skip to main content

Floorplan redesign & garage conversion

last year

Hello

I have been inspired by so many wonderful people’s ideas on this forum that I thought I would try my luck on some floor redesign suggestions.

We are fortunate to live in a house with lots of possibilities, but with the cost of building works very high and a growing family, we are now considering how we can re-design our internal space and convert our garage to provide more open plan family living with good visibility into our garden so we can watch our children play (something that is currently very limited by the placement of our garage - a dark windowless box blocking our wide but not deep garden).

Ideally we would treat this as phase 1, in the hope that into the future we could afford a double story extension to marry up between the office and garage which are currently flat roof single stories that appear as if random add ons.

Ideally we would like:

Open plan kitchen diner (not enough space for Island without extension so large peninsula with stools) + dining table
A second living space (snug / family room)
If we are investing in the above work it would really make sense to have an additional tiny shower en-suite upstairs. The upstairs layout right now feels like there is a lot of wasted hallway / cupboard space, yet I struggle to rework without cutting off access or losing one of the bedrooms/ making them too small, neither of which is an option as we need all the rooms for us and the children. We also work from home so need the office.

Any inspiration HUGELY welcomed!

I have added my attempt at a downstairs rejig.

Other things to note:

Our garage is single skin and the foundations are not deep enough to build on top of. So we would always extend to the side in the future and leave utility/ garage area single story. If we converted now we would hope to do external insulation to not lose internal space as already relatively narrow
I have added a compass to show where South light is and a photo of the plot so you can see where garden views are from the windows
Hoping if we did phase 2, phase 1 kitchen investment could be used as utility if in next 8 years

Thank you in advance for any thoughts / inspiration :-)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

Jonathan
last year
I think in your plan you have drawn the furniture too small- for instance if you want a dining table for many people I think you need to put it in a bigger space- I also think the Lshaped sofa is drawn too small making you think that this garage will create a bigger space than it’s realistically will.

I also think that if your back garden is north facing and not very deep it will miss the sun. Given you have quite a lot of side garden perhaps this should have a patio and some good planting to make it private….. so you will need a principal room to open on that side.

So I think you might conclude that it’s better to rebuild the garage now, make it bigger and then extend over if as and when budget allows.
Tina Sutton
Original Author
last year
Hi Jonathan!

Wow! Thanks for taking the time, this is so helpful, especially the upstairs visual that I hadn’t considered. So considerate of you.

The garden is east facing but with no house to the South side, so my only concern about extending the full depth to the right side of the house is it would mean the patio would be in shadow once the sun passes round it after morning. I guess if we have to knock down the garage space to redo the foundations, it might make sense to just build the extension on the left hand side and create a patio on the right hand side instead. Then window then wouldn’t look onto the cars. Or perhaps by the time we do foundations again for garage it isn’t much more squaremeters/ cost to do the side extension, perhaps 3m out so the shape of the house is less peculiar.

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond so we don’t invest anymore time looking into something that isn’t feasible for the space.
Related Discussions
Flat floorplan re-design
Q
Comments (18)
Following on from J's comment about the extractor, if you have the budget and prefer open plan, you should install an external duct extractor... How about installing a sleek glass/top quality wood sliding doors in the partition so you can choose whether to open out the layout or not? The design you choose might be influenced by where your dining table will go. In the kitchen, or in the bedroom that adjoins the lounge (ie creating a full dining room) , or in the lounge? Or, maybe you don't use a dining table... If you are going to carry out expensive work, you need to be sure about how you're going to use the spaces. Once you've knocked through two rooms you've effectively lost a room, but I can understand that if the lounge and kitchen are very small then joining them up would give a very helpful sense of greater space.
...See More
Floor plan ideas for a Bungalow and conversion to Dormor.
Q
Comments (9)
The house is not for young family, boys are 10 and 13 if it makes sense. Totally we would like to keep 3 bedrooms on the ground floor. Upstairs extension I am thinking of 2 bedrooms for guests. The front garage I don’t need but I would like to keep the garage which is accessible from road behind (cul-de-sac). As shown in my plan as playroom it should actually be a gym for boys. Only to be used as a garage when I am out on holiday, hence I am not much stressed about it. I have mentioned in my brief that upstairs open area can be used as gym, what my thought was just a thread mill and hanging boxing bag. The corner side by backside garage door is the sunny aspect of the house, not fully from the back but from sideways. The Bathroom as soon as you enter the house is same size of the bedroom next to it, hence thinking of making the bathroom smaller. We would like to keep the kitchen and dining separate, except a breakfast table in the kitchen. The hall by entrance would like some cupboard for hanging coats and shoe rack, the hall is huge as well. The living room to the front garage is a flat roof hence the height is 1 brick down compared to the rest of the house. As going up and putting a new roof I am told that that can be sorted.
...See More
Floor plan advice - poll
Q
Comments (3)
Between the two, I like A with the bedrooms towards the back keeping them a little more private. It ultimately depends on your preference, and if you like the idea of your kitchen/diner with direct access/views of the garden? In option A, I would probably look at putting the kitchen at the front to make the most of the light and moving the dining room to the darkest room. Again, it comes down to personal preference and if you prefer having more of lounge/diner at the front. It would keep costs down keeping the kitchen where it currently is.
...See More
Bungalow Floorplan/Layout
Q
Comments (4)
You need to start with the things you can’t change ... so the aspect of the building on the plot ... where is the sun arc ? If the long run with front door in currently is south facing, I can see your need to add glass on that side . But you will be a tad exposed to all and sundry if you do!
...See More

Sponsored

More Discussions

Utility access, advice urgently needed!

7

Bungalow floor plan suggestions/help!!

4

How to improve exterior of 60s dormer bungalow

3

Ideal layout for 3 bed Victorian terrace

1

Color selection - which brown-warm or brown taupe

3