open plan living room and kitchen vs separate

chucknorris

It is good to see other people's views on this subject because I am considering changing a two bed flat that I rent out, into a 3 bed flat by adding an open plan kitchen into the lounge (which is about 18' x 10') and converting the kitchen (11' x 8') into a bedroom. I won't do it until the existing tenants move out, and the kitchen although useable is getting near the end of its life. The 2 bed flat rent is £1,350/month and I have a 3 bed (built as, in the same block) flat that I have just rented for £1,800/month. I think the rent I would ask for the previous 2 bed would be about £1,650 to £1,700, although the lounge would be smaller it does have a garden, whereas the other flat only has a balcony, and it also has what would be a smaller 3rd bedroom too. I would try to put the washing machine in a cupboard, rather than in the lounge/kitchen.

martin1959

Sorry, absolutely hate open plan.


Open plan is just another phrase for 'pokey little flat that is not big enough to have separate rooms'.....


It is the big thing around here for new builds, so the builder can squeeze every last inch out of a property....

chucknorris

martin1959 wrote: »

Sorry, absolutely hate open plan.


Open plan is just another phrase for 'pokey little flat that is not big enough to have separate rooms'.....

Like this place? http://www.malthousefarmbarns.co.uk/the-malting-house/

fairy_lights

chucknorris wrote: »

It is good to see other people's views on this subject because I am considering changing a two bed flat that I rent out, into a 3 bed flat by adding an open plan kitchen into the lounge (which is about 18' x 10') and converting the kitchen (11' x 8') into a bedroom.

18' by 10' might be a decent size for a lounge but is tiny for a kitchen-lounge, especially for a three bedroom property. Presumably you would be marketing it at families and with three bedrooms people would surely want more living space - there wouldn't even be space for a dinner table in a room that size.

SailorSam

My last house was open plan, but open plan in so much that the stairs were in the lounge. The kitchen was seperate. I liked itexcept it probably meant the heating bills were a bit higher. I don't think i would have bought if it had been the lounge and kitchen in one.
But if you're only renting i wouldn't be put off by a lounge/kitchen. It's easy to open a window and spray around with air freshener.

sharp910sh

I am not sure not. Its just the noise of the extractor hood which is bothering me. Everything else at the place is A+, shame they couldn't put a wall there.

Jhoney_2

chucknorris wrote: »

It is good to see other people's views on this subject because I am considering changing a two bed flat that I rent out, into a 3 bed flat by adding an open plan kitchen into the lounge (which is about 18' x 10') and converting the kitchen (11' x 8') into a bedroom. I won't do it until the existing tenants move out, and the kitchen although useable is getting near the end of its life. The 2 bed flat rent is £1,350/month and I have a 3 bed (built as, in the same block) flat that I have just rented for £1,800/month. I think the rent I would ask for the previous 2 bed would be about £1,650 to £1,700, although the lounge would be smaller it does have a garden, whereas the other flat only has a balcony, and it also has what would be a smaller 3rd bedroom too. I would try to put the washing machine in a cupboard, rather than in the lounge/kitchen.

It may be a good idea to fit an extractor/vent in too if you can. Noise is one thing, damp is quite another - and almost unavoidable for your tenants, if you stick a water appliance into an unventilated space.

Jhoney_2

sharp910sh wrote: »

I am not sure not. Its just the noise of the extractor hood which is bothering me. Everything else at the place is A+, shame they couldn't put a wall there.

Can you not open the window instead of using this?

You could also fit an in glass window extractor/vent, or a replacement window with vent built in.

This is fairly easy to resolve. Just because it's there doesn't mean you must use it or keep it.

pickledonionspaceraider

Open plan all the way, far more social

Mrs_Imp

I hate open plan. We rented a 2 bed open plan flat for a while. The living/dining/kitchen area was about 18ft by 10ft and it was a squeeze to get things in. It felt cramped. I'm glad it was just the two of us living there, or we would've had to have the dining table away from the wall, and there was only a 2 seater sofa so we would've needed another. At which point there wouldn't be much room left at all.

And the extractor fan was rubbish as it just vented in to the kitchen, so the smells were never removed.

If we'd been staying longer we may have turned the second bedroom in to a living room.

I may consider making our kitchen/dining room here a bit more open, but there's something quite nice about having the in-laws over for Christmas dinner and being able to hide the kitchen full of pans and pots from them.