Advice sought on ground floor remodelling
Hi all, we’re looking at a possible house to purchase which ticks all of our boxes in terms of location and number of bedrooms. But… the layout downstairs leaves a lot to be desired - small front rooms, kitchen stuck on at back and disconnected from the dining room which isn’t accessible from the hall, garage that could be used instead for living space.
We can see potential, but what I’m not sure is what would be feasible if the house has already been extended slightly? EG would we still ppl ppl be able to move walls around using RSJs or would there be
things we couldn’t do because of the existing layout? (EG the small porch extension at the back, location of existing kitchen walls etc).
I could imagine extending out the back to line up with the kitchen back wall; possibly moving the living room wall backwards into the dining room to make the front room bigger; and then having a kitchen / dining / living space across the back part of the house (using perhaps the rear half of the current dining room to house the kitchen and then dining room in new extension area and sitting area where kitchen is now, all open to each other); converting the garage to house a utility and toilet at the back and a snug at the front (though the garage floor is three steps down right now so would need to look at the flooring and ceiling height).
A lot of work, but would something like that be feasible?
Comments (6)
Isla Cherry
2 months ago
Vanessa Barriball
2 months agoRelated Discussions
Extension/house "remodel" advice needed please!
Comments (14)Ok, so I've never commented on Houzz before (despite being a huge reader) but the shape of your house really intrigued me as it's very charming but quite tricky. Looking at just the ground floor, I think that an extension that fills in the 'rectangle' floorpan of the whole house might work. The loo and shower should be moved so that they are not blocking off movement flowing through the ground floor. To get a bigger hallway you could move back the wall currently going into the kitchen, so that you incorporate the small window into the hall. Remove the wall by the stairs and turn the stairway itself into a feature which would make the hallway - and stairs themselves - feel much roomier (I can't see from your floorpan whether they are already open to the hallway). What's currently the kitchen could become a utility with downstairs loo (move the shower upstairs into new bathroom over new extension, taking a bit from bedroom 1?). I have recently had an extension kitchen built on our own house and turned the old (tiny) kitchen into a laundry/boot room - best decision ever with a growing family! In the utility room you could put in a stacked wash/tumbler (if you want a tumbler, or else just cupboards/laundry on top) and a downstairs loo, as well as more storage. In the new kitchen, you could have double/french/sliding/bifold doors as per your taste looking out SE into the garden, creating a long sightline - and feeling of space - from the garden right through the kitchen into the far room. This would create a spacious-feeling kitchen tied into the rest of the house. You could block up the door into the current dining room and take out the wall between the dining/living. Keeping the dining room as dining, this gives you a cosy room there for small intimate dinners but also the potential to have big dinner parties on a long extended table stretching out into the living room. When not entertaining, that slightly self-contained room (as it's not a through-route as is the rest of the house) could be used as a study/quieter reading room. You now have a house that is welcoming for entertaining - guests come through the front door, where there's space for coats/hatstands, straight through the open door into the living room and are greeted by the fireplace ahead of them, and look round to see the dining table. Downstairs loo for guests nicely separated from all the action. Please excuse my very rough sketch of what I mean, and its lack of scale!...See Morehelp needed with my dumping ground
Comments (19)Hi. As Jen said I'd go for storage under the eaves. You could also perhaps combine open and closed storage but work out what needs to be hidden. I do like the idea of glass to make it feel bigger though. Add a dressing table at the end and a footstool in the middle. Presumably there's room at the door end to build a taller cupboard for the ironing board?...See MoreKitchen/lounge window in 3 storey house - advice confirmation sought!
Comments (2)I think the building regs people will say that you are reducing the fire and smoke resistance of the building and reducing the safety of the escape route. If you choose to ask the building regs people I think they will say that it has to be a window with fire glass (unless you can find your preferred shutters with the 30 mins fire enclosure which in my humble opinion is unlikely)...See MoreRemodel ground floor - layout
Comments (9)Think about hierarchy of the spaces. The most important maybe looking at the garden, so from this your utility and wc should move to the front? the front of the garage area is the obvious place. (drainage permitting of course). This opens up the whole of the back to engage with the garden. Add some big bifolds or sliders (structure permitting). Internally if the front of the garage is utility and wc (wc door off entrance foyer not kitchen) then put the kitchen mid way along the garage and leave the whole of the back for play/living area....See More
PRODevyra Atelier
2 months agoYou need to make sure to ask the owner the blueprint if there's any foundation wall, pipes and electrical lines that can't be moved or change, or if it possible to build a door on those foundation wall. temporary based on your need, I'll design it like this
siobhanmcgee90
2 months ago
rinked
2 months agoOpening up the current lounge would be an option, but with an extension there'd be plenty space for kitchen dining and lounge, leaving the front lounge as cozy hideaway. Is that little rectangle in there a functioning fireplace?
Made you two varieties, one fully open and light (though that leaves an empty space in the middle, could add comfy recliner and bookcases) and one with the kitchen in the current dining and a massive sofa in the rear. Also two garage makeover ideas, one with toilet off the hall and utility leading to storage, the other with a back door (hallway leveled) and slightly smaller utility (steps down) leading to storage.
Jonathan