Do we make the kitchen bigger or keep the downstairs loo?

lucieatkins

Hi all, looking for advice on making home improvements please.
I live in a 2 bedroom new build, with my husband, built 2015 and we are the first owners. We are due to remortgage soon and I'd like to borrow a bit more to make some home improvements. My husband, isn't convinced on my plans so wanted to see what others thought.
The downstairs is open plan, very small kitchen but a lovely open living room. We have a downstairs loo which I personally think is a waste of space. FYI we don't have kids. The kitchen is 2.12x2.50m, worktop space is limited and I'd like more. We both like cooking but we can't do it together because there's not enough space. We only plan on being here for another 3 or so years so we are going to be doing it on a budget and hopefully it will add value to the property- but will it? Do people buying a two bed house need a downstairs loo? It's a great house for first time buyers with no kids or a baby/young child. My husband thinks having the downstairs loo is better value wise for the house. Sorry I don't have measurements for the loo but it's wide enough for wheelchair access and about 2m in length.
Thoughts please? Thanks in advance.

DOH_a

A ground floor W.C. was a Building Regulation requirement so you will not be able to remove it. You could choose to re-locate it if there is space elsewhere?

babyblade41

Downstairs loo on a 2 bedder is an asset ..IMO don't get rid 

adonis

I have a two bedroom property and would love an extra downstairs loo.

Just a thought, I new someone that had a toilet built in the garden near the house, good idea or too much like an outhouse.?

lucieatkins

DOH.a said:

A ground floor W.C. was a Building Regulation requirement so you will not be able to remove it. You could choose to re-locate it if there is space elsewhere?

Oh really? How do I find out more info about this please? Thanks.

folkestonelisa

Having just paid £5000 to have one put in my kitchen (kitchen is big enough to do it) you don’t realise how much you use one and we don’t have young kids anymore. 

DOH_a

lucieatkins said:

DOH.a said:

A ground floor W.C. was a Building Regulation requirement so you will not be able to remove it. You could choose to re-locate it if there is space elsewhere?

Oh really? How do I find out more info about this please? Thanks.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540330/BR_PDF_AD_M1_2015_with_2016_amendments_V3.pdf
(Page 8)

It has been a BR requirement for a long time.

phoebe1989seb

Although I love a large kitchen, I wouldn't sacrifice a downstairs loo for one.

We are fortunate in that the cottage we downsized to (just me and DH these days), although considerably smaller than the houses we've owned previously has space enough for both.

We've managed to get a large kitchen by swapping the layout and can fit a loo/basin in under the stairs.

Our place began life as an agricultural building with no toilet facilities and was reliant on an outside 'privy' till 1999  Between roughly 1900 and 1999 it had three bedrooms.

When we purchased it in 2018 it had two beds and an upstairs shower room, but by a little judicious rejigging we plan to reinstate a third bedroom whilst keeping a generous upstairs bathroom.

Even if we planned to keep it as a two bed, we'd have still wanted a second loo.....

rach_k

I think I'm in the minority but I'd much prefer to have a decent size kitchen than a downstairs loo.  No downstairs loo wouldn't put me off a house, whereas a kitchen only big enough for one person most definitely would, even if I lived alone.  

If you need to keep a loo downstairs, can you make it smaller?  There are some very tiny toilets with basins above the cistern. 

folkestonelisa

I have the toilet with the basin 😁

FreeBear

lucieatkins said: The kitchen is 2.12x2.50m, worktop space is limited and I'd like more.

Good grief. My bathroom is nearly as big... Kitchen was slightly larger, but was extended back in the 1970s... Still felt cramped at 2.4m by 3.6m, but after a refit feels much bigger.

Post up a floor plan of the ground floor with enough detail of the kitchen so that we can see what you currently have. There are space saving ideas that could improve on what you have without having to knock down walls.

One of the things I did was to do away with wall units. All I have left hanging on the wall is a glass extractor hood over the hob. With extra lighting, the space feels so much bigger and no more cramped feelings. Downside is a lack of storage space, but for me, that is a small price to pay.