Council House Kitchen Standard

Mmac19

Norman_Castle said:

If the other extensions are identical its likely they were done by the same owner at the same time. Its possible the work was offered to a previous tenant who rejected it. Ask the council about the possibility of having this property extended.

This might be relevant 

I asked briefly over the phone and she just responded saying the kitchen was replaced less than 15 years ago, so thought I'd look into it a bit. I've looked at old floor plans of houses on the street and the kitchen is only 1.5 x 2.8m, with two doors in taking up wall space. 
Thank you for the document link! 

AdrianC

Mmac19 said:
I'm just concerned that it isn't functional and there won't be enough space to prepare a meal.

Of course you can prepare a meal... You might need to be a bit more organised than if you had more space, but it will certainly be possible...

Do you have any photos, dimensions, maybe a floorplan?

I suspect Norman's right - the council offered extensions to all occupants, and the occupant of this one refused for whatever reason. Whether they'll be happy to do it now is another question entirely.

deannagone

I was placed in emergency social housing with a fairly small kitchen.  Fortunately next to it were cupboards I used for Kitchen storage as I have a lot of kitchen items.  It is a pain having little preparation space but I bought a mobile kitchen island (you can get quite small ones) that helped or put brackets in and put a drop leaf table in somewhere like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Folding-Table-Wall-mounted-Drop-leaf-Table-70-x-45-x7cm/353404651140?hash=item52488f0684:g:2WAAAOSw8hdgVmzj or brackets fixed to the wall and your own choice of board on it to extend work prep area.  

I do understand, I hate having a small kitchen myself.  I've had to put fridges in a hallway or even a living room at times.  But you just manage.  

Normally I was allowed to go an unofficially look at a property (from the outside) before it was officially offered so I could refuse it unofficially and be offered something more suitable.  But councils don't always offer this because its a lot of faffing around from their point of view.

I was able to refuse a property because it had a lot of stairs (four floors) which as my son and I have mobility problems (and the lounge, of course was on third floor so would have taken an age to get to answer the front door) and that was ok.

Mmac19

AdrianC said:

Mmac19 said:
I'm just concerned that it isn't functional and there won't be enough space to prepare a meal.

Of course you can prepare a meal... You might need to be a bit more organised than if you had more space, but it will certainly be possible...

Do you have any photos, dimensions, maybe a floorplan?

I suspect Norman's right - the council offered extensions to all occupants, and the occupant of this one refused for whatever reason. Whether they'll be happy to do it now is another question entirely.

Hi, in my opinion there isn't not enough adequate space to prepare a meal for a family. Of course it is possible, but would be a struggle. 

The kitchen is 1.5 x 2.8m. There is an external door leading to the outbuilding on one of the longer walls, and a door leading to the hall on the other long wall. So not much wall space.

I agree that you and Norman are probably right with that.

deannagone

It sounds to me like possibly you might be able to adapt the outbuilding to use as additional kitchen space even if there is a door in the way even if the council won't extend into that building themselves.  Again, do sympathise because this place I have now was the worst in the whole block for a kitchen, it was the original kitchen with cupboard fronts falling off etc.  But I had no choice, had to accept it and 18 months later was able to get a partly adapted kitchen put in because of my mobility problems.  Until then, I had the mobile island to help.  In the days when you could do almost what you liked to a council property, I have put a complete kitchen in but you can't do that now without getting a property change form assessed and prove you are having it done by professionals, which even I can't afford to do.

Mmac19

deannagone said:

I was placed in emergency social housing with a fairly small kitchen.  Fortunately next to it were cupboards I used for Kitchen storage as I have a lot of kitchen items.  It is a pain having little preparation space but I bought a mobile kitchen island (you can get quite small ones) that helped or put brackets in and put a drop leaf table in somewhere like this or brackets fixed to the wall and your own choice of board on it to extend work prep area.  

I do understand, I hate having a small kitchen myself.  I've had to put fridges in a hallway or even a living room at times.  But you just manage.  

Normally I was allowed to go an unofficially look at a property (from the outside) before it was officially offered so I could refuse it unofficially and be offered something more suitable.  But councils don't always offer this because its a lot of faffing around from their point of view.

I was able to refuse a property because it had a lot of stairs (four floors) which as my son and I have mobility problems (and the lounge, of course was on third floor so would have taken an age to get to answer the front door) and that was ok.

Thank you Deanna! I'm really glad you have found somewhere suitable for yourself and your son.

Thank you for the suggestions, I have considered the option of the wall mounted drop leaf tables but unfortunately there isn't space. I have decided I will use one in the lounge as a dining table though. 

I am in emergency housing at the moment and have done the same thing you did. I was also able to move the fridge freezer into the cupboard to allow for more space, but this won't be possible in the house as the living room is small too. There's no storage space downspace. The only storage space is the outbuilding but that has no door on it, just a gate, so wouldn't be suitable for electricals or food storage. There is a very small cupbaord under the stairs so I may have to buy tubs and store some items under there.

It all seems possible, just with difficulty. 

MovingForwards

Shelves?
It's what I've done in my kitchen.

Can you put a door on the outbuilding?

Is there a lounge and dining room downstairs? Any alcoves for units?

How many of you are moving into this house?

Mmac19

MovingForwards said:

Shelves?
It's what I've done in my kitchen.

Can you put a door on the outbuilding?

Is there a lounge and dining room downstairs? Any alcoves for units?

How many of you are moving into this house?

There is very limited space for shelves but there's a section where I could fit 2 for small ones, but wouldn't help much.

I think a door could be added but would be out of my budget.

There is a lounge, but it only seems to be big enough for lounge furniture. Hopefully once I get in there I'll be able to squish things in. Was just Hoping there was some sort of kitchen guidelines that I could mention to solve the issue. 

3 of us. 

carefullycautious

Is this a terraced house? Is there room outside to put a lean to type conservatory on. I used to live next door to a neighbour that did this to a) To enclose the outdoor toilet b) to provide space for washing machine and fridge and other household items that did not fit into the very small kitchen area.

 This was a council house back in the late 60s. The husband built it himself as it was before conservatories as we know them came onto the market.
Or when you have moved in try asking if they would do what the other neighbours have had done

Good luck in your new home

Blue_bell_20

I bought a hanging metal shelf unit that hangs on to a door, for food storage. It’s like four shelves/baskets. It was cheap to buy and has lasted quite a while. I also bought (gumtree) a leaf folding table years ago when space was an issue. It stayed folded in the livingroom except for dinner time. 

I still have both items years later and they are both still in use. In a different house now that has enough cupboards/space but the two items are great. Admittedly I no longer fold the table down anymore.