Inner West Sydney Federation Cottage Reconfiguration Ideas

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a house in Inner West Sydney and am looking for ideas to reconfigure the house to make it look modern without spending a fortune on the reconfiguration. As a result I have decided to use as much of the existing layout as possible.

The existing layout is below.

Existing Property Layout by imuk posted 30th Aug, 2020 at 9:12 AM

The proposed layout from my architect is below.

Proposed Property Layout by imuk posted 30th Aug, 2020 at 9:12 AM

The problem with the proposed layout is that a standard rectangular dining suite may be a tight fit given the door opening and size of furniture.

I would appreciate feedback with the below.

Layout Configuration

- Would an island instead of a regular dining table be a better alternative ? I am hesitant with this suggestion as there won't be space for a dining table when I try to resell. As the property is in Sydney inner west, the demographic is that of working professionals with no kids so it sort of makes sense to have this option and seldom do dining table spaces get used.

Brick Wall construction
- There is currently a tin wall constructed (the last L shape in grid 4-5 bottom left) in the current layout which is suggested to be deleted and construct a deck starting from that position. I was thinking of constructing a brick wall there and including the laundry there and having a half bathroom on the opposite side where the proposed laundry has been suggested (plumbing for both is currently present).

• Can anyone recommend a good brick layer in the Sydney inner west and provide me with a ballpark estimate on how much it would cost to build the L section wall?

Thanks in advance for any input and your time for reading my post.

 

What is your objective? Owner occupied? Renovate to rent? Renovate to sell?

What I'd do would depend on what the objective is, and it'd also depend on the specifics of where the property is located.

On the proposed plan in my experience with inner west terraces people like to have a connection between the internal and external living spaces. I'd look at an internal reconfiguration to move the bath/laundry where the existing "living" is so that you can maximize the connection there. You may want to do it in a way where you can include scope to go upstairs in future (if possible).

 

A couple of thoughts:

I would have a stub wall (~700mm) to hide the kitchen bench from the front door. This may also mean a smaller and cheaper beam spanning the room. The fridge would be against this wall and largely hidden. This allows the kitchen benchtop to be a continuous run.

Without knowing the purpose of the external door opposite the kitchen bench, I would consider replacing it with a window. It sounds as though the dining table would limit its usefulness. Outside access would then be the rear door only.

Consider replacing the wall between the bedrooms with a built in wardrobe with half and half access from each bedroom

 

Hi Morgs appreciate your reply and input. The objective is to reno it and live in it for at least a year or two and then maybe rent it out if I can upgrade.

I did consider the option you suggested, although from a cost saving perspective I decided to use as much of the current layout as possible. My instinct was that adding walls, moving plumbing and rejigging the existing layout will be costlier than using the current layout. Would that be the case in your experience or is my assumption incorrect? If you could provide a ballpark estimate how much do you reckon the cost difference would be? Also could you recommend contractors and tradesman for the project?

 

Hi Mark F, thanks for your reply and input. I didn't consider adding a stub wall but it seems it would be necessary to do so for the proposed plan. I really like the idea of BIR with access from both rooms, although wouldn't it eat into the existing room space? Also could you recommend any contractors and tradies with whom you have worked in the past and trust? Thanks in advance.

 

Chances are you would be putting a wardrobe in each room anyway. The BIR will take 300mm from each room, It also gives you the ability to slightly change the split between bedrooms within the constraints of the bedroom doors.

Sorry no recommendations - I do my own demo, carpentry etc and have not done anything in Sydney for many years.

 

Much appreciated @Mark F great input.

 

You are right - it will cost more to change the floorplan but you're going to be doing substantial works anyhow so this would be the time to do it without it being hugely incremental.

I'd suggest have a look at comparable sales for the end product (be that sale or rental) and how many renovated example you see with the proposed floor plan vs. the "open" floor plan. If you think there is a business case to do it then you can explore the specifics around how much more it'll potentially cost and the ROI.

If it is owner occupier then it is less important but ultimately you're going to want to make sure it makes sense for the longer term when you either sell or rent out when you upgrade. I'd be looking at what is possible around an upstairs extension as part of the whole feasibility.

I wouldn't have a clue on micro level costs unfortunately, I just push numbers around in a spreadsheet

 

Much appreciated @Morgs for your valuable input, will work on the Excel number crunching

 

Thanks @wylie for your valuable input. I did consider the above option although I am not certain and don't know how much extra it would cost. Would you be able to provide me with details of contractors/tradies you have worked in the past and can recommend? I am having a tough time gauging how much extra $ it will cost and how much potential $ it may return, any advise/input is appreciated.

In addition below is what I had initially thought of but held off from recommending to the Architect as I wanted to use as much of the existing layout as possible.