Neil & Laura struggled to redesign their house layout after they bought their 1920s semi in Levenshulme. The ground floor kitchen and living room configuration wasn’t ideal for them. They were looking to open up this space by removing the wall in between the kitchen and the living room. They particularly struggled with the layout, and with finding a neat way of allocating the kitchen diner as well as the sofa corner. We met for a half day workshop with Neil, and I drew out four possible scenarios.
We weighed up the pros and cons of each option. We had focused on the size of the kitchen – the bigger the better. Our goal was to gain the most out of it without compromising the sofa corner. The largest kitchen layout was achieved by swapping around the existing living room and the kitchen location. By removing the bulky chimney breast, we gained the essential space in the room. In such a small spaces every square meter is valuable. Sometimes it is enough to redesign the house layout to achieve comfortable living. Creating larger door openings to the garden will make the rooms brighter and the garden more visible from inside. Extension is not the only way for home improvement.
We struggled to visualize what it would look like the redesign of our kitchen and the workshop was very helpful.
Neil
the workshop was very helpful
The most important for the client is to understand the design proposal and its dimensions
It was a very memorable workshop. Neil (my client) discovered too late that the heating was not working. Fortunately Neil's dad managed to organize an emergency radiator and a hot tea appeared at the right moment. Sometimes the workshop conditions are more rough. The most important for the client is to understand the design proposal and its dimensions. That's why at Pride Road we always try to work on the spot. I showed to Neil how far the kitchen will reach or how much space left he will have for the dining table. We looked at the chimney breast and how close to the kitchen cabinets it will stay if we will not remove it entirely. Neil got reassured and grasped a real dimension of the kitchen furniture when we were checking how far it projects into the room (option 1)
Pride Road
