Roast my extension before it's too late!

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We bought a 1960s 4 bed detached 2 years ago with the plan to slightly remodel, let's just say it's escalated but we're worried that as we did things incrementally, we've missed some great ideas.

The house is currently a shell with the extensions built but we haven't started putting walls up yet.

This is existing:

This is proposed:

So the area's we're debating about downstairs are:

Pantry - changing it to a bar area (as there should be plenty of space to store stuff in the kitchen) and it felt quite tight.
Door into open plan, centering based on line of sight coming into the house and not on wall dimensions
Utility - it's a large room almost too big and wasted space? But cutting the room in half makes the utility too small... We're thinking by open planning it we could use it as half gym half utlity but maybe theres a better way of achieving this?
Sliding doors or bi folds? We went with two sets on purpose so we have the ability to change the function of the room in the future but also to divide/segment the room now with bookshelf etc.
Is the hall too big - its going to be open kind of like a foyer (is that the right word), with an oak/glass staircase.

Now for upstairs:

Bed 2 we've straightened off and removed the dog leg, so the landing is larger now. We're debating on whether to put a laundry cupboard in its place?
Bathroom, we've actually squared this off now (it's amazing how on paper it seemed too much work but when the house is a mess, "yeah just smash it down")
Master bed, we want to incorporate a ensuite and walk in wardrobe but don't think we have enough space, whats peoples thoughts? Again, moving a few walls isn't the end of the world at this stage!

So yeah, that's about it. Let us know your thoughts/ideas!

P.S We will post before/afters later!

P.S.S For high-res: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12R7KeOW2iQJFR7CuJZIX_FZYF8JoWgxV?usp=sharing

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Comments (9)

Jonathan
3 years ago
I agree that the utility is oversized and given its access to the garden perhaps this space could be a better used room such as a study or garden room.

I also agree that the sight line from the front door through the house is important and I agree with your idea to move the door to directly opposite. I think I might make the WC a little bigger
Jonathan
3 years ago
I like having the bigger landing and the more impressive approach to the master bedroom. I say don’t clutter that space with an extra cupboard and perhaps a small bathroom tweak can create room for a linen cupboard.
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Lots of ideas....couldn't resist adding my two cents. i copied your photos and did a little cut and paste- it's messy, but hopefully gets the main idea across. i'd put your sofa in front of the large book case, chair by the fireplace, tv on the stand on the wall opposite the fireplace - so you can either look at the fire or the tv. Someone suggested using frames of one color for your photos - an inexpensive way to do that would be to spray paint them all a dark color-black goes with everything. Since your shelves are a medium tone wood, display things that are dark or light so that they contrast against the wood. Limiting your display items pallette to a few values usually helps to unify things. (I think that's why so many people want to paint the shelves or put inserts in the back to help your nice things read more clearly...some get lost). If you want to "splurge" -you may consider having a carpenter make a few solid tall cabinet doors to provide a visual break in the shelving. I'm showing 3 doors - 1 on the right side of the fireplace and 2 on the left to leave two open vertical shelves for display on each side - with things arranged to frame the fireplace as the focal point. To add some height to your big vases, consider stacking some books beneath them. Enjoy experimenting untill you get something you're happy with - good luck!
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Hi Shelwal, Garden Rooms can be a good idea. You would get your extra room and depending on what you decide on ( size/style/final use etc), most can be built under permitted development rules, so no planning permission would be required. We build ours with Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) panels, so they are quick to erect, cheap to heat and last forever. If you would like more information, please have a look at our website http://www.jmlgardenrooms.co.uk or let me know and we can have a chat.... Kirstin @ JML Garden Rooms.
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Hello Houzz Ireland, We are currently renovating a 1960's build - so as you know, there is a lot of decisions to be made!! So it would be nice to get some gems of advice from the experts to help us through this daunting task. Areas where we would really like some inspiration for - small bathroom downstairs. I would really like to do something fun with this room and although small, I think it could work really well with some funky wallpaper or possibly tiles?! I'm just not sure what to do with it. Also - pulling a whole house together?! Where do we start? We have the bigger pieces of furniture but how do I know what nest of tables goes best with a suite? Or what accessories will bring a room together? I'm due a second baby in 2 weeks time so any help at this stage would be so amazing - to guide me on the right interior design path for our new house. Thanks, Laurie
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Jonathan
3 years ago
And if it isn’t too late I wonder if tweaking the window next to the garage could improve the curb appeal
Nathan B
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Jon, thank you so much for spending the time to go through the options.

I think the garden room is great but in reality we wouldn’t spent time in it as it’s just the two of us at this stage, so we think we’d spend the time in the open plan or living room area. But really appreciate the ideas as we modelled it up and decided it would be too big of a change (as those doors are already in place).
Nathan B
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
We’ve also tweaked the master bedroom and a great idea with the laundry cupboard as before the upstairs bathroom was the focal point coming up the staira (as it was directly in front) but this design forces people to look elsewhere, I.e mirror or something
Nathan B
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
This is what were thinking for downstairs after your ideas, what do you think? (Moving everything else would be hard with drainage) with this design it requires an extra lintel but the same width as what’s req for the door so hopefully easy 👀. Interested to hear your thoughts

ignore the camera icon!
Nathan B
Original Author
3 years ago
Going for a secret door (I.e secret bookshelf for the garage door) to begin with...
Jonathan
3 years ago
Moving the laundry to the other side of the requires no additional drainage as the washer would be right next to the soil pipe in the wc.
Jonathan
3 years ago
But separately your argument to not have a garden facing room because there is only the two of you then create another tiny room there makes no sense. Neither does spending money on a secret bookcase door for a room you would likely never use.

In my opinion why not have an working from home office that is either in one of the bedrooms as currently you are unlikely to use three guest rooms.

Or if you particularly want the office downstairs have it in a bigger and better space - ie in the room facing the garden rather than the drive.

I have a pretty big house and found that unless the two of you spread out into the space (by having fewer rooms but bigger rooms) you end up having lots of rooms that you almost never go in.

Roast my extension before it's too late!

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Roast my extension before it's too late!

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