diddidle
stranger
Reged: 12/05/2009
Posts: 1
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Good evening all,
I'm thinking of putting my Victorian maisonette up side down.
The kitchen diner would be on the new beautiful loft extension with a terrace, the living room down below with our bedroom and the children room on the ground floor. (We have no garden)
This is a feasible project but I'd like to hear your opinion/advices.
Am I mad?!
Would I be better off keeping a cramped living space (small kitchen) and have a master bedroom + en-suite in the loft? (which would be a 4th bedroom)
Any feed-back welcome!
Thank you!
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vicky_cb
enthusiast
Reged: 13/11/2007
Posts: 318
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Hi diddidle and welcome!
Sounds like an interesting project... personally, I would keep the kitchen on the ground floor - people like and expect it and I am not sure that 'upside down' houses sell as well as 'normal' layout ones (think of taking all your shopping up to the third floor and bringing rubbish down again!) Plus the more bedrooms you have the more it is worth in the long run and moving the kitchen to the loft would make it hard for anyone to reclaim that space as a bedroom.
I would have a look at your existing kitchen and the layout downstairs and see what you can do to make it more suitable to your needs - if you don't have a garden you could move the kitchen to the front of the house and knock through? have the downstairs as your kitchen / diner and maybe put in a second loo / utility in the old kitchen if that's something you are lacking.
Then make a fab, more grown-up living room in the loft and the terrace. Good sound-proofing on the floor will be important to avoid waking up the kids when you have friends round!
When you come to sell you can point out that the loft could be a bedroom if they choose...
Good luck with it and take before and after pics for the see my home thread!
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tracyb
newbie
Reged: 12/10/2006
Posts: 40
Loc: bonnie scotland
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hiya
I think you should go for it! Although I think what Vicky says about what people expect might have to be taken seriously re resale in your area!
We live in an upside down 70's house and could not imagine having ground floor living space again. The living areas get all the light and are warmer while the bedrooms are cooler and of course you cant hear children thumping about!I must update my pictures as we have done the kitchen, bathrooms and converted the garage since I last posted.
The only downside is taking shopping upstairs! A few of the houses in my area were build upside down to take in the views of the River Forth over to Edinburgh Castle - interestingly some just have an upside lounge and not a kitchen. Neighbours who have this arrangement wish the kitchen was upstairs too and they are always running up and down stairs for drinks etc.
good luck with your decision!
tracy
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keds
newbie
Reged: 17/03/2009
Posts: 39
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I totally agree with Tracyb - My parents live in an 'upside down' house which was also my home when I was younger. The bedrooms are lovely and cool in the summer and if I could afford a house like theirs, its what I would go for everytime!
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LizzyVL
journeyman
Reged: 15/10/2008
Posts: 61
Loc: London
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Well, it is always a trade of. Just make sure you come out better at the other end.
Keep in mind that you also have to get your facilities up there (water, drainage, extraction, maybe gas) which can be a costly endeavour.
What worries me is that your living space and kitchen are not on the same level. Your daily living space is always close to food and beverage supply and it is inconvenient to have to take stair for it. You will most probably start living in your kitchen and make lesser use of your living space. As mentioned before supplies and waste still need to go out the front door, so be ready. It is a good idea before you do such thing to keep a current schedule of room occupancy. Put a piece of paper next to the doors and make a mark every time you walk in and out a space. If you do this a couple of days you will get a view of how you use the different spaces in your house and will get an idea of how many times you will have to run down the stairs if your kitchen would be on the top floor. This may help in your decision making.
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Lizzy
Visit me on my blog
Member of http://www.id-sphere.com, the interior designer's community and information weblog
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