It's a strange thing to admit, but we have never liked the downstairs of our house.

Even when we first saw the house last year, we walked around the upstairs and went "Ooh!", but when we got downstairs we went "Oh."

What the downstairs does have is great potential. Right at the moment it is a large space split into two by the stairwell and a couple of incidental walls, making two interlocking 'L' shapes and a tiny bathroom. The larger 'L' shape is a family room, decorated with hideous dark wood panelling. It's also a room which gets bitterly cold in the winter since the panelling is glued directly onto the concrete walls. The smaller 'L' has cupboards along its length, and a laundry area alongside the bathroom.

The plan we have formulated, a plan which has not in fact changed much since we were talking on the way to the real estate agent's office in order to write up our original offer for the house, is to split the larger 'L' into a reduced family room and an office, to run the access for this office under the stairs, and to move the laundry area so that another room can be carved out of the smaller 'L'. We also want to extend the bathroom so that it can hold a bath.

There are more details, which I will talk about as the project advances, but the state of play at the moment is that we have had a few builders in to have a look and to give us bids for the work. We are awaiting these bids with bated breath.

The other great thing about this house is that we will be able to live entirely upstairs while the work downstairs is going on.

Posted by Dunx at March 18, 2004 02:45 PM