Extension plans
Discussion
Sorry for lack of replies guys. Thank you so much for these suggestions though, its really given me a lot to think about and discuss. Heres a better image so you can actually read dimensions.
Im not sure how we could get around walking through the living room without extending the corridor into the living room or totally rearranging the bedroom layout to allow entrance through the kitchen.
Surveyor who does architectural design work. Has been well recommended though.
Hitch said:
wc in kitchen is oddly placed. What if someone does a massive dump as you're sitting down to dinner? It also blocks off the view to what I presume is garden space? Why not swap it with the dining area and have a separate access off the entry space?
I'm also not a fan of the living room also being the main corridor to the bedrooms.
Very good point, I think it was just laziness that led to it staying where it is but doing as you said and having access from the new hallway sounds like a very good idea.I'm also not a fan of the living room also being the main corridor to the bedrooms.
Im not sure how we could get around walking through the living room without extending the corridor into the living room or totally rearranging the bedroom layout to allow entrance through the kitchen.
pitchfork said:
It seems that any journey to/from the kitchen involves going through the entrance hall.
That means any time you have breakfast in the conservatory, you're taking your cornflakes through the hall. Similarly, if you're having pizza in front of the telly, it's going through the hall. Late night cocoa in bed? Mind those wellies.
Agreed. Especially knowing how messy we are with shoes lying around. Maybe cutting a door/arch through to the living froom from the kitchen could work.That means any time you have breakfast in the conservatory, you're taking your cornflakes through the hall. Similarly, if you're having pizza in front of the telly, it's going through the hall. Late night cocoa in bed? Mind those wellies.
PositronicRay said:
It depends on what the garden's like, the road you're on, noise levels and any views to take advantage of. Generally I prefer living areas on the back, I don't spend much time gazing out of bedrooms so I'd lump those together on the front with living/dining/kitchen overlooking the back garden.
ETA
I can see how having a master on the back with patio doors would be a nice thing. Oh and I'd try to squeeze in a utility/boot room with a separate entrance.
The driveway is right outside the front door/entrance hall and there is garden on both sides of the house so both will have views. Although the sun comes from the side that faces the living room. The kitchen doesnt get any sun but we hoped some kind of roof window would help with that. Although the amount of cooking we do, its nice to have the kitchen a little cool. The living room gets insanely warm with all that direct sun.ETA
I can see how having a master on the back with patio doors would be a nice thing. Oh and I'd try to squeeze in a utility/boot room with a separate entrance.
irocfan said:
good shout on swapping the entrance and dining room! As an aside, I thought that there had to be 2 doors between a kitchen and WC?
My dad said the same thing and I mentioned it to the architect and he didnt seem to think it was an issue. but doesnt matter now if we are moving it out of the kitchen.LaurasOtherHalf said:
Same as Hitch, poor layout for the hall and WC-they’re the glaring errors.
No through run from the front door to the bedrooms-annoying at best.
Master bedroom to the front? Only you know if that’s sensible as it’s plot specific.
Did an architect actually draw this up?
I think we have become so used to walking through the living room to the bedrooms that we didnt realise it was an issue but now its been raised, I understand. Trying to work out how to change it without total redesign though.No through run from the front door to the bedrooms-annoying at best.
Master bedroom to the front? Only you know if that’s sensible as it’s plot specific.
Did an architect actually draw this up?
Surveyor who does architectural design work. Has been well recommended though.
Welshbeef said:
Why is the Hall as big as the dining room?
We wanted a decent amount of storage space in the hall as its limited elsewhere. alfaman said:
Weird layout. Doesn’t flow well.
Smallish bitty looking kitchen/ dining / hall
Which end is the garden?
I’d go for large living room / diner overlooking the rear garden with plenty of windows / or folding doors.
Sorry but I don’t get the rationale for that layout
I don't know if the budget will stretch to a full redesign like that. There is garden on both sides of the house. The ends of the house dont have a view, one being a drive and the other being just a few meters to the boundary.Smallish bitty looking kitchen/ dining / hall
Which end is the garden?
I’d go for large living room / diner overlooking the rear garden with plenty of windows / or folding doors.
Sorry but I don’t get the rationale for that layout
Danm1les said:
I would always try to avoid a second hallway within a house, just feels odd. Equally what other have said about the loo, can that be moved to be off the main entrance hallway? Gives the option to open the front door if its real bad in there... 
What do you mean by second hallway? Ive considered an outhouse after some of the smells my brother in law has left when hes been round for dinner before LivingTheDream said:
Is the soil pipe moving or remaining as is?
Presumably its currently in the corner of kitchen and bathroom? This would put it in the corner of bedroom four.
Havent even got as far as discussing that sort of practicality yet but its a very good point.Presumably its currently in the corner of kitchen and bathroom? This would put it in the corner of bedroom four.
rsbmw said:
Chips officially pissed on
Oh yes, my cornflakes have been pooped upon..but rather that than spend a fortune on a duff design.brianb said:
I agree with the rest
Move the WC to the hall
Continue the hall to the bedrooms, passing through the kitchen each and every time is not ideal
Do you mean put up a wall inside the living room to meet up with the hallway?Move the WC to the hall
Continue the hall to the bedrooms, passing through the kitchen each and every time is not ideal
paulrockliffe said:
I can't see the dimensions on the rooms, but the kitchen looks disproportionately large compared with the dining area; are you in danger of ending up with a large area that isn't used for anything in the middle of the kitchen? Could you increase the size of the cupboard so it's a pantry, and put an opening on the other wall so you can walk straight through to short-cut to the bedrooms? Keep the access from the hallway too obviously. One way or another I'd want access from the kitchen to the bedroom corridor, to create a circular path around the house.
I'd prefer a better connection between kitchen and living room too, but you'll need to compromise somewhere and that isn't the worst compromise. Especially as eating pizza in front of the TV belongs in the Council thread.
Toilet should be part of the hallway rather than the kitchen/dining area as everyone has said. But I'd also throw in whether you need a downstairs toilet in a bungalow at all if the bathroom location and corridors are done properly?
Theres going to be a decent sized island in there somewhere hopefully. The idea of a circular route is appealing. The original thought for keeping the single toilet was the long walk from front door/kitchen to the newly positioned main bath and ensuite by the bedrooms. However, if theres better access from kitchens to bedroom area, it does seem unnecessary. Have to think on that one.I'd prefer a better connection between kitchen and living room too, but you'll need to compromise somewhere and that isn't the worst compromise. Especially as eating pizza in front of the TV belongs in the Council thread.
Toilet should be part of the hallway rather than the kitchen/dining area as everyone has said. But I'd also throw in whether you need a downstairs toilet in a bungalow at all if the bathroom location and corridors are done properly?
robfox said:
The layout of the enlarged Bedroom 2 feels awkward. Are you going to be using the new space created by the extension, or is it being built just so that you can have the new door to the garden? You could put a dressing table in the alcove on the left, but it's a long way from the dressing room.
The dressing room looks quite small to be used as access to the en-suite. If someone is standing in the dressing room with the wardrobe doors open, will another person be able to squeeze through? Can you rearrange things to get a door directly into the en-suite?
I quite like the idea of the poster following you, some kind of wall with dressing room/storage space on one side and then the bed positioned against the other side of the wall looking out of the main window. The dressing room is for the wife, i doubt ill be allowed to keep any of my clothes in there anyway so id likely stick to the main bath The dressing room looks quite small to be used as access to the en-suite. If someone is standing in the dressing room with the wardrobe doors open, will another person be able to squeeze through? Can you rearrange things to get a door directly into the en-suite?
robfox said:
I can't read the room dimensions - is the proposed Bedroom 2 as big as it looks? Could you move the bed out into the room and put a dressing room behind it, like this?
The new wall could hide that pier in the bedroom where the external wall used to be, getting rid of the alcove near the window and allowing you to position the bed anywhere along the wall. Use the space that had been allocated to the dressing room to enlarge the en-suite, and you now have room for a bath, or for his and hers sinks.
Ooh i love that. The new wall could hide that pier in the bedroom where the external wall used to be, getting rid of the alcove near the window and allowing you to position the bed anywhere along the wall. Use the space that had been allocated to the dressing room to enlarge the en-suite, and you now have room for a bath, or for his and hers sinks.
steveonts said:
I didnt do them the chap is a surveyor who does architectural design as well. Came highly recommended.
He may be highly recommended but (no offence) this is not good work. the chap is a surveyor who does architectural design as well. Came highly recommended.We have a property developement company and I do a lot of the design work myself, I understand the needs of how to balance of cost and design.
I’d honestly be wary of anyone who came up with such a poor design with so many mistakes or at least didn’t point them out to you if all the mistakes were client led.
thebraketester said:
I think I would get rid of the bathroom near the kitchen and give you more space for the dining room.... as it stands the dining room will feel too small imo.
taking on board the suggestions in this thread ive done a bad job of editing the plans and come up with these options. What are peoples thoughts?First one giving access to bedrooms purely through kitchen. Also replacing toilet with a slightly larger utility room and taking some of the hallway to keep the dining room a decent size.
Second one simply adding a door from the kitchen which gives a circuit around the house and moving the toilet from the kitchen up to the dining room space with access from hallway. Also possible to put another door straight from kitchen into living room but seems a lot of doors already
What are peoples thoughts?
LaurasOtherHalf said:
steveonts said:
I didnt do them the chap is a surveyor who does architectural design as well. Came highly recommended.
He may be highly recommended but (no offence) this is not good work. the chap is a surveyor who does architectural design as well. Came highly recommended.We have a property developement company and I do a lot of the design work myself, I understand the needs of how to balance of cost and design.
I’d honestly be wary of anyone who came up with such a poor design with so many mistakes or at least didn’t point them out to you if all the mistakes were client led.
Money spent on good design will save you much in the future in terms of both money (you won't have to re-do the build to make it work) and satisfaction (when you realise the layout just does not work).
Danm1les said:
What I mean't by 2 hallways is that you have an entrance hall, then go through a room to get to a hallway. I appreciate you will loose floor space but I always think its messy.
Yes I think youre right, i didnt think of that because ive been so used to living in houses with a second floor and a landing so associated the second hallway with a landing. dmsims said:
I think the wall in the Kitchen/Dining will make things look cramped (and is inflexible)
This design stuff is hard for an uncreative oaf like me. I think the chaps above are 100% right, i need to get someone who will give me more creative and practical input on this stuff. Here's where I think I'd start before handing it over to someone who knows what they're doing.
Personally I'd prefer to keep a hallway as a clear circulation space between all the main areas. I'd also have a large skylight in the hallway outside the bedrooms so it's nice and bright. Double doors between the main living room and kitchen keep things nice and open. Toilet off the main entrance to keep smells away from the kitchen, and a small utility room in the kitchen so you can shut away washing machine and tumble dryer.
I'm not sure where the garden is in relation to the kitchen but some larger windows / doors would help to open it up further and keep everything nice and bright.
If storage is an issue you could add a large cupboard in the hallway outside bedroom 4. Or if a utility room isn't essential rotate the toilet and utility room by 90 degrees clockwise to have a large cupboard near the front door.
Personally I'd prefer to keep a hallway as a clear circulation space between all the main areas. I'd also have a large skylight in the hallway outside the bedrooms so it's nice and bright. Double doors between the main living room and kitchen keep things nice and open. Toilet off the main entrance to keep smells away from the kitchen, and a small utility room in the kitchen so you can shut away washing machine and tumble dryer.
I'm not sure where the garden is in relation to the kitchen but some larger windows / doors would help to open it up further and keep everything nice and bright.
If storage is an issue you could add a large cupboard in the hallway outside bedroom 4. Or if a utility room isn't essential rotate the toilet and utility room by 90 degrees clockwise to have a large cupboard near the front door.
Edited by salenowon on Monday 6th August 14:33
Edited by salenowon on Monday 6th August 14:35
steveonts said:
PositronicRay said:
Loving the window from W/C to kitchen.
I thought it might be nice for people sitting down for dinner to be able to watch someone using the facilities Or i just copied and pasted the bathroom and didnt remove that window Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff