Help please for awkward downstairs layout!

3 years ago

We moved house last year and are in the process of getting plans drawn up to renovate the whole house. The house has previously been extended on both sides, leaving us with an awkward layout. I will attach pics of the current layout and our plans to change this. My main concern is how best to utilise the long, narrow dining room as the left hand side provides access to the family room and snug. We unfortunately can’t remove the large chimney breast in the dining room.

Do we section off the dining room with a wall, thereby creating an internal hallway which potentially could be used as a room, albeit a walk though one. We could use glass doors so it would get light. Or do we get rid of the wall and double doors from the entrance hallway, thereby creating a huge hallway? But this seems such a waste of space. Plus as we are also doing a loft conversion, we would probably need to have fire doors off the stairs, so we would like to limit how many we would need to put in.

We do not know what to do for the best. The architect has also struggled to come up with a better option due to structural issues that would be costly to change, I would be grateful to hear any suggestions you may have on how best to use the space. Thanks in advance!

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Comments (9)

PRO
Eulinea Ltd
3 years ago
Hello,

Lovely house you have.

At first glance, I see that your Architect's current plan has separated the Utility Room from the Kitchen, which is now a long way away, and also I am not convinced the entrance to your new Kitchen is the best option right by the staircase... it seems to be a bit 'round the corner'...

But to the point of your question re: space to the left of your Dining Room - will it work with the first floor plan if you move the staircase there? And if you do a loft conversion, perhaps a rooflight above the stairwell to cast light into it... Just a thought.
mayfair321
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you Eulinea Ltd. Yes the utility is far from the kitchen but I am happy with that as the laundry does not need to be near the kitchen. The architect has had to fit the stairs in there due to existing steels which would be costly to move. His first idea was to move the stairs to the left of the dining room as you mentioned and that would work well as the stairs to the loft will be above that location, however he has since changed the plans as he felt this would take us too far over budget and was trying to scale back the costs for us. I have no idea how much it costs to move a staircase. It is tricky as we can’t get a true idea of costs until the detailed drawings have been done but we don’t want to then have to redo the drawings if the costs are too high!
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PRO
Eulinea Ltd
3 years ago
I see - but you are moving the staircase anyway, are you not? Irina
mayfair321
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes but the architect seems to think it is much cheaper to move it near the front door rather than move it in the dining room area. Possibly because we would need a more statement staircase in the dining area which would be more costly. I am doubting his decision now though!
PRO
Eulinea Ltd
3 years ago
I think it may have something to do with the large chimney breast you wish to keep / cannot remove... Still, worth pursuing this option in detail or else you may regret it later
Jonathan
3 years ago
Gosh its a big project and there are probably lots of ways it can be laid out.
It might be helpful to see the upstairs plan in case another option for layout comes to mind.
Out of curiosity is there any reason why the side extension follows the exact footprint of the conservatory? Also is there extra garden on the conservatory side that you miss out on by losing the conservatory side windows?
mayfair321
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Jonathan. Below are current and proposed plans for upstairs. We are losing a small bedroom to allow access for stairs into the loft, which will have two bedrooms and a small bathroom. We will also be getting rid of the chimney breast in bedroom 2 to widen the landing slightly. I am now realising just what a massive job this is all going to be! We will do the work in phases, starting with the loft first. We were keeping the side extension on the same footprint as the conservatory purely as a cost saving so we could use the same foundations. However I did discuss squaring it off with the architect this week and I think we are going to do that as it would enable us to have more kitchen units (an essential for us as we love to cook!)
Jonathan
3 years ago
I think that creatively there are lots of ways this house could be laid out. Personally I’m not keen on reduced height bedrooms in a loft and wonder if it’s possible to build two storeys at the side and the rear so that you can have more 1st floor bedrooms
mayfair321
Original Author
3 years ago
Wow thank you Jonathan! We had initially thought to do something along those lines but the architect thought it would be more cost effective to utilise our loft as it is quite a big space and will provide two decent sized doubles up there. Your plans have provided some food for thought!

Help please for awkward downstairs layout!

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Help please for awkward downstairs layout!

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