Floor plan improvement - need storage! Extra bathroom would be a bonus

last year

last modified: last year

We have just bought an old 1940s weatherboard home (3 bedroom, 1 bathroom) but it is lacking in storage space. We'd also love to add a second toilet or an ensuite, but I'm not sure if there is enough space for that. I thought I'd turn to the Houzz brains trust for ideas on how we can improve the floor plan - any ideas are welcome!

Would love suggestions on any of the following:

Improving existing wardrobes

- Bedrooms 1 and 3 currently share a 0.57m deep wardrobe

- Bedroom 2 has a narrow (0.45m deep) wardrobe

2. Options to add a second toilet or possibly a small ensuite in Bedroom 1

3. Any other ideas to improve the existing floor plan and/or add storage?

More info:

It will just be my partner and I living in the house and we plan on staying for a few years. We're open to adding an extension in the future if we decide to stay longer term, but for now would prefer to work within the current house footprint. Bedroom 2 will be a guest room and Bedroom 3 will be used as an office, but we'd like to ensure that whatever we do with the house will be suitable for future resale or rental as well.

We are currently thinking that we'll add built-in cabinetry to the laundry room to provide for most of our storage needs but space is limited. There's also unused space to the right of the wardrobe in Bedroom 2 where the old fireplace and chimney used to be (1.58m x 0.45m) - will need to check whether it is possible to gain access and make that space usable.

Thank you!

Comment (1)

PRO
CHRISTINE HALL ARCHITECTS LTD
last year
Hi Mandamaree,

You are fairly limited in space and in the size of the bedrooms to introduce what you request without compromising these spaces and future expansions to the house. The lounge too is a bit of a thoroughfare in the current layout.

However, a few suggestions to ponder.

Ensuite to B1, this could be just a 1m wide x 2.7m long space either along the wall to bedroom 2 or expand the wardrobe to 1m wide and re build a 600mm int. depth W/R along the B2 wall. If you used the existing wardrobe for the ensuite though, B3 would have no robe, but if it is to be a study, this may not be a concern.

Alternatively, you could build in the space where the back door is and incorporate a toilet beside the laundry. Put the back door in the laundry. The toilet could be either beside the bathroom or B2.

You could also economise by not having two accesses to the back corridor. (one from the living room and one from the kitchen) If you are looking at renovating the kitchen, I'd block off the back hall access opening and build a full wall of bench and joinery along that wall and either make an opening in the wall between the kitchen and living room or open it all up, except the back 600-700mm portion at the end of the joinery.

If you remove the wall between the kitchen and living - might need a beam to replace it, then I'd extend the peninsular bench between the dining and kitchen, making sure it does not make the dining too small. You should have a minimum of 1200mm between kitchen benches so 2560 is good for this. You can butt the dining table upto the peninsular and still have 5 people seated around the table rather than have a breakfast bar. The space is too tight for a bar.

Storage - always a drama in these older homes. Work high level units into the laundry and if possible, the bathroom. If you can afford to lose a few mm from the living room, make B2 robe the proper 600mm deep and include the old fireplace area too. As it is only a guest room, make part of that for the storage you need, i.e, suitcases, boxes of 'stuff' etc. The robe in B2 should be no less than 1200mm long to future proof this as a kids room or for rental.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Christine.
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Floor plan improvement - need storage! Extra bathroom would be a bonus

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CHRISTINE HALL ARCHITECTS LTD

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