nothing like seeing an actual design on your own home. We've got an architech working on it, and he's keen on the iron-wrought idea... but we're not sure. Basically toss-up with this and Everything Beautiful's design (2 above). Going with a four-pannel door, but would like to incorporate some glass somewhere! Possibly a panel above with the house name engraved on it?? Victoria - absolutely right...! We don't need to sit outside with the weather.......... say no more! Just wanting something to cover yourself while you're unlocking the door. We've also done a tour of the local areas, and found a couple of porches - amazing what you find right on your doorstep! Will attach pics shortly......See MoreWhere is the front door?
Comments (2)What about having a big stylish right pointing arrow and your house number ("No. 23") stencilled on your garage door? I would soften the front of the house & garage with climbers ... a fave of mine is Japanese Hydrangea which does take a while to get going, but is one of the first things to bud, is covered with flowers and has interesting flower heads in the winter. I put one by our door 5 years ago and it's over 6 foot tall now. The gable end of the garage could stand something ... an outside clock perhaps? You could soften the spikiness of the bed planting by surrounding each plant with lavender or catmint ... beloved of butterflies & bees, and lovely soft colours....See MoreIdeas on improving Front Exterior without a Front Door please?
Comments (13)Good afternoon everyone! We are blown away by the amazing response we have had from this community, thank you everyone for your feedback. We are especially grateful to Jonathan for his valuable feedback.. the idea is genius and makes so much sense! Thank you so much Jonathan for taking out the time to help us! I have never seen my husband so impressed by an idea so much!! I have attached a couple more photos showing view of the garage from the front of the house along with the entrance gate itself into the property. I have also attached a copy of our floor plan. We would really appreciate your thoughts on what we could to with the garage and front exterior in terms of: Garage walls - What do you think about the brick work? Worth keeping, or should we clad? Garage roof - We currently have an unsightly metal sheet. We don’t want to fully rebuild but we’ve seen light weight roofing for garages which look like tiling. Any suggestions or thoughts on this? Front exterior - We’re looking to improve kerb appeal of the house from the front, any ideas welcome (cladding, paint, stone work?) Windows - these are the original single pane windows which unfortunately come with poor insulation. Any thoughts on what to do for those? Further to the front patio suggestion, is it worth installing an entrance which leads straight into the kitchen through the current ‘Study’? See floor plan. (We are planning to extend the current kitchen by a further 2.5m towards the rear garden). Any ideas, suggestions and comments will be really appreciated, thank you for your help!...See MoreEntry Ideas for House where Front Door Opens onto Staircase
Comments (6)I too have a teeny tiny hall and there isn’t really much you can do, but it can be brightened up with a nice paint job and accessories. I have a small coat rack (3 hooks) in the hall. The stairs I’ve kept clear of pictures as the stairs are so narrow. At the top I’ve a couple of small family pics and a large driftwood heart. My walls are Dulux Egyptian Cotton and the carpet is a stripy one from Crucial Trading. You could put up a nice mirror in the hall, assuming the front door doesn’t bang into it, and maybe another one at the top of the stairs? You are right to stick with paler shades. I know dark shades are in vogue but maybe not where an area has no natural light. It would be grim. Do you have a favourite colour? Palest green, pink or mauve would look good. Plants wouldn’t fare well in a dark area, but there are some fantastic faux ones about that would look good. Here’s a few pics of mine, not the best pics as so little room, I feel your pain!...See More- last year
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Cheap suggestion: move the loo, get rid of back hallway. Boiler is still going to be in the way so could it move into the garage?
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