Design Input

[bighouseproblems]

I am in the process of trying to nail down the layout for our property. To give some context the front of the property is south facing but their is no front garden and sits directly on a footpath before some parking bays and then the road. The traffic is relatively low volume however we do have large trucks and some speed bumps so even with triple glazing some noise makes it way into our lounges currently at the front of the property.

 

My proposal is to move the Kitchen currently back left in the pictures attached to the Front Right. This will enable us to utilise the natural light from the 3 windows and move the lounge to back left.

 

The area in the pictures attached which is back right is currently or was an ensuite which currently serves as a utility room/bathroom.

i would like to redesign this area to have a separate toilet and shower room and then a utility/boot room. Currently we have waste and hot and cold feeds in all 3 corners aside from the doorway. 

 

any input is welcome. I am trying to avoid moving the toilet away from this room as we have all the services in there and can't see an issue accessing the toilet from the kitchen.

 

Thanks in Advance.

[Papillon]

Hello, I wouldn’t have a WC off a kitchen!

 

if the other room is a bedroom, wouldn’t you want to access the bathroom from the corridor?

 

my other thoughts is the long corridor is not that necessary and wasted space.

 

here are two options. One where the bathroom and shower is off the corridor, the other it’s off the utility.

 

I’d need to see your elevations to know if the doors and windows can line up nicely.

[Papillon]

Is that what you meant?

Edited December 27, 2022 by Papillon

[bighouseproblems]

23 minutes ago, Papillon said:

Is that what you meant?

Hi Papillon,

 

The back hallway is where the staircase is. The hallway is just over a meter wide from front to back and the staircase comes down to face the back left room. I had thought about blocking up the rear door and using that space plus what is under the stairs to have the bathroom however it would mean bricking up the doorway relocating the boiler and potentially the consumer board under the cupboard. Plus it would cut out light for the hallway. Ignore the flue liner ha. 

 

Also we will have two lounges a kitchen and the utility room when finished. 

[Papillon]

Oh lol, I didn’t get there were stairs there, scrap that then!

but I would have the wc/shower across the back wall, accessed through the utility room. You don’t need so many back doors anyway, and it’s more hygienic than off a kitchen.

Edited December 27, 2022 by Papillon

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, bighouseproblems said:

...

any input is welcome. I am trying to avoid moving the toilet away from this room as we have all the services in there and can't see an issue accessing the toilet from the kitchen.

...

 

The most important thing in any house design is not the house : it's the inhabitants.  Think about their needs, and potential needs over time.

• Budget?
• Age of house and inhabitants ?
• house guests ?
• noise
• light 
• ventilation

Probably not the best idea to have a loo directly accessible from the kitchen

[bighouseproblems]

So budget is loose but I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. 

 

1918 Georgian Style House. Two Adults 1 toddler 1 cat and a dog.

We have capacity for guests but currently do not entertain as such but may change in the future.

We have 4 bedrooms upstairs so 2 guest rooms.

Noise from internal is not bad but during renovations insulation will be placed between floors.

Our main bedrooms are at the rear of the property another reason to move the kitchen to the front.

Kitchen Light will be vastly improved. 

Ventilation will be provided via 3 tilt and turn windows.

 

I have attached a redesign of the layout.

[ToughButterCup]

You know how, commonly, one toddler follows another... bedroom arrangements at (say) 7 or 8 years of age? Can I suggest that toddlers don't stay with you for very long. In the blink of an eye toddlers return home in a car full of mates. Some go to university and disappear.  Others stay ... or over-stay.

 

I'm not arguing that you should think of that further than putting in infrastructure which allows you to be flexible later on. As in - floorboards up? How about CAT 6 cable in there? Possible wheelchair user? Wide door frames. That sort of thing.

[bighouseproblems]

5 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

You know how, commonly, one toddler follows another... bedroom arrangements at (say) 7 or 8 years of age? Can I suggest that toddlers don't stay with you for very long. In the blink of an eye toddlers return home in a car full of mates. Some go to university and disappear.  Others stay ... or over-stay.

 

I'm not arguing that you should think of that further than putting in infrastructure which allows you to be flexible later on. As in - floorboards up? How about CAT 6 cable in there? Possible wheelchair user? Wide door frames. That sort of thing.

So from the layout as much future proofing has been included. The front left room would be our daughters lounge for when she is a teenager and has friends over. She would have access to the kitchen and bathroom. There is a middle door across the hallway before the back area which my wife and I could close over and sit in our lounge in relative peace. Cat 6 cable would be great however with the improvements in WiFi and currently using power lines we do not have any issues streaming through firesticks or TV etc. We also work from home over WiFi with no problems. Our doorways are currently 850mm wide so accessible for most wheelchairs. 

[ProDave]

So now we know is is a house, not a small bungalow.

 

I would hate a north facing living room that never gets the sun. So even if you want to move the living room to the back, I would knock through the two left had rooms to have dining area at the front, close to the new front kitchen (but move the doors so the dining area door is opposite the kitchen door to save an irritation)  and living area at the back, further from the noise of the road and overlooking the garden, but still able to see the sun.  You might well want to change what doors / windows open to the back garden. 

 

That would be a hell of a treck from the living room to the downstairs WC, you would be more likely to go upstairs from the living room.

[bighouseproblems]

31 minutes ago, ProDave said:

So now we know is is a house, not a small bungalow.

 

I would hate a north facing living room that never gets the sun. So even if you want to move the living room to the back, I would knock through the two left had rooms to have dining area at the front, close to the new front kitchen (but move the doors so the dining area door is opposite the kitchen door to save an irritation)  and living area at the back, further from the noise of the road and overlooking the garden, but still able to see the sun.  You might well want to change what doors / windows open to the back garden. 

 

That would be a hell of a treck from the living room to the downstairs WC, you would be more likely to go upstairs from the living room.

I will design out this suggestion as I believe this was one original plans with the kitchen and other front room having double glass doors facing each other to provide more light to the hallway and give the feeling the rooms were connected when the doors were open. My only stumbling block with this is management (wife) is not so keen on knocking walls through. 

[ProDave]

41 minutes ago, bighouseproblems said:

I will design out this suggestion as I believe this was one original plans with the kitchen and other front room having double glass doors facing each other to provide more light to the hallway and give the feeling the rooms were connected when the doors were open. My only stumbling block with this is management (wife) is not so keen on knocking walls through. 

This is exactly what we have, double glass doors facing each other on opposite sides of the hall.  A very versatile arangement.

 

 

[DevilDamo]

How about this?

 

Utility accessed via the Kitchen along with a rear door. Worktop within Utility indicated in blue. W.C. or Shower room accessed via the Utility. Within the Shower room, you could have the shower on the right (backing onto the Kitchen), a washbasin on the side wall and then the W.C. to the rear with a window above.