Upstairs layout re-hash

Silvertabby

New layout gets the thumbs up from me!

I wouldn't put glass panels in the bedroom doors - but perhaps that's because it brings to mind living in WRAF barrack blocks in the 1970s, and being woken up at all hours when someone switched on the corridor lights when they went to the loo (ablutions!). Our house is a 1990s detached - but we don't have a landing window either. When all the doors are closed, the only natural light is from the front door panel and hall window - but we don't find that to be a problem. A nice 4-bulb light fitting on the landing with white woodwork and pale walls works for us - and you always have the option of leaving the bedroom doors open during the day.

casper_g

ST1991 wrote: »

This is why i love this forum :T
Absolutely love this idea. We have it on the current bathroom door, didn't think of putting it on the bedrooms too!

We had windows above the doors to give borrowed light to the landing in our old house, and it was annoying when you (or a guest) were trying to sleep and someone turned the landing light on. In the end we blocked the bedroom ones off.

In your situation I'd have a glazed panel above and bathroom door and/or fit a glazed door on the bathroom (frosted glass, of course!) but I wouldn't put them on the bedrooms.

ST1991

Silvertabby wrote: »

New layout gets the thumbs up from me!

I wouldn't put glass panels in the bedroom doors - but perhaps that's because it brings to mind living in WRAF barrack blocks in the 1970s, and being woken up at all hours when someone switched on the corridor lights when they went to the loo (ablutions!). Our house is a 1990s detached - but we don't have a landing window either. When all the doors are closed, the only natural light is from the front door panel and hall window - but we don't find that to be a problem. A nice 4-bulb light fitting on the landing with white woodwork and pale walls works for us - and you always have the option of leaving the bedroom doors open during the day.

:T Thanks for 'approving' layout 2!

Again something i didn't think of... we have blackout curtains in the bedroom as my husband can only sleep in the pitch black, so light disturbances may not be ideal.
Bedroom 2 will eventually babies room (in time!!) so we could probably get away with adding a glazed panel above that door.
We currently have a light at the top of the landing, and when we add the corridor i was thinking of putting one along that additional stretch too. The lights are currently sufficient when doors are shut. As long as the light is not right outside the door to bedroom2 beaming in, it should be OK.

We have a beautiful solid wood and etched glass bathroom door at the moment... that had to be kicked in a week or two ago when the handle/lock broke so we'll have to get a new one anyway - but that is another reason to go with glass again.

ic

Thinking out of the box... could the stair case actually turn around? Granted its more work as will need further changes downstairs, however it would mean you don't have to give up so much of upstairs to the corridor, keeping the back bedroom bigger.

As for getting light to the stairway, you could get one or two sun tubes fitted.

ST1991

ic wrote: »

Thinking out of the box... could the stair case actually turn around? Granted its more work as will need further changes downstairs, however it would mean you don't have to give up so much of upstairs to the corridor, keeping the back bedroom bigger.

As for getting light to the stairway, you could get one or two sun tubes fitted.

We considered this... because actually if the stairs were the other way around we wouldn't need a corridor at all. You would have a small walkway through the 'storage' to bedroom 1. A door to bathroom, and a door to bedroom 2.
We could then potentially square-off and move the main partition wall between bedroom2 and bathroom further into bedroom two, making it wider instead of longer... if that makes sense...

However... i have no idea about the cost of moving the stairs around... and wouldn't even know where to start!

(Plus, a stud-wall is something that the husband can do, and bribe a friend to help for beers )

moneyistooshorttomention

We'll all have our own views on this.

If it were my house - then I'd think it was more important to have a decent size bedroom 2 than a decent size bathroom. One is in a bedroom rather more and needs to store rather more stuff there.

I'd have a large walk-in shower or a P-shaped bath with shower over and forget about the idea of having separate bath and shower (though that is the ideal arrangement imo).

That is assuming its possible to knock through a door in the middle space on plan - beneath words "landing" then "stairs".

I may be getting this wrong that its possible - as I'm trying to visualise this house layout.

If it doesnt work - then...yep..I'd investigate possibility of turning staircase round and/or re-locating it other end of the "landing". I don't know how much that sort of alteration costs - but there's no harm in asking just how much money and disruption this would involve.