Original mid-century floor plan: help!

2 years ago

Hi there,

Keen to get views on how you would alter this 70s original mid-century floor plan.
I want retain the original style of the house as much as possible while making it right for 2021.

The living/dinning room is on a different level of the house (higher) - would love to keep this room as is.
How would you reconfigure the kitchen?
While I like some degree of open plan, I don’t mind different ‘zones’ and some separation.
Note the stairs go down to under house storage only that is also accessible from underneath the house.

Would love all opinions!! Thanks so much!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

oklouise
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
do you need the internal access to downstairs, where is the laundry, how many bedrooms and bathroom do you need, what is the odd shaped object in the front hallway and can you post some photos inside and out
AJ
Original Author
2 years ago
No internal access needed :) Laundry is currently in the garage but could move inside if there is room. Happy with the two bedrooms and one bathroom for now! The object in the right corner of the hallway is an old fireplace that can be removed. No photos available sorry but imagine timber floors, wood panelling and 70s original kitchen and bathroom.
Related Discussions
Should we render this house for a great mid century look?
Q
Comments (22)
Great to hear that you have decided not to paint the brickwork. Can I offer my opinion - I'd suggest painting the garage door and surrounding frame and the adjacent beam and column (currently white) in a dark charcoal/brown to match the ground floor brickwork try Dulux Namandji or Mali. I would redo the retaining wall with large boulders in a more freestyle layout than the current straight line and take up some of the concrete drive near the retaining wall to create a garden on the lower level, curved to still provide access to all of the undercroft unless you wish to enclose part of it with a large full height window. I'd love to see the wrought iron balustrade painted black. My home in the mid sixties had salmon coloured bricks, white window frames and fabulous turquoise gutters! The downpipes were painted to match the bricks thankfully - turquoise might have been a bit over the top! Good luck with your project, would love to see your progress. W
...See More
Mid-Century Before and After
Q
Comments (6)
This a beautifully considered solution, once again Dr Retro, you’ve proven why you are the master! For people thinking that render will make their 60’s and 70’s houses better, please consult with Dr Retro first!
...See More
Kitchen/living options in mid century house with late 90s addition
Q
Comments (11)
you said you could extend towards the west to replace the laundry but what's the distance from the side of the original dining room to the western boundary and what are your long term plans for the old dining room, kitchen and the space behind the garage? if you expect to extend, as me me already said, it's much better to plan the whole house renovation and it can also be more cost effective to add new rooms than to rearrange existing spaces even if you have to do the work in stages but, as we can't read the writing on your plans, it difficult to make specific suggestions and i don't understand where you plan to add the new kitchen ...does the house have only original rooms or is part of the house an old extension? what are all the floors and walls made out and what is the height of the back deck off the ground? please show room names and dimensions on the plans in larger print and some photos inside and out would help understand the existing spaces but my initial thought would be to have a new kitchen,pantry and laundry on the garage side and use the old dining room kitchen and laundry bathroom as a new master suite..but depends on correct dimensions.
...See More
Tile choice for renovation of kitchen in mid century style house
Q
Comments (3)
There are lots of "flavours" of mid-century kitchens as this period ran over a number of decades. Have a look at some of my Pinterest resources to help match your kitchen style and tiles. https://www.pinterest.com.au/secretdesign/kitchens-original-mid-century/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/secretdesign/kitchens-renovatednew-inpsired-by-mid-century-mode/ If you want some specialist mid-century advice feel free to contact me, Regards Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls
...See More
bigreader
2 years ago
What exactly are your trying to achieve? What extra functionality do you need? What problem are you trying to resolve?
AJ
Original Author
2 years ago
Key problem I would say is the kitchen layout and wasted space in hallways. The kitchen and bathroom need to be brought out of the 70s so if we are renovating, we want to get the layout right!
oklouise
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
using approximate metric dimensions my initial suggestion would be to move the kitchen into the "upstairs" (with or without keeping the old opening) use the old kitchen as a hobby, media, study, guest room with sofa and wide desk, use the stairwell space for a mini laundry and rearrange the bathroom and toilet to include extra space out of the hallway to allow for more generous vanity and shower with extra handbasin for the toilet but need to know location of all windows and views to suggest best arrangement for kitchen, dining and lounge, remove the old fire from the entry, retain the original storage and add a set down table, seating and or small desk with charging stations and reverse the front door to open towards the living area but, something like this should work without spoiling the original house and make sure that new kitchen and bathroom is styled to suit the timber with vintage colours and, if the sliding doors shown in the plans are not cavity sliders, replace doors with plain hinged doors
AJ
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you so much!! This is fantastic food for thought and I really like what you’ve done. Some additional context, the sun comes in from the front of the house all day, the front entry must remain off the terrace, the views are at the front or back of the house with houses either side.
Kate
2 years ago
If you can remove wall to open up kitchen
AJ
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks Kate! Another great idea!

Original mid-century floor plan: help!

Comments (8)

oklouise

AJ
Original Author

Related Discussions

bigreader

AJ
Original Author

oklouise

AJ
Original Author

Kate

AJ
Original Author

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Original mid-century floor plan: help!

Comments (8)

oklouise

AJOriginal Author

Related Discussions

bigreader

AJOriginal Author

oklouise

AJOriginal Author

Kate

AJOriginal Author

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

AJ
Original Author

AJ
Original Author

AJ
Original Author

AJ
Original Author