Ground floor extension/refurb

4 months ago

Hi everyone
We moved house earlier this year and currently considering a ground floor extension. See attached before and after. Intention is to create a much more functional layout, with:

big open plan space at the back of the house with kitchen, dining and snug/lounge zones. Note, garden is north(ish) facing with woodland to the rear. So, maximise light with biggest roof/sky lights we can afford, and the architect has recommended additional windows on the left hand wall to create more light for the snug/lounge. Albeit, new windows would simply look out on side path and fence, but we could have frosted glass or make a feature with a living wall, ferns etc. Also, reconfigured utility room utilises the darkest part of the kitchen area;
we have no idea why the current downstairs loo takes up so much space, so propose converting this into more useful office space, moving loo to make use of the awkward dogleg corner off the utility room, and eventually a bootroom, doggy shower area in the separate outbuilding / “summer house” (a.k.a garage conversion from the 90s!); and
little to no change to front living room and hallway. Intend on using this as a more formal living/reading room, inbuilt bookcase/shelving etc.

We’re also thinking about herringbone LVT/LVP flooring throughout with underfloor heating, rather than hardwood.

Pretty new to all of this (!), so comments, suggestions and ideas would be really useful please!

Thanks so much
Chris

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Comments (5)

Jonathan
4 months ago
I think the plan looks great. A couple of things to consider….. the new snug is actually bigger than the current living room at the front so you need to consider which one you will use most.

You should also consider if you use a sofa or a dining table for more time each week. I think you will conclude the snug area will have more use and should perhaps have the better location by the garden windows.

And if it were me I would make the front lounge bigger by moving the wall and making the back living space smaller. Then I would decide what function would go where- the kitchen doesn’t have to stay in the same location for instance.

And although I acknowledge the efficiency of the WC placement I think you should build one that is significantly bigger and could accommodate a shower should anyone in your house ever be unable to go upstairs.
Jonathan
4 months ago
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@Wumi thank you taking time out for commenting. Answer to your queries: How do you currently use the your ground floor rooms? BKG: At the moment we spaced out! Meaning - my son normally in the front room ( PS4/football). The three others just sit in a line formation in the lounge. In Lounge we tend to use two seats ( highlighted red for most use and up to blue to very rare use). I think because it feels like we are in a narrow corridor- not a great family experience WD: How would you like to use them? (What would you like to achieve with the reconfiguration) BKG. I think a quote that I saw on this site sums it perfectly; "I like the house but like love it as a home. On paper the house sounds fantastic, but ground floor is not functional in terms of experience. Having a room long and narrow everything we purchase has to be clinical. With narrow long lounge, when we have guests its not functional, at times people seem to stand in in the wall between the lounge and kitchen. Not a great experience I like sitting in a square formation which i feel enhance the interactions. Wider/squarer rooms, I think brings so many options WD: Is there a wall between the kitchen and lounge? BKG: Yes a wall between Kitchen and (through lounge/extension at back). P>s the Kitchen ceilings or of a different height (due to a previse side extension) WD: Where is the front entrance? BKG: Front door of the house (looking from the garage inwards, direction of stairs( i will update diagram. Again thank you for your repsponse. Regards
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I do think you need a replan regarding reception room space. When you consider the final square footage of this house and the cost of building it to that size you are in the league of most 4 bedroomed detached houses. I think if you had gone to view a 4 bedroomed house with a living room that is 14’x12 you wouldn’t have bought it because in that context it would seem small. I suspect that having lived in a flat you didn’t have much space to store things so you are trying to plan where to put everything but having a bootroom and laundry space, a pantry and extra hallway cupboard shouldn’t be a higher priority than the principal rooms and I bet if you are honest this living room isn’t any bigger than in the flat. And if you are saying that the back of the house has the best views, the best access to the garden, will be the most impressive space because of the kitchen you are planning then in my opinion the best reception space should be here and any compromises should be to the front room
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Dee
4 months ago
I love your new proposed plan. It makes good use of the existing floor configurations.
Chris L
Original Author
4 months ago
Big thanks for all of the above comments. Food for thought.

Ground floor extension/refurb

Comments (5)

Jonathan

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Dee

Chris L
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Ground floor extension/refurb

Comments (5)

Jonathan

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Dee

Chris LOriginal Author

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Chris L
Original Author