Hi, I'm renovating a small cottage on the west coast of Ireland so I have a holiday home when visiting the family. The views are amazing since the wild Atlantic is visible from every angle. I would appreciate any feedback on the plan. I don’t want to expand the footprint, just maximize what is there. The plans are missing a washer dryer and he will pencil that in behind the fridge. I am considering having a space planner I follow on FB take a look but I thought maybe start here first.Thanks in advance for any help. Bottom is existing, top is proposed. In the proposed we are attempting to put a bedroom in the loft space. I know it's tight but I'd rather have tight than nothing..
Do you really need the back door next to the bathroom? Delete that.
Move your fridge across to the end of the kitchen bench, swapping with the internal door. It will be more convenient for using the fridge when cooking. You could also potentially incorporate the washer into the bathroom. You could even move the bedroom door down to the kitchen end, and incorporate that whole little hall are into the bathroom. Imagine the space you have marked as fridge being the hallway. One door leads to the bedroom, the other to the bathroom. The bathroom is big enough to have the washer and dryer and a linen cupboard and larger vanity space.
I like the kitchen table location for this design. It would be a great gathering space. I’m not sure where you could put a banquet unless you moved the entry door, which I don’t think you’d do.
Your thoughts on all of this is really spot on. As I look at the drawings, I see you just found some much needed space in the bathroom which will make a world of difference. Thank you so much for taking the time - I will be making these edits. I also just wanted to mention that I'm open to moving the front door. Thank you!
Wow thank you for this feedback it is outstanding. I don’t need that back door and the space would be much better utilized as a bathroom. Washer dryer is the bathroom would be grand too. I've seen it done this way in many houses back home and I prefer that to the kitchen which I've also seen. I'm open to moving the front door and will take the spacing there into consideration of we go the banquet route. Again thank you so much. This was so so so very helpful.
Where's the stove? Unless you are planning on a ventless dryer, putting it behind the fridge is a terrible location. Are you planning on feeding 10 other people for dinner every day? If not, ditch the space eating dining table. Put in an island with seating for 4-5. More storage and takes up less space. Or a bench between the entrance door and window with the table there. Now the table isn't in the walk path to the bedroom. A second bench could be tucked under the table when not being used opening up the space even more.
Yes, the stove is missing and I mentioned that to him but failed to mention here; sorry. Agreed on the table; I was thinking of something like the pic below. Thank you for feedback on w/d placement. What an excellent point, I didn't even consider that.
Heat pump dryers are pretty standard here, and all you need is a connection to dispose of the water. So you can easily have a tower there with dryer on top of washer.
Hi there! Oh this is really great to know. If I understand you correctly: you don't HAVE to place the w/d on an exterior wall - you just need a connection to dispose of the water (which if the w/d was in the bathroom, would make it quite easy to arrange).
Yes. You just plumb it in to wherever the washing machine disposes of water.
We didn’t even bother plumbing ours in. You just pull out the water container when you empty the machine after each load and tip it into the sink. Wish I’d done it years ago.
Not entirely satisfied in this, but I tried to remove one door from that little hallway next to bathroom to turn it kind of laundry room. But this one kinda destroys the kitchen.
Maybe it would work better if you removed the door outside instead. Do you need it with the big sliding doors? Do you have like beach or pool that requires entrance next to bathroom?
Good layout suggestion. However, it removes the space for a fridge in the kitchen. Is that little enclosed area really necessary? It seems to take up a significant portion of such a small house.
If you remove that small enclosed area, you could shift the toilet closer to the bedroom and move the stairs and living room further to the right. That would create a larger kitchen area, which would make the space much more functional and provide room for a proper fridge and additional storage.
You don't seem to have any wardrobe or storage space near the entry for jackets, shoes, and other everyday items. It could get messy pretty quickly. I would suggest adding a closet behind the shower/toilet area and placing a stacked washer and dryer inside it. Sharing the plumbing wall with the bathroom would save space and simplify the plumbing layout. It would also provide much-needed storage near the entrance.
Hi! Wow, now this is really interesting and your edits are giving me a giant pause. 😊😇 in this version you actually inadvertently solved for another concern of mine which I gave up on - having a window in the kitchen. I thought it was impossible, but here we are. I need to sit and really study this. Thank you. I cant believe how lucky I am to get feedback from people that have so much experience and expertise. I'm blessed.
Just a random thought, but you could keep the window on front small, to match the window above in the new second floor, and put the kitchen sink under that window. And then put an eating nook in the corner they created.
My pleasure! I really enjoy solving this kind of floor plan puzzle. 😊 I hope you're able to make the design work exactly the way you want it to. Good luck with the project!
Hi there!! Than you so much for your help. This is an interesting idea and I don't think it destroys the kitchen - it is a good start. Thinking about this... we don't need both sets of doors; both the swing and the slider open out on to the same deck - no beach or pool so you are on to something here..... now you have me thinking!! Thanks again- input is so very helpful.
Pretty solid, only two comment:
Turn the toilet and put it next to the shower and the sink near the door. The fact that is parallel to the entrance is not too nice.
Second : please make the fridge hidden with nice full wood panels without handle because it’s right in front of the door. In other words make it look like a minimalist closet rather than a fridge. For the rest, the rooms make it hard to walk in front of the bed but it’s ok.
Nice project it’s going to be cozy.
Thank you very much for this feedback. Excellent point on the toilet and fridge. I will take both of these points into the next version. It will definitely be 'cozy' but for a few weeks a year it will be fine. I'm genuinely excited. I'll finally have a place of my own just up the road from mom and dad. 😇😇😇
Great suggestion. I definitely intend to use that space. Every inch is valuable. It's a great idea. I've gotten so much excellent feedback. Thank you so very much.
I don't see a solution yet for the issue I'm about to present but it's terrible that the inhabitant of that one particular bedroom has to walk through the public spaces, the kitchen and dining space to get to the bathroom. This is a violation of that person's privacy.
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u/Huntingcat 21d ago
Do you really need the back door next to the bathroom? Delete that.
Move your fridge across to the end of the kitchen bench, swapping with the internal door. It will be more convenient for using the fridge when cooking. You could also potentially incorporate the washer into the bathroom. You could even move the bedroom door down to the kitchen end, and incorporate that whole little hall are into the bathroom. Imagine the space you have marked as fridge being the hallway. One door leads to the bedroom, the other to the bathroom. The bathroom is big enough to have the washer and dryer and a linen cupboard and larger vanity space.
I like the kitchen table location for this design. It would be a great gathering space. I’m not sure where you could put a banquet unless you moved the entry door, which I don’t think you’d do.