This two bedroom typical mid terrace house needs a complete ‘top to toe’ renovation. The location is perfect for holiday lets for summer sailing & music events. With this in mind the new owners were looking for advice on how to reinstate a third bedroom without losing an upstairs bathroom, they wanted lockable storage; a downstairs wetroom & a utility. Preferably whilst retaining the existing footprint!
Tardis thinking was required.
The current tight, steep stairwell was to the rear of the house with a stud wall to the kitchen behind. Other houses on the street had retained the 3 bedrooms upstairs & had built a bathroom extension to the rear behind the kitchen. Ground floor rear bathrooms do not add good ‘value’ to a property so I was keen to find another solution.
The best solution would be to move the stairs, as the stairwell already had window & could easy suit a bathroom, as water & waste could be re-routed from the kitchen; plus the wetroom could be sited underneath. The best location for the stairs would be from the generous dining room into the current large bedroom. This location would also allow for a second staircase if the owners ever decided to convert the loft in the future.
I drafted two options for the ground floor, & three options for the first floor ( the third showing the stairs staying put ); whilst the second ground floor option included an extension into the side return at the rear of the property. This would result in a lovely kitchen diner space which could have vaulted ceilings in the side return & rear, making the most of the west facing rear aspect.
I have drawn in & labelled the beds to help visualise the scale of the rooms. As the property may be used for holiday lets it was important to try & fit in more beds ( especially as in Cowes many clients would be individual sailors not couples – zip & link superking beds are inexpensive & make the room more flexible when letting ).
There is a large chimney through the middle of the house, & one in the kitchen which could be removed to add space, if budget allowed. An ensuite could also be positioned in the master bedroom, if budget allowed.
This property has loads of potential & will make a lovely home plus a great rental opportunity.
