Under bed storage for clothes. How about a desk and chair that can be folded up out of the way

We do spend a lot of time puzzling over how to use the space as it is, as well as how to change it to suit us better.. typical victorian house with kitchen stuck out the back and it is cold and dark, i have seen lots of articles here of similar where people have really opened up the back of the house so it becomes the heart of the home and also opens up to the garden. But we have become paralysed with all the options and the potential cost especially as this house being older and not particularly well maintained previously keeps throwing up extra costs.. new roof, windows and the garage is falling down next on our hit list!!! My partner does have a little desk upstairs in a spare room where he has been working the last few months but wouldn't use after the toddler has gone to bed as she is a light sleeper... and he has been muttering about putting one in the storage room but I know no-one would want to use it as it is a small dark room that gets really very cold in winter and also smells a bit(! we need to get to the bottom of that!!). ive puzzled over fitting one into thr living room too but its an awkward shape and no obvious place for it unless we really think about repurposing it. He is very protective over "his" snug and I suspect whatever we do he will continue to hunch over his laptop on the sofa in there if i don't make the space more fit for the purpose he is using it for. After I posted I did think actually the simplest thing is just to put a tv in there somehow and a little side sofa table thing that would be the right height for using his laptop but I still worry about his back sitting on the sofa for so long . He is quite resistant to change though so I need to make sure I go in with a good proposal! Also we need to find a space elsewhere in the house for my old piano which fits perfectly in the alcove in the snug but stops us using it for anything else... the problem we find with this house and the reason we don't have many cupboards is that every wall seems to be either a door, a radiator or a sloping roof. The obvious thing is maybe to get rid of it, i think we are secretly harbouring ambitions of our daughter growing up to be a better player than either of us which is i guess a pipe dream! I am gradually spending the time to declutter and reorganise which is really helping to think about the space better.. with less stuff we need less storage and i can learn to like this house a bit better! I was finding it frustrating I used to live in a tiny 2 bed house with more storage cupboards but now realise that encouraged me to accumulate more stuff!!! Anyway I think you are all right with the idea we need to use our house differently, i just think it needs a complete remodel! All thoughts gratefully received for temporary fixes and the master plan!

What are the door made of? are they solid wood? Is that a veneer finish? I’d sand off the old finish, prime with Zinsser 1-2-3 and finish with 2 coats of Zinsser Perma-White. You can get the Perma-White mixed to different RAL colours online. Pop on some new handles and hey presto! Personally I’d get rid of drawers, keep the mirror and fit in a worktop off-cut in there with a nice chair and wall lamp or spots above the dressing table. You could further modernise the doors by mounting them so they fit flush. You’d have to change the hinges to those similar to kitchen cabinet hinges. What are your plans for the rest of the room?

Bar area? Put doors on the bottom section, add worktop at worktop height and shelves above. Lots of shelves to make it into bookshelf/mini-library? Coat closet? Pet comfort station (bed, bowls, hooks for leads). Add cushion on sturdy shelf and make it a little sitting nook, for kids to curl up in and read a book or for you to sit on to put shoes on/off. Or for a friend to sit in while you cook. It all really depends where in the house this alcove is, as to what function it makes sense as.