Downstairs layout problem

6 years ago

We are struggling to decide between these 2 downstairs layouts. We were about to go ahead with plan number 1, totally open plan but with all this time at home we are thinking it might not work best for us as it wouldn't be easy to fit in a sofa and dining table. So we have now thought about bricking up the lounge wall and moving the kitchen to there so we could have bifold all along the back and a space for a sofa and table. But not sure as we quite liked the idea of the whole downstairs open plan!

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Katie Duke

6 years ago

I'm a big fan of doors! As an aid to family life (and sanity) they are very useful so I would definitely avoid totally open plan. Don't forget that you could incorporate pocket doors or those cool swivelling panels to divide some of spaces but leave you with an option also to close off again. I'm guessing you have smallish kids in the frame at moment and that being able to keep an eye on them is handy. As they grow I think you may come to really value being able to hive off bits of space for you all to use separately without sending them off to their rooms. You have a really generous ground floor here I'm sure you will find a way to make it work harder/better for you.

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Comments (11)

sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
CWD
6 years ago
why not make the front lounge into the study - and open up the study at the back so that the whole of the back of the house is open plan (rather than having it front to back open plan). I think that makes the study more private and quiet too - further from the playroom and bathroom. when it's front to back open plan, the middle bit becomes a corridor and the darkest area. does the bathroom have to stay where it's shown? if possible, it might be nice to have that on the other side of the house - between the kitchen and the front study, to avoid it sticking into the open plan area.
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sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for that suggestion, it is something that had crossed our mind to do. Annoyingly we wouldn't be able to move the bathroom as we only had it redone a couple of years ago but ill have a look at how it could work if we swapped the study and lounge around. Thank you!
sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
Its funny you say that about front to back open plan as that's our problem at the moment, the middle lounge area is literally just a walk through and such a wasted room which is why weve been thinking about how we could change things to make it all usable spaces
CWD
6 years ago
If you leave the bathroom where it is, you can have a big walk-in pantry in the current middle room section. A walk-in pantry is life-changing. Especially if the door is in a run of tall cabinets and when the door's closed you don't even know it's there!
sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
Wow I'd love to do something like that, love the idea of a hidden room! Cant quite work out where you mean though, where could it go?
Ellie
6 years ago
I'm confused......from the 2 pics above I'd definitely choose the 2nd. For me, No1 is too open plan to make use of the space properly. I actually thought no1 was just the existing space with walls the removed from the pic to give an idea of the space on offer.....
sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
Yeah Picture 1 is what we were planning to do (at the moment we have all the walls still in place) then realised that although it would look nice all open plan, it wouldn't actually solve our current problem of rooms being wasted and just being walk through. By having it open plan we wouldn't be any better off than we are at the moment
CWD
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Blue bits are kitchen cabinets and island. I’d have the kitchen cabinets that back up on the pantry as full tall units - house the oven(s) there, maybe fridge/freezer. So the door into pantry would look like another cabinet door.
sleekydeak
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you for that, I'm going to show my husband, love the idea of a hidden room!

Downstairs layout problem

Katie Duke

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