how to best reconfigure ground floor Post Reply

[fiveguys]

we are completely renovating our terraced Edwardian house on the Barnes/Mortlake border after many years living outside London. It is currently double reception, large kitchen/diner, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom size. (kitchen side extension and loft conversion done). We are reconfiguring the whole ground floor space in an attempt to add light and use space more efficiently.

Ground Floor Plan
We currently plan to block up the narrow entrance into the kitchen and relocate the toilet from under the stairs into the existing narrow kitchen entrance . This means we lose the banister and replace it with a wall, with LED lights on the side of the stairs. The sole entrance into the reception rooms is widened and a pocket door installed.
The kitchen is then accessed from here. The wall at the back of the reception room is to be removed giving a wider entrance into the kitchen (1.6m), & letting light flood into the receptions at the front. Crittal doors will be used between the kitchen and reception room to close off the two areas when required.
I also have a small storage room in the kitchen for shoes, mop etc - but not big enough for a washer/dryer.


My dilemma is twofold
1. is replacing the banister with a wall a good idea ? Will it make the hallway too dark ? does this matter ?  and is it too much of a put off to any future buyers (no plans to sell but you never know) ? It also utilises narrow dark space.

We could take down the wall between receptions and hallway, opening up the ground floor space entirely and leaving the toilet under the stairs, but I find that noise travels upstairs so much in this design. Though maybe that is more appealing to buyers ?

2. I am planning in putting my laundry/utility in the entended loft area (also has large bedroom and bathroom). My logic being that clothes are always upstairs. However for me this is not just a cupboard for a washer and dryer - it is a room big enough to also dry laundry on a clothes horse - it will be 1.2m x 1.6m. 
I have lived outside the UK for many years, where doing and drying laundry in the kitchen never happens, so for me this seems logical. Will future buyers also think so, or will they see it as a waste of space or a room located in the wrong area ? The alternative would be to create a small study instead of a utility. 
Which is a better use of space - laundry room or study ?

Thanks for any input you can give.




 

[pie81]

Sorry you lost me at losing the banister and replacing it with a wall. That’s very sad to me and would certainly put me off as a buyer. I also prefer to walk directly into the kitchen rather than via a living room as otherwise that living room ends up feeling like a corridor and dumping ground.

Ideally I would put Crittal between the two receptions and then open up the rear reception to the kitchen to make a snug/play area. Leave the kitchen entrance and loo where it is.

The laundry room upstairs sounds great as long as the house won’t vibrate too much (may need to strengthen the floor to prevent this depending on exact location)

[Ensoul.co.uk]

Depending on your budget, I would recommend you engage an interior architect to undertake a Space Plan to maximise the use of space and light, all the best, Mike Lander, Director, https://ensoul.co.uk/

[dudette]

I don’t really understand the wall/bannister thing either. What I would say is that when I show people round my house the two things that women love the most are our first floor laundry room (I’m with you on ground floor laundry rooms or washing machines in the kitchen being ridiculous) and our downstairs cloakroom where we put all our outdoor clothes, bags and shoes. I would say the single best thing you can do to make your house attractive to buyers is to have some sort of coat cupboard where the usual kids clutter can be stored out of sight. I house-hunted for about four years and never understood houses without coat cupboards. Don’t make your ground floor all open plan. It’s going out of fashion as families realise they need to be able to escape from each other. You don’t realise this when your kids are little but as they get bigger it becomes important.

[chorister]

@DunnoXUAmI - crikey, you've been busy tonight.  Too much time on your hands?  Partner walked out because s/he can stand the obsession with LEDs or something?