THis week I have had an offer accepted on a 1930's 3-bed semi. Usual layout with a very small kitchen and dining room to rear of building. I wish to either remove wall or create a large archway to create a kitchen-diner.
Would this devalue the property in anyway ie only having one reception room instead of two and creating a large kitchen diner please?
The market I am aiming to sell onto would be the family market..
Firstly, taking on a development is a huge step! Those folks on PL seem to have a good eye for it and can visualise spaces that I can't. Also, El Beeny is SO competent, I'd love her advice but also I'd be overawed. Good luck with your application and your development- I'll look for you in the next season.
**Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days you are the statue.**
Originally posted by juliep: Firstly, taking on a development is a huge step! Those folks on PL seem to have a good eye for it and can visualise spaces that I can't. Also, El Beeny is SO competent, I'd love her advice but also I'd be overawed. Good luck with your application and your development- I'll look for you in the next season.
I guess so - but I can visualise it...just have to follow through and realise it
Speaking as a family with teenagers, we all prefer having the dining room kept as a separate room. We've used outs to create a second sitting room- less arguements about TV, place to do homework, chill out with friends etc. Obviously it would be nice to have somewhere to sit in the kitchen, but if it's either/or, I'd say keep the dining room.
Most 1930s houses I have seen have absolutely miniscule kitchens and this is not compatible with modern living. While having a vast kitchen/breakfast room AND a separate dining room/family room would be heaven it isn't going to be possible in your development. I would definitely go for the knock through. Perhaps the wide arch solution would be a good compromise as it does still suggest separate identities for each area while maximising light and the sense of space.
if theres room you could put double doors between the two rooms. then they can be left open or closed as needed or if the buyer wanted fully open they could take the doors off.
I think families really want two sitting rooms and a kitchen diner. If they can't have that - and extensions/conservatories aren't possible - they prefer one sitting room and a kitchen/diner. That's when the children are small anyway. Teenagers may be different.
I think it depends on just how small the kitchen is. If it's one of the teeny-weeny ones that some 1930s houses have, then definitely knock through into the dining room.
Thanks for all your comments. Yes the Kitchen is tinsy !
Quite looking forward to a bit sledgehammer action too.
I am thinking of compromising and go for the archway but will have a better idea when I return tomorrow for another visit.
Depending on cash flow I may add a conservatory. WOuld you say this would serve as a dining room well allowing the kitchen/diner to become a large kitchen in a family home please?
Yes, I'd definitely knock through but don't go for a rounded archway - that looks really naff. Keep the opening square. If the wall isn't a support wall, it won't be difficult to get rid of but get a surveyor to advise if it is or isn't. Once you get the survey done, check with your local council office if the work is subject to building controls (if so, it'll cost you about 100 pounds to get the necessary approval). Have a look up in the attic, if the wall stops at the ceiling and doesn't continue right up to the roof, that's a good indication it isn't a support wall.
When we were buying last year we looked at lots of 1930s semis, all with the layout you describe. The kitchen/diner was definitely our preferred layout as it made the kitchen seem bigger and also we didn't think we would get so much use out of a seperate dining room either. We might feel differently about it once we've actually had the kids of course! But I would have thought that a family with teenagers, if looking to buy a house would be aiming at a larger house than yours so possibly not so much of a target for you? (IMHO of course).
As for the conservatory, well, presonally I really don't like them, and Beany has said in the past that they often don't add as much value as they cost to put up. So I think that might be better left as an option for the buyer to do themselves in the future.
So who is the target market for a 1930s semi in a leafy rd with a primary and secondary in walking distance - I guess it would be a very young family with 1/2 junior children maybe?
Originally posted by iggy999: Yes, I'd definitely knock through but don't go for a rounded archway - that looks really naff. Keep the opening square.
Whether a wide arch or square opening looks best often depends upon the style of the house and other features. If the dining room has doors to the garden which have arch shaped detail then it can look good to echo this with the opening between the two rooms.
On the point about a conservatory, a really good one can add value but it's got to be a useable room and not just a plastic shed attached to the house. If in doubt, don't do it.
Finally get advice on the wall. My Edwardian house has no brick internal walls upstairs at all and all the support is provided by the internal walls at ground floor level.
I think the idea of a separate diningroom is completely out-dated. These days everyone wants an eat-in kitchen, preferably a reasonable size. In your position, I would definitely knock through between the kitchen and diningroom and make a decent size kitchen/diner. If kids want to be with their friends, they can still sit in there.
We have a small separate "diningroom" which we immediately turned into a TV/snug, as we always eat in the kitchen.
I must be very old-fashioned, but I would always rather have a separate kitchen. I like the cooking mess (in the nicest possible sense) to be in a different room....but I don't have kids.
I've just remembered something an estate agent mentioned to us when we were looking at similar houses a couple of years ago - if the house has the layout where the cupboard under the stairs is adjacent to the kitchen, then that cupboard can be turned into a laundry "room", with plumbing for a washing machine or washer dryer, with shelves above, or space stacked washing machine and dryer. It shouldn't be too difficult to run the plumbing through from the kitchen and it's easy to put the drainage through to the outside. This helps maximise the space in the kitchen and it's nice to have some of the noise of a washing machine minimised by it being behind a door.
Originally posted by iggy999: Have a look up in the attic, if the wall stops at the ceiling and doesn't continue right up to the roof, that's a good indication it isn't a support wall.
The wall may not be supporting another wall above but it may still support the first floor. Also, IMHO, conservatories are too cold in winter, too hot in summer so if you wish to extend, why not do a 'proper' extension with maybe rooflights etc if extra light is needed?
Popped round for another visit on Saturday - scrapping the idea of a kitchen diner!! Will throw out the old kitchen and install a two-way galley kitchen and make use of the small space under the stairs for a dryer.
Then knock through from the lounge to the dining room but rather than just an archm, have double doors to segregate the two rooms as an option.
Bold move ck1, particularly as most posters here have ticked the box for the kitchen diner. I am assuming both options will cost you about the same and would strongly suggest that you ask local EAs what they think. Assuming that similar houses in the area have already tackled this issue in a number of ways the local agents will know which configuration attracts the most interest on resale.
another vote here for the kitchen diner. its what my husband did with our 1930`s semi. its so much easier when youve got kids to have an eat in kitchen. he turned the original kitchen into a fabulous second bathroom, another great selling point.
But I would have thought that a family with teenagers, if looking to buy a house would be aiming at a larger house than yours so possibly not so much of a target for you? (IMHO of course).
