ᐅ Enlarging the Hallway Floor Plan of a 1921 Detached House: Any Tips?
Created on: 11 Mar 2022 16:27
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Winniefred
Dear forum,
We are currently planning a new heating system, during which we will probably install underfloor heating on the ground floor. This means we will likely have to remove the entire ground floor flooring, insulate it (there is a cellar vault underneath), and lay the heating system. In other words: everything will need to be cleared out and completely renovated.
We have been living in our end-terrace house from 1921 since 2017 and are generally very satisfied. However, the hallway area on the ground floor has been a constant source of frustration. There are four of us living here, and we often have visitors. The entrance area is too narrow, and in the future, we will need more storage space for shoes and coats as the children grow older. At the moment, it’s manageable, but it becomes tight when guests come over.
Attached you’ll find the floor plan, which the previous owner (a civil engineer) drew up. I have marked some changes, for example, we removed the wall with the door from the vestibule, changed the kitchen door’s swing direction, and swapped the kitchen and living room. The horizontal interior wall is load-bearing and, including plaster, measures 15cm (6 inches) thick. The wall depicted vertically on the plan is non-load-bearing (the neighbors completely removed theirs) and currently measures 10.5cm (4 inches) including plaster. So the thickness shown on the plan is not correct. Unfortunately, the original plans are no longer available.
I could live with reducing the kitchen space a bit in order to enlarge the hallway. However, there should still be a solid wall between the kitchen and hallway, since we definitely do not want an open kitchen. We had an open kitchen for the first four years here due to the missing kitchen door – never again! So the door could be relocated.
Currently, in the hallway, we have a shoe cabinet 89cm (35 inches) wide and a hall cupboard for coats, bags, etc., 100cm (39 inches) wide. A radiator 49cm (19 inches) wide including the thermostat would be removed, which would free up some space.
Where would you most likely make changes here?
We are currently planning a new heating system, during which we will probably install underfloor heating on the ground floor. This means we will likely have to remove the entire ground floor flooring, insulate it (there is a cellar vault underneath), and lay the heating system. In other words: everything will need to be cleared out and completely renovated.
We have been living in our end-terrace house from 1921 since 2017 and are generally very satisfied. However, the hallway area on the ground floor has been a constant source of frustration. There are four of us living here, and we often have visitors. The entrance area is too narrow, and in the future, we will need more storage space for shoes and coats as the children grow older. At the moment, it’s manageable, but it becomes tight when guests come over.
Attached you’ll find the floor plan, which the previous owner (a civil engineer) drew up. I have marked some changes, for example, we removed the wall with the door from the vestibule, changed the kitchen door’s swing direction, and swapped the kitchen and living room. The horizontal interior wall is load-bearing and, including plaster, measures 15cm (6 inches) thick. The wall depicted vertically on the plan is non-load-bearing (the neighbors completely removed theirs) and currently measures 10.5cm (4 inches) including plaster. So the thickness shown on the plan is not correct. Unfortunately, the original plans are no longer available.
I could live with reducing the kitchen space a bit in order to enlarge the hallway. However, there should still be a solid wall between the kitchen and hallway, since we definitely do not want an open kitchen. We had an open kitchen for the first four years here due to the missing kitchen door – never again! So the door could be relocated.
Currently, in the hallway, we have a shoe cabinet 89cm (35 inches) wide and a hall cupboard for coats, bags, etc., 100cm (39 inches) wide. A radiator 49cm (19 inches) wide including the thermostat would be removed, which would free up some space.
Where would you most likely make changes here?
Benutzer200 schrieb:
If you really need more space (which I personally don’t think is necessary), then build a nice niche directly to the right of the entrance (where the table is now).Yep. The line at 2840 mm (112 inches) will roughly be the new wall. Below that, on the left, will be the wardrobe; on the right, a pantry. However, a new window is needed on the right side according to the plan. How does that look?
Winniefred11 Mar 2022 19:30K a t j a schrieb:
Yep. The line at 2840 will roughly be the new wall. Below left will be the coat closet, and below right will be a pantry. However, a new window will be needed on the right side. What’s the situation with that? I actually like the idea. There used to be a second window on the long side in the kitchen, but it was bricked up, then insulated and plastered over. Bringing it back would involve a lot of work (connecting to the external insulation and exterior plaster).
I was thinking more of a niche created by partially recessing the thin wall, which I believe @Benutzer200 also suggested?
Winniefred11 Mar 2022 19:32Benutzer200 schrieb:
If you really need space (which I personally don’t think), you could build a nice niche immediately to the right of the entrance (where the table is now).It’s really not that comfortable in the long run. Right now, the children’s shoes and jackets are still small. But they grow, of course. We often have visitors. Sometimes the whole family shows up, and then I never know where to put the guests’ jackets and shoes. So far, we just stuff the jackets between the stair railing and the shoes end up in the hallway walkway.
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barfly66611 Mar 2022 22:33Winniefred schrieb:
It’s really not comfortable in the long run. At the moment, the kids' shoes and jackets are still small. But they do grow. We often have visitors. Sometimes the entire family shows up, and I never know where to put the guests' jackets and shoes. So far, we just stuff the jackets between the staircase railing and the shoes end up in the hallway walkway. I would invite fewer people… 🙂
Isn’t it almost normal to have to spread out jackets and such when you have a lot of visitors? A hallway is the least important room to enlarge, and I find it odd to take space away from the much nicer room like the kitchen. If you end up with a larger hallway, you’ll be short on space in the kitchen again. An open kitchen connected to the hallway area could be an option, but you don’t want an open floor plan anyway.
Winniefred12 Mar 2022 08:58barfly666 schrieb:
I would invite fewer people … 🙂
Isn’t it almost normal to have to spread out coats and such somewhere when you have a lot of visitors? The hallway is the least important room to enlarge, I think it’s a bit odd to take space from the much nicer room, the kitchen, to do that. If you end up with a bigger hallway, you lose space in the kitchen again. An open kitchen connected to the hallway might be an option, but you don’t want an open floor plan anyway.I guess it’s a matter of personal taste. I find our kitchen large enough that you can afford to take a bit of space without losing comfort. We like having guests, and as I said, it’s already tight with just the four of us. The children are now 6 and 8 years old; they are two girls. In a few years, the hallway will be bursting at the seams. Since we own our home, we can make changes. We’ve had five years to test it out and can say without a doubt: there is a need for improvement here. In a rental apartment, you’d have to live with it, and the kids would have to take their coats into their rooms later on. But that’s not necessary.
This is what it looks like in my case (end-terrace house, built in 1914):
Yellow = Demolished walls
Red = New walls
I am separating the space for the cloakroom (approx. 1.60m (5 feet 3 inches)) from the living room. This creates a convenient area for coats and shoes right near the door.
Yellow = Demolished walls
Red = New walls
I am separating the space for the cloakroom (approx. 1.60m (5 feet 3 inches)) from the living room. This creates a convenient area for coats and shoes right near the door.
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