OV9

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 8:35 am**

That's called 'character', right?

I once put up shelves in an alcove in an old house, we'd bought a load of Ikea shelves and they all had to be trimmed to completely different widths to fit.

Anyway, here's another conundrum and seeing how there's a lot of clever people with property experience on here, I value your opinions. Basically, the question is, can this be easily converted into a two-bed flat, while also making the layout more contemporary (with resale in mind)?

The simplest choice is to box-in the living room, creating a hallway down the left hand side of the property. The kitchen would remain tiny, which isn't ideal, and the reception room would be right down the front of the flat.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 8:48 am**

Difficult to see the scale, but could you move the kitchen into the living room and create a single bedroom that way?

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:25 am**

The front reception room is not going to be usable as a bedroom unless you can move the front door to the side of the building, so I'm going to rule that out.

Changing the rear reception room to a second bedroom will be a bit compromised by the need for a passage through to the kitchen but would produce a usable second bedroom. I don't think it would add much value to the place though; kitchen and reception room separated by a long dark corridor? Unappealing.

So moving the kitchen into the rear reception room to create a kitchen/diner and reconfiguring the bathroom wall looks the best way to me. You'd need to block up the back door and put a new one in which would slightly compromise the kitchen, and you'd end up with a second bedroom which is only about 6ft square but it's a second bedroom.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:40 am**

That does kinda work, it definitely would feel nicer internally. The original floorplan is an awkward layout for sure. It definitely needs a bigger kitchen, even if that's just a galley kitchen, it needs to be bigger than it's currently size. I considered the second reception room being a bedroom, however as you say, the connecting corridor between kitchen and reception would then be most unappealing.

I'm now wondering if it'd be possible to move the kitchen even further forwards into the front reception room and relocate the bathroom too

In case @Nefarious is browsing the forum, you've completely remodeled buildings as a property developer, do you have any ideas?

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:51 am**

Where are the sewers and do you have enough fall available to put the kitchen at the front?

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:52 am**

My question is are you keeping the open plan toilet?

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 10:05 am**

Jimexpl wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:51 am Where are the sewers and do you have enough fall available to put the kitchen at the front?

The soil pipe goes down into the ground in the side passge, to the very rear corner of the property. Some of the other water goes into a drain in the side passageway around where the bathroom/kitchen dividing wall is.

The floor is concrete, I have no idea about how to measure fall

and sadly can't access the property or garden to check either

Kitchen at the front is a good idea though, really make good use of that front reception room.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 10:05 am**

GG. wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:52 am My question is are you keeping the open plan toilet?

It's the new trend for 2026

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 10:19 am**

Jobbo wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:25 am The front reception room is not going to be usable as a bedroom unless you can move the front door to the side of the building, so I'm going to rule that out.

Changing the rear reception room to a second bedroom will be a bit compromised by the need for a passage through to the kitchen but would produce a usable second bedroom. I don't think it would add much value to the place though; kitchen and reception room separated by a long dark corridor? Unappealing.

So moving the kitchen into the rear reception room to create a kitchen/diner and reconfiguring the bathroom wall looks the best way to me. You'd need to block up the back door and put a new one in which would slightly compromise the kitchen, and you'd end up with a second bedroom which is only about 6ft square but it's a second bedroom.

I like that idea - could you nibble a bit off the existing bedroom ? Move the wall between the bedroom and bathroom a few feet into the bedroom. move the bath from right to left side, leave the toilet as is but perhaps move the door if necessary - would add some space to the "new" second bedroom

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:15 am**

Yeah, I’d put kitchen in reception, bathroom where kitchen is, 2nd bedroom where current bathroom is , open the living room to hallway and create a corridor own the left from living room to bathroom and bedrooms.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:47 am**

Depending on the size of the rooms, and how much work you want to put in:
Keep the back bedroom
Turn bathroom and kitchen into 2nd bedroom
Pinch the top part of the living room to create a shower room
Remove chimney breast from living room to help add an L shaped kitchen
Remove dividing wall between living room and front reception to then create open plan living/kitching/dining

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:48 am**

yep, everyone else has suggested the same thing. change to a n open plan kitchen living room and try to fit bedroom where kitchen is.

introducing more corridors and division will just make it really small and pokey.

front door location is really tricky.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 12:05 pm**

Gavster wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 10:05 am
GG. wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 9:52 am My question is are you keeping the open plan toilet?
It's the new trend for 2026

A client of mine has a loo in what is basically a greenhouse inside his house. Fortunately he has another downstairs loo.

The same house has a tree growing within it - there was an extension built many years ago but the tree was retained in its original location and the walls built around it. It's a lovely and utterly mad place.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 12:16 pm**

I love that dedication to detail. There was house in the village I used to live in which was designed and orientated so the owners could sit up in bed, look out of the window and see the church where they were married.

Of course Falling Water is the most extreme example of this...

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 12:25 pm**

High ceilings?

Fit an entire new floor in - Being John Malkovich stylee. Make a fucking £fortune mate.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:20 pm**

dinny_g wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 12:16 pm I love that dedication to detail. There was house in the village I used to live in which was designed and orientated so the owners could sit up in bed, look out of the window and see the church where they were married.

Yes! Love that kind of architectural detail too. The barn conversion in Suffolk which I very nearly moved into last year had similar thoughts put into it, in fact it had won a RIBA award. There was a very narrow, letterbox style window all the way along one side of the barn around waist height, with a few smaller windows dotted above it. I thought it was a really odd choice, however the place was a bit quirky so I didn't think any more. Until I sat on the sofa, or sat at the desk and realised that it was the perfect height to see the view across the fields and hills when sitting down.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:25 pm**

8Ball wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:47 am Depending on the size of the rooms, and how much work you want to put in:
Keep the back bedroom
Turn bathroom and kitchen into 2nd bedroom
Pinch the top part of the living room to create a shower room
Remove chimney breast from living room to help add an L shaped kitchen
Remove dividing wall between living room and front reception to then create open plan living/kitching/dining

Like this? That's an interesting one for sure, really makes the spaces far more useable too, and the second bedroom is a half-decent size too

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:32 pm**

Where does the corridor at the top lead? Another staircase?

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:51 pm**

Mito Man wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:32 pm Where does the corridor at the top lead? Another staircase?

The top right I've put in green here? That's the side passageway and garden

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:56 pm**

Gavster wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 1:25 pm
8Ball wrote: Wed Dec 03, 2025 11:47 am Depending on the size of the rooms, and how much work you want to put in:
Keep the back bedroom
Turn bathroom and kitchen into 2nd bedroom
Pinch the top part of the living room to create a shower room
Remove chimney breast from living room to help add an L shaped kitchen
Remove dividing wall between living room and front reception to then create open plan living/kitching/dining
Like this? That's an interesting one for sure, really makes the spaces far more useable too, and the second bedroom is a half-decent size too

That looks good if you were starting from scratch but moving the utilities for the bathroom and knocking down more walls might make it less cost effective. Worth investigating though.

OV9

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