More natural light layout dilemma
Hi all,
First time posting here but hope you can help.
I trying to work out a solution allow more light into the back rooms downstairs with the back of the house being east and partly north facing. Its mainly getting more ligth into the kitchen that sits on the right at the back.
My main ideas as of now :
1. Are to place a south facing window over the hob in the kitchen to get direct sun into. I understand i need to change to electric induction from gas if i do this. Checked with council on this this.
2. There is space to put two sun tunnels in a small space above the kitchen on the same side as the new window. Its only a narrow space so the sun tunnels would be right up against the wall though unfortunately.
3. I also had an idea to push through into the utility room fully or partially and fit a skylight to get light into that side of the kitchen from afternoon onwards. This is built into what was the garage but is only single brick i think with a drop floor. Talking to the builder he said he could raise it but we would need to raise the roof too. Worried about planning here and that i might have to just knock it down and start again from scratch which i don't want to do.
Both the downstairs bathroom and utility are quite big to be honest, maybe too big.
4. I know a similar house just knocked through into their dining room from the kitchen to grab more light. Our middle room gets loads of light through the day but doesn't help the kitchen. Knocking this through would solve a lot of natural light issues but of course we'd loose the downstairs study/bedroom.
5. We have also thought of just adding some glass blocks or internal glazing to the middle room to create light but allow us to revert it back if we come to sell.
I keep going around in circles to be honest and would love to hear what ideas anybody may have. Thank you in advance!
I'll just add that on the right next door we have only a small 1m or so space to the fence. This has there converted single storey garage on the other side so light does light the whole side of our house most of the day.
Comments (11)
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Comments (3)Hey Nick, I've just quickly laid out how I think you could get the most out of your kitchen & dining extension. Depending on how much storage you need, you can increase the units on either side of the kitchen area. As shown, you'll have a good amount in the base cabinets, island & potentially around the fridge area (shown next to the understair pantry). The island grounds your kitchen & creates a relaxed vibe throughout. You can choose to wash your dishes on the island or cook your meals, both possibilities come with room for company opposite your task of choice & storage below. We always suggest having your dining table closest to your outside views. Whether you're eating breakfast or hosting a dinner, looking out to a stunning garden is always a plus. I've also marked a little bench with under-seat storage if you fancy a little kitchen reading nook. Green: kitchen + island + fridge Red: dining Yellow: bench Let me know if you need any more help on this, I'd be delighted to assist you in working out your design dilemmas before work starts on your extension. All the best, Rabia from Haru Design...See MoreHelp please! Bedroom layout dilemma
Comments (3)How wide is the wall to the right as you come in? Would you have space for a chest either side of the bed there? And you might have room at end of the bed for a small chest. That would allow you to build in straight across the wall with the chimney breast. I have seen and done myself with a shallow press or drawers in front of the chimney. You could also hide a TV in there. Hard to imagine the window(s) but have you considered putting the bed on that wall?...See MoreA jiggle and a zhoosh... Living room colour and layout dilemma
Comments (12)hi i can see what you mean. our new extention created a dark end to a pretty bright North West facing room, i dubbed it the Josef Fritzel wing. For me the issue is not the colour of your walls, it's the natural light distribution. Its a long dark tunnel at bottom end. What about adding a glass door and glass insert above the door frame at the dark end of the room. Graded tones of any colour would work better being lighter at the darkest end of the room then working back from that. We replaced all our internal doors with full length glass ones, ans got builders to increase even more by adding glass above door frames up to ceilings in 3 door ways. I estimate this added 15% more light into the room, and also adding a pkeasing dimention, in that as the sun moves around the house, it casts its light in key areas thru' the day. Perhaps explore the possibility of a light well tube thingy in the ceiling that casts natural pools of light into the darker areas ( always better than artificial). Plants that favour shade and some low energy LED practical lights rather than in the ceiling might add some life to it as well. One the light issue is sorted, the colours can be thought thru'...See MoreLoft extension layout dilemma- help please!
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Ian
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last monthI like the window on the hob wall idea. You could just borrow light from the study as they’ve done here (but not knowing ceiling height for any tall units you may have). Things like flooring, paint colour and worktop will make a big difference. Same for outside paving stones. A mirror in the garden could also help and a water feature. Are there any plants/trees blocking light? I only ask as my kitchen faces east :( it’s also dark but a bedroom 2 floors above it is so much brighter as the light it does get isn’t blocked by trees etc
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