skip to main content

Renovating Smaller Homes

Young family seeking advice

4 years ago

Hi, we bought our first home few months ago. Decent sized parcel, perfect location but little too small and dated for our young family. Living/dining room has a shape of an arrow head (or a B-52 stealth Bomber lol) which doesnt leave much space for living. Kitchen is too small, bathroom has a wall between the toilet making it look small and stuffy. We wont have budget for a massive reno/extension. Any advice or suggestions will hugely be appreciated. Thanks all

Featured Answer

oklouise

4 years ago

it looks like a great block of land and my first thought for long term improvement given Council approval and enough space, could be an extension at the back for a more generous kitchen and another at the front with a double garage, master suite, new entry porch and front courtyard but, while we all wait for the lottery, my suggestions would be to close the extra doorways from kitchen and bathroom, renovate the family bathroom, add a shower to the laundry and use bed 3 as a master suite with direct access to the laundry/ens from the bedroom that could later be used as a rumpus room ...there are new door height openings from the kitchen without removing the whole wall to allow the walkway between kitchen and dining, the opening for the peninsula bench and extra space for the fridge freezer backed with built ins in the living area for TV, books toys and music etc as a wide door height opening instead of removing the whole wall can often be used to save the load bearing structure and the ceilings in both rooms and it may be possible to re use the kitchen appliances, cabinets and sink with some extra flatpacs and a new counter but first project should be to make an accurate plan of the whole house including the length of all the walls including the hall, bathroom, entry, laundry and L shaped wall in the kitchen..accuracy is essential as even only a few cms can make the difference between being able to use economical off the shelf fixture or having to spend much more on custom made

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

oklouise
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
do you have long terms plans for any major work as it can be better to make big plans that can be reduced to smaller segments that can be completed over time otherwise you risk making changes now that will need to be redone in future eg it seems logical to block off the external bathroom door but that might be the ideal location to connect the old part of the house to a later extension but it could be OK to remove the toilet wall and patch the floor and save a major bathroom reno for later but we need more info..what are the floor, walls and roof built out of, where is north, describe your climate, how many bedrooms, bathrooms and living area do you need and want now and in future and what is the condition of the existing kitchen, bathroom and laundry..and is any part of the house been an extension to the original and can you include the measurements of the bathroom and laundry
0
Kate
4 years ago
Small Reno kitchen plumbing stays.
0
Related Discussions
Seeking advice on Proposed Reno. Need to gain space & storage
Q
Comments (30)
My advice is to think about the working/function as you need it for your family. Prioritise that (as a starting point) and get that happening somewhat free of a "box" shape extension and see how that all sits - it's like you're trying to squeeze it all in to a specific shape and then struggling with certain details....you're suggesting/entertaining ideas like a functional laundry/bag drop zone etc which 100% is important/relevant for a busy family of 4. The problem seems that there hasn't been true clarity on the function/requirements before the design has been proposed. Is it too small? Well it depends on how exactly you intend on using it - how many people need to be able to sit at the table or on the lounge etc..this will dictate scaling - whether or not you'd like a butlers pantry or not. Is the 3rd toilet needed? Well ultimately nobody can tell you that one way or the other - you will know whether functionally that is a requirement necessary for your family - all these are questions you will have (or need to establish) an opinion/position on one way or another and then (should) be able to work through (more effectively) & resolve with the architect whom you've engaged.....you are obviously staging the project which can be logical/necessary, and given this there may in fact be alternative and arguably more cost effective design options available for you (such as a 2nd stage "clean" extension for a master suite), but realistically that involves greater understanding/information of the site/context and your particular budget in order to provide specific advice/suggestions as to how best to achieve your goals...Good luck :) PD
...See More
seeking advice on 3 rough floorpans
Q
Comments (12)
I'd still be looking at carving out more northern external aspect......you could fit it what you need by following this more "L shaped" concept by pulling back to the easement and strategic hugging of southern boundary in places and increased pushing further north in the central zone, and flipping the west verandah to the north and accommodating more extension to the west......you have enough space to work with Rather than think of what you can do in terms of size/length, you need to resolve from the basis of function.....the reason why we'd be encouraging the resolution in this direction is that it will feel much more spacious and light, be better zoned and mitigate the one dimensional central corridor factor which will be what you'll get if you take a elongated rectangle and try and fit it all into a predefined external shape.....easement restriction is not the major issue....what you want to do is maximise the external aspect from as much of the house as possible....you could put the shed in the south west corner and get it out of sight - that north west corner is prime external focal point Good luck! Cheers PD :)
...See More
Seeking floor plan advice
Q
Comments (6)
Oh Sharon! Yes, your home theatre is really too small as a home theatre. Get a big screen TV in there and you won't be able to sit far enough away in your home theatre recliners. I would suggest that you think of it as a second living area, maybe a kids playroom or games room. I would take a guess from the dotted line around the rear alfresco that your home has no eaves. Furthermore the two biggest windows in your home that have NO protection are facing due west, which gets the very worst of the hot summer afternoon sun after your house has heated up. I am afraid to say that you are building the hotbox from hell with a bright and sunny home theatre room. If you could flip the house then the smaller windows to the laundry, bathroom and bedroom 4 will get the worst of the summer afternoon sun, with your meals area and home theatre getting the morning sun. If you can't flip the house due to the crossover location then you really need to find another plan that works better for your site, or buy another block with the opposite orientation. North to the rear is the best, and north to the front (like you have) is the worst. You may want to read up about sun orientation and passive cooling. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/ Is a great resource to start with as it divides Australia up into climatic zones and describes the best way to design and build for your location. Best of luck with your research, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits
...See More
Bar Stools - seeking advice
Q
Comments (11)
Dreamer I don’t have dining chairs just yet. Just a black dining table so far. I’m pretty sold on the black rattan stools so I think i’ll go with those. Thanks for the help everyone! 🙂
...See More
Kate
4 years ago
Also meant to close door into kitchen from hallway and extend cupboards across
0
dreamer
4 years ago
I can understand the separate toilet in the bathroom, due to the door to outside from the toilet. This is adding the privacy required for a two way set up. Since you do have a second toilet, you could block up the outside door, or just permanently lock, or put a window in, and remove internal wall in bathroom.
The toilet in the laundry could have a wall installed so when using that toilet you or your guests, would not feel they are on display.

It appears, to me, that the storage room, bedroom three would be additions, which have joined up to the outside laundry and toilet.
Are these extensions of good quality, with good insulation etc?

Kate's suggestion for the kitchen, would be a good starting point to improve that area.
0
Kate
4 years ago
Another small change for the bathroom would be to reduce the size of the hall cupboard so that it only is as wide as the bath. It’s current width is adding to the choppiness of the bathroom floorspace
0
Marty
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you for all taking time to share your thoughts. Attached are some additonal photos fyi.

oklouise - Its double brick with floorboards; terracotta roof, east is north from the plan, no extensions aparts from bedroom 3 which is a semi finished converted garrage(priority no1), its in Sydney north shore. In the long run we would like to add another bedroom/study, a bathroom and a carport.

Kate - I really like your idea but little conscious that wall between the kitchen looks to be the load bearing wall. Will def check it out though. I will also look into cupboard size. Agree 100% it adds to the choppiness

dreamer - we dont really use the toilet door to get out so yes I think we can patch it up. Bedroom 3/storage is a converted garage thats half finished. Toilet/laundry is pretty small with low ceiling so yer..bit of a dilemma there. It would be great if I could lift the ceiling higher, have a door into bedroom3, turn it into an ensuite since plumbing is there.

Once again, thanks heaps ! Much appreciated
0
Kate
4 years ago
Lovely backyard. Ok so the bathroom needs a full Reno to bring it forward 50 years. Your shower plumbing is in the wall separating toilet.
0
oklouise
4 years ago
do you mean the backyard is north?? is there a step down from the living into bed 3 and/or the store room? and if the ceiling is low in the storage area we need to understand the roof..can you post a google earth photo to show the roof shape and what's the distance from the outside walls of the laundry to the back and side fences AND we need accurate internal measurements of bathroom, toilet, entry and laundry
0
Marty
Original Author
4 years ago
oklouise - yes it's facing kinda NNW and yes! there is about a 7cm drop. I will try to take some meaurements but in the meantime below are some arial snaps

Kate- Yes! Even if its just ripping out those tiles ! Once we finish working on bedroom 3, bathroom will have to be our next major goal. I did promise the girls : ) Endless work!
0

Sponsored

More Discussions

Ground Floor plan

18

Which clear varnish won’t change the colour of the timber?

1

Pendant ideas for our kitchen and living area

12

How do we update our fireplace?

4

Narrow block plan

15