Browse Forums Interior Decorating Lounge 1 Jul 11, 2008 9:15 pm We would love some ideas in how to best organise the living spaces in our home. Our home is about 20 years old and we are about to give it a big facelift.
Here is the plan Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ When we bought the house 6 years ago we removed the horizontal wall serperating the Lounge and meals area, as well as the wall in the hallway where the dining area was. We built a half height wall on your left as you come in the front door that is 1.5 m long, and on the right we built a full height all that is 1m long. At the moment *The room labelled lounge is tiled and it is the kids play room *the room labelled dining is carpeted and is our (very very tiny) lounge room * the family/meals area is our dining room. The plans so far are *new kitchen - it will be extended and come out closet to the back sliding door *Our ensuite/WIR will be extended 1.5 m into the carport area, and renovated * the other 1.5 of carport will be a study with a door in the dining room and one long bench in that room. * built in linen cupboards/broom cupboards, and bech with sink in laundry. *linen cupboard removed from bathroom and bathroom rearranged and renovated. *redo flooring, is tiles at the moment, tossing up between tiles again or timber. We spent a lot of money on oiled cedar blinds, i am worried about too much timber with the flooring too. My questions are what should we do with the kids play area (lounge on plan) and loungeroom (dining on plan). My idea is to swap these areas around so that we have abit more space in our loungeroom. We would put a corner lounge against the half height wall and running across the window, a flatscreen on the wall that backs on to bed 1 and anice coffee table. In the old lounge (dining on plan) I would build a half height wall down the hallway (where the wall is shown there now0 to close it in a little. I was also considering removing the angled wall in the area marked as lounge on the plan. My husband thinks that this will open our room up too much. What do you think? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I know that is a huge amount of information to take in , it is clear to me as I have it all in my head, but is probably clear as mud to you. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. We really want to get it right this time after partially renovating when we bought 6 years ago. Thanks Andrea Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 2Jul 14, 2008 9:52 am Anybody want to have a stab at this for Andrea while I’m off sick???? Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 3Jul 14, 2008 10:29 am Michelle, thanks for trying to get some interest.
Bad news, I pulled the toy room apart on Saturday and moved our existing lounge there only to find that there is no way it will fit - let alone the gorgeous leather corner lounge we have our eye on. I am devastated . The problem is with our bedroom door, if it could move over even 1 m it would be great, we would then be entering the room through the WIR but we could have a wall there....couldn't we??? But then it creates another problem in the dining area as there will be another door at the other end of the dining area for the study. None of our internal walls are load bearing so I have been trying to look at all options with changing our room to the other side, using the room labelled dining room as a dining room and changing the other space into lounge/toy area. I must add that the opening fromthe kitchen to the hallway (next to fridge) is not there, it was built in before we owned the house. I (not so much my husband) am open to any ideas. I am really feeling disheartened about our home. We would really love to upograde but with 2 young children and living on one income I just don't feel thius is the right time. We love where we live, we are on a big corner block and the way our home is positioned in terms of our neighbous is perfect. My husband has landscaped the yard beautifully. There are so many things we love about our house that would be difficult to get somewhere else, but we feel like we are in a house not a family home. I guess we just want what isn't suited to our lifestyle at the moment. Sorry for the big vent, you are probbaly thinking I am a crazy woman, not crazy just very frustrated! At the end of the day though this house is fine for us day to day, it is more when we entertain that just feels so small. Anyway enough of that - any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Andrea Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 4Jul 14, 2008 6:55 pm Take out the angled wall in the marked lounger room… that has to go, it will make the lounge and family space one. Giving you a more open plan space.
Swap the rooms around; I’m sure the kids don’t need the larger space. Throw some toys out if need be. But move them to the marked dining space. Now about the corner lounge not fitting in the new space……is there any reason the lounge has to be against the back wall??? Can’t you have it off the wall about a mt?? Then put a console table in the centre of the wall at the back of the lounge. This will give you a small amount of space for you to enter your bedroom. Or why not have the back of the corner lounge facing into the meals room the corner on the lounge on the left hand side. Where would you put your TV in this room….the lounge room I mean? Ok, while you are looking to take walls out, I would take out the wall between your kitchen & dining also. Now you have an open large room, you should be able to work with that. Have a look at these option and see what you think! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 5Jul 14, 2008 9:47 pm Hi Ellyash,
I'II give it a shot One of your main objectives is to make it into a family home. Keeping this in mind, your kitchen probably needs to be organised first. Many homes now are being designed with butlers pantries. The perfect spot for a butlers pantry is where your laundry is as you already have plumbing for a sink. A door could be put where you already have a pantry and with a bit of rearranging, new cabinets and 2nd fridge/dishwasher could be put in this room. That way you dont have to extend kitchen but rather modernise it, particularly the front island. The laundry would then be placed where you were going to have the long thin study. Access to plumbing is already there with the ensuite, that also could be extended. A study nook can always be designed in the 4th bedroom. I think at least you will have a fabulous kitchen, so much space and easy to entertain as all mess can be hidden away in your gorgeous butlers pantry If I'm totally wrong, then thats okay...I will try and think of something else Mrs B Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 6Jul 16, 2008 2:39 pm Thanks so much for your ideas, they have given me something to think about.
Mrs B Loved your idea for a butlers pantry but I just don't think there will be room, plus I need the 4th bedroom for the third baby I am trying to talk my husband into having Michelle Your idea for the lounge area was great too, except that we have a really big window at the front of the room where the lounge would be facing. Our house is also western facing so it gets a lot of sun and is very bright. GOOD NEWS though. We had an interior decorator come today and she had a good idea, I hope this makes sense, I will start at the area marked dining room and work in a clockwise direction. I will use the names for the rooms as they are marked on the plan. * 'dining room' becomes study * lounge, bedroom, ensuite and carport area are all opened up and become living/dining/kitchen. The kitchen would be where the carport is, opening out to our beautiful new entertaining area. *kitchen would become bedroom/robe and ensuite, I guess some of the dining room wouldbe used for this also. She suggested putting cupboards in the dining area also for storage of toys. Her idea was that we are getting new kitchen and ensuite anyway so the cost is already there, it deosn't matter where they go. The plumbing is in the right spots to swap the ensuite and kitchen, the only problem I can see is installing a toilet into the new ensuite - anyone know how much that would cost? I know I will miss not having a play area for the kids, but a bigger living space will provide room for them to get their toys out to play with. I am so excited about this and just love that we have an option of something completely different. What do you all think? I would love your opinions/ideas about it. Tell me if you think we are dreaming, that there will not be enough space. I am hoping that it will eliminate some of the dead space between the playarea and the dining room. If you have gotten this far and understand what I am talking about then thanks very much! Andrea Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 7Jul 16, 2008 3:57 pm While all this looks and sounds great……I’d be quick smart getting a few quotes from a few builders. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 8Jul 16, 2008 4:45 pm Where do you think the cost will be with these ideas? From what I can see it will be some new walls, and some cupboards all of the rest would be what we were doing anyway. I really have no idea so would love to know how this will be a whole lot more expensive.
Thanks Andrea Edited to add - do you have an idea of how much this would be? Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 9Jul 16, 2008 6:16 pm Actually the doing away of things will cost you as well as the new walls and some plumbing.
Don’t get me wrong, your house will be much better laid out from what the decorator said, but I think you will find it is a full renovation now. Moving the kitchen, moving bathroom, it all adds up. I say go for it, and I can’t help you with the cost of it. Defiantly more than just knocking a few out. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 10Jul 16, 2008 9:48 pm This might help with the budget for a few of the plans.
http://www.archicentre.com.au/2008Jancostguide.pdf Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 11Jul 23, 2008 2:43 pm Well we have our plans back from the interior designer, I am pretty happy with them, although I would swap the dining and lounge around as where she has the lounge there is quite a large window which is western facing.
I am not sure on the kitchen design either, I think I would have to play around with that also. She has managed to leave the existing sliding door as part of our bedroom and the kitchen window will be the ensuite window. She seemed to think that it would be cheaper for us to get all of our own tradies and organise the work ourselves, but I had a plumber here today who said that is not the case - he gave me the number of someone who is a builder and a plumber that we will get to quote us. I would love to know what you think of it. Andrea Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 12Jul 23, 2008 2:46 pm Is there any way you can show the original and new plan together so it's easier to compare? Sorry to be a pain. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 13Jul 23, 2008 2:52 pm Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 15Jul 23, 2008 3:01 pm Thanks Michelle.
It looks pretty good except the kitchen. It would drive me nuts having to walk around the bench to get into the kitchen. I think with all that storage area, I'd rejig and still have a big kitchen but make a nice big butler's pantry. Also, with the study, I'd have double doors off the entry way rather than a door off the hallway. The double doors would give the room versatility, i.e. tv room, study, bedroom, library. With the door where it is it will just feel like a bedroom. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 16Jul 23, 2008 3:03 pm In the event of sounding picky here………………
I like the way it was originally!!!! I would leave it how you have it now, take out the back wall of the family and extend the family into the carport! Then sit back and redefine the spaces and their uses. I’m not happy at all with the new kitchen space. BUT!!!!!! That just my opinion. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 17Jul 23, 2008 3:04 pm Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 18Jul 23, 2008 3:10 pm Thanks Michelle and Jo, I am not happy with the kitchen either. Taking the wall out and building in the carport is a great idea and one we thought of years ago, but my husband is insistent that we extend the ensuite. i am happy with the size it is now but he is adamant we need it bigger.
My main want/need is to have a wider and larger lounge area, not having a play area for the kids is fine by me because I hate how messy it always looks, and also I worry that it will be a dead space in a few years when the kids have grown out of those toys. This is too bloody hard!! Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 19Jul 23, 2008 3:12 pm Extend into the carport, extend your unsuit out as well into the new space!
Use what’s left as the kids play area. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Please help us organise our house - UPDATED 20Jul 23, 2008 3:58 pm ellyash but my husband is insistent that we extend the ensuite. i am happy with the size it is now but he is adamant we need it bigger. Ask him to clean it......trust me that argument will shut him up! mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard of course there are legal avenues. You've already mentioned it. Sue them. I find it odd that lawyers wouldnt be willing to take on the case, given CCT evidence and… 1 23764 Thankyou so much 😀 I've decided on White on white for doors and trims, White on white 50% on ceiling and Mt buller for walls. Fingers crossed it will look OK 😀 2 7157 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 12759 |