How to unify 3 different doors along one wall

While renovating a property, I was faced with a bedroom with 3 doors along one wall; a very narrow door to the ensuite, a floor to ceiling cupboard door and the entrance to the room.  All 3 were different sizes and looked very inconsistent.  

I decided that I needed to bring some uniformity to this row of doors, so I searched for doors which came in multiple widths (and also a glazed option for elsewhere in the property) which was a challenge on a tight budget but eventually found a range in B&Q which had the standard 762 width for the main door and 610 widths for the ensuite and the cupboard.  The current ensuite and cupboard doors weren't quite the right sizes so my joiner slightly widened the ensuite door and boarded the top of the cupboard door to create a standard door height and made the door slightly narrower.  As you can see below, the cupboard is actually only strange access to the rear of the ensuite shower with about 3 inches of storage space so losing a small amount of the access to this was no problem.

Once the new frames were in place and the surrounding wall plastered the new doors were hung, creating a much more unified feel to the room.  It would have been nicer to have extended the two narrower doors but it just wasn't possible, so I feel this was the next best option.

Would you sacrifice a bedroom for a utility room?

Controversial question isn't it?  Inside I am screaming, "don't do that!! Bedrooms add value" but this particular project isn't an investment property, so the rules of investment don't really apply.

A client of mine bought a large bungalow as their "downsize" home, they have recently retired and no longer have any children living at home.  The bungalow as they bought it had 3 bedrooms, lounge, dining room, small kitchen, pantry, plus large garage, attached utility room (about the size of a garage) and conservatory.

The kitchen had a tricky layout with 3 doors and a large window and was lacking storage, which was compensated for using the utility room and pantry.

My clients wanted to use the existing utility room as a home office, so it wasn't practical to have the washing machine, etc in there.  With the washer and dryer moved into the kitchen, there wasn't much room for anything else.  So to make the most of the kitchen, the first step was to take the room back to brick and assess the space, I decided to move one of the doors as it was only 25cm from the adjacent wall meaning that the space to one side was wasted.  

The new position of the door

Once the door was moved, it happened to be across the hall from the third bedroom, an average size single bedroom sandwiched between a bathroom and ensuite, which gave us the idea to change it from a bedroom to a utility room.

Normally I would do everything to save a bedroom but this wasn't a money making project, this is a home, and although the change from a 3 bed to a 2 bed will most likely decrease the value and saleability, my clients didn't buy to make money, they wanted a home that worked for them, and a small kitchen without utility simply wouldn't work.

Will the pressure taken off the kitchen with the pantry and the new utility room, the kitchen was designed to make the best use of the space without being overcrowded.  

(These photos will be updated once works are 100% complete)

The utility houses all the usual appliances, plus an additional freezer and cupboards for storage.

The most important thing is that the clients love it and it will work for them in their "forever" home.  It might be tricky to sell, but they hope that won't be for another 20 years, by which time it will more than likely need another renovation anyway so everything can change again.  

So I guess the moral to my story is that while there are rules for investment, if it is your home and you don't have to worry about short term return, then make your home work for you and your circumstances.  

Interiors and Gadgets

As a child of the 80's, I should probably love technology, and I do, in a way.  What I hate though is the use of technology for the sake of it in properties.

I am married to a self-confessed geek so my own house does have a few non-essential gadgets, like smartphone controlled plugs, but these are brilliantly useful for turning lights on and off randomly when we are away, or for turning an outside light on and off without the need for wiring a switch which would be more costly and messy than the smartphone controlled plug. (Belkin WeMo switches - they are amazing!) 

I have been away for a short stay in a cottage where my hatred for technology for the sake of it was pushed into overdrive.  The cottage has 3 bedrooms, which were all ensuite.  The ensuites were nice, with soft closing toilet seats, contemporary shower, and automatic light and extractor. The automatic light and extractor were brilliant, until you want to go in the middle of the night which wakes everyone else up!!  It was clear that this must have seemed a brilliant idea to the owner, who doesn't live there and hadn't thought about the practicalities but told us with great pride about these "automatic" bathrooms. 

I guess I'm trying to say that technology can be great, and can make our lives easier, dare I say, better.  Beware of the gimmicks, and think if the gadget really helps.  My other advice is that if you do decide to include gadgets, think about the back up plan.  Can it be easily overridden? The automatic bathroom couldn't, which is why it drove us mad, had there been a switch to turn it off I would have probably loved the convenience throughout the day.