Drawing a Blank

I've sketched a few ideas for new layouts. This first layout aims for minimal change. The third bedroom is now the main bathroom. The kitchen and dining room are swapped. Several internal walls have been removed. I'm not happy with this sketch; the house still feels like a maze.

This second layout puts the living areas on the North and South for better light. The utility areas move to the East and West. The galley kitchen isn't spacious but it is practical. This layout has a much better separation between guest areas and private areas.

This third layout is my favourite. The L-shaped public area includes the kitchen, dining and living rooms. The bedrooms are north-facing and clearly separated from the rest of the house. The major problem with this layout is the amount of change involved; I'd have to completely gut the house & relocate all the plumbing, electrics, and internal framing.

And there's the dilemma in a nutshell... major renovations are difficult and disruptive. I don't have the skill or enthusiasm for renovations so I'm going to have to hire a builder anyway. And no matter how much I rearrange the internal rooms, that won't solve big problems such as orientation on the block.

Evolved Design

I've drawn up the house in Sketchup so I can work out the renovations. One internal wall, a leftover from a previous extension, is load-bearing but everything else can come down. There's a disconnected brick chimney in the centre of the house that needs to be removed.

The house layout has evolved organically over 50 years. There have been a few mistakes made, e.g. the kitchen gets the best light; the bathroom is in the centre of the house, the second bedroom is a corridor to the main bedroom, etc.

These layout problems can be solved but only with some major renovations.