Postby fiveguys » Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:38 am
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.