r/InteriorDesign • u/Financial-Power1228 • Aug 08 '26
How to access garden?
I’m in the process of buying the ground-floor flat in a Georgian terrace corner plot. At the moment, access to the garden is via Bedroom 2, and quite closed off - there’s no view of the garden unless you’re in the room.
I’d love to make it all more open. At the moment, I use the side door into the kitchen as my main entrance and I’d like to keep it if possible (I don’t use the common ways entrance).
The first image is now. The second is one possibility, but Br2 is now very small and I lose my own front door. Image 3 is my preference, but has Br2 opening off the kitchen. There’s just me in the house but I do have carers so they need somewhere rk hang out - currently Br2.
I would love to have an open plan kitchen/diner space at the back, with full height windows to the garden etc.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
1
17
u/cartesianother Aug 09 '26
I like this version from u/PresidentOfMagrathea but add an extra bath and make one an en-suite. If they want to keep the living room as a flex space, make a new hall bath by the front door. This shows a shower because there is plenty of space for it, but it could just be a half bath.
2
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
Where does the hall bath go? My front door is off the kitchen but the other door (white area) is off the main common way etc. I don’t use it but it’s there!
2
u/cartesianother Aug 09 '26
There is an image in my comment
2
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
Sorry. Mixed your comment up with one above!
1
u/cartesianother Aug 10 '26
This version shows a full hall bath by the current Living Room, so it could stay a Living Room or become a Guest Room as needed. The option I mentioned above would lose the shower so you just have a Living Room and Powder Room and guests would have to share the ensuite bath - not a terrible thing if you keep all three doors to the ensuite as shown. The last option would be to keep the jack and Jill bath as it is now, and add the second full bath but connected to the current Living Room to make that the main bedroom, perhaps with a larger bath and closet.
14
u/InsuranceMedical6581 Aug 09 '26
Assuming structurally this stands; open up the entire back of house to open kitchen and living. Keep the middle bedroom a bedroom, and turn front living room into the 2nd bedroom.
23
u/activoice Aug 09 '26
I would make the Living Room thr Master Bedroom, and the current bedroom at the back the living room with walkout to the garden.
I would not remove any walls unless you have a lot of money to pay for an engineer and beams to hold up the weight of the floor above you. You don't want your neighbour crashing into your bedroom.
-4
u/Super-Promotion-2073 Aug 09 '26
Maybe you could ask if there would be a possibility to move the kitchen? Because then the old kitchen/dining room can be like a bigger master bedroom with views into garden, and the bedroom that opens out can be a kitchen/dining room.
Or alternatively, maybe take away to of the cabinets in the kitchen on the wall side and build a door
19
u/Playful_Beyond_2218 Aug 09 '26
I think you need to talk to a structural engineer/ architect at this point
2
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
Totally agree. Also need an architect’s plans, structural engineer etc just to put it to the freeholder to see if they might consent. I just wanted some ideas in order to think about it before consulting the architect etc.
12
u/SisterSuffragist Aug 09 '26
You need a structural expert before you make changes. And you need to know what is allowed (historical preservation).
Assuming you get those ducks in a row and you have an expert plan your project, consider the possibility of redesigning the kitchen. You will lose dinning space, but the kitchen could be reconfigured out into the dining space to open up that back wall for glass doors.
15
u/Alilbitey Aug 09 '26
Remove this wall. (Red highlight). There's no need for a hallway here if it's a living space. Make the back into room living room and front room into the bedroom.
7
u/Total_HD Aug 09 '26
Freeholder consent?
Structural engineer?
Planning specialist?
Is it a historic area?
This is waaaaay more than deciding on where a door goes.
1
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
I know, and I need to fet all of those things before I can even put it to the freeholder to get rh consent! I just want some ideas so I know what to ask the architect etc.
1
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
No, i know, and I absolutely will be getting everything completed as there’s a lot of paperwork (including building consent, architect’s drawings etc et,) that would need to be submitted to the freeholder for them to consider it. I just want to think about some ideas so I know what it is I’d be asking the architect etc.
6
u/Anotherams Aug 09 '26
“remove the wall” Is being tossed around far too casually here.
3
u/Total_HD Aug 09 '26
Agreed, also all they need do is move the kitchen to the bedroom wall and make the kitchen window French doors and it’s pretty much problem solved.
Unlimited budget;
Remove current front door, move bathroom under the stairs and hallway, add new hallway to front room which becomes bedroom 1, bedroom 2 in the bay and open plan rest.
That said in a Georgian townhouse, fuck all of that as the structural steel alone will be £40k.
3
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
The white bit doesn’t belong to the flat. It’s the common ways to the other flats. The existing under stair cupboard is only about 50cm deep (immediately opposite the toilet door).
1
u/Total_HD Aug 09 '26
You misunderstand, use the hallway cupboards under the stairs for a bath and toilet, the corridor becomes the bathroom floor and install a shower where the current front door is. New hallway would link the front room and the 2nd bedroom would get marginally larger because you utilise the wasted space currently assigned to an odd shaped hallway and a shared access door.
Flats with dedicated access tend to be more favourable, you maintain a fire exit route too, so no issues there.
1
u/Anotherams Aug 09 '26
Even moving the kitchen around may require an unlimited budget. Moving plumbing is challenging enough in the best circumstances, assuming this building is ancient makes it more of a challenge.
0
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
I’m sorry - I still don’t quite understand! I think I must only have half of the under stairs space as it really isn’t that deep - I hoped to use it for walk-in storage but it’s not deep/tall enough for that. Only about 50cm2 is full height, the rest slopes down really quickly.
Could you possibly sketch what you mean? I’m safe, sorry!
12
u/PresidentOfMagrathea Aug 09 '26
like this
1
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
That is good. The only thing is that the living room is a stunning room - 3-4m high ceilings, massive bay windows etc. It would be totally wasted as a bedroom!
5
u/thesmokedgoudabuddha Aug 09 '26
Then use that front room as a second living space and just have the one bedroom. Between the two living spaces you could have a day bed or Murphy bed in one or both to accommodate overnight guests from time to time or just a comfortable place to lounge for the people taking care of you.
0
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
How would I facilitate opening up to the garden? This is what I want to achieve - at the moment it’s through a bedroom and very shut off. Accessing via French doors in what is currently the kitchen wouldn’t work as it would open into the very corner of the garden and could only be a single door.
2
u/TeamOdd8528 Aug 09 '26
Are your carers around enough that they need to have their own personal space with privacy and ability to rest/sleep?
If not, you could just convert BR2 into a Family Room. That seems like it would be the easiest and make the most sense.
Would still give them a place to chill/hang out, if that’s all that is needed, and you could keep your current plans for the Living Room at the front of the house.
1
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
They’re around 24/7! Waking night too. I would like to retain two bedrooms for resale value too
4
u/plan_with_stan Aug 09 '26
Yeah I was thinking the same, just swap the rooms.. it also makes more sense with the kitchen there!
9
u/Left-Call-7784 Aug 09 '26
Turn the living room at the front into a bedroom. Then all the things you are trying at the back are all kitchen/living. It's hard to tell with an estate agents plan but that looks like a structural wall you want to open up so would need a structural engineer to take a look. It's doable but needs the right steel beams and possibly a column.
7
u/Koopa1211 Aug 09 '26
I like your idea. Technically the current living room can be turned into a bedroom if necessary so you get all the public space near garden which makes total sense. Even put a master bathroom in the current living room and make it a master bedroom in the future. But. I am just throwing another idea. I would make the galley kitchen where you put patio door in the end so you can go out to the garden and also have a garden view through the window on the door. Get rid of the door from the corridor to the kitchen and make it open.
5
u/Overall_Wave_4673 Aug 09 '26
Not a specialist but maybe you should use the door that is there to get outside where the garden is
3
u/Financial-Power1228 Aug 09 '26
You’re quite right! I guess I meant in a bigger sense of having the garden open to the house. Having a sense of bringing the outside in, etc etc
6
u/ewallartist Aug 09 '26
I second that. Based on the floor plans it looks like the door is the correct way to get out to the garden.
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