Adding a bedroom (L shape Lounge) suggestions

Hi,

I am looking to renovate a 2 bedder. It has quite a big L shape lounge and I was thinking of dividing that into a bedroom i.e either rent or sell it as a 3 bedder. I am looking at 2 layout options as per the image below:

Option 1- This is basically just adding a wall to create the 3rd bedroom. Door (a) which leads to the meals area is used as the entrance door to bed 3.

Pro: Adding the wall will only cost $1000.
Con: Bed 3 will exit via Door (a) i.e. the meals area. To comply with regulations a smoke detector will need to be installed just outside Door (a) i.e. the meals area which is a bit strange (although it will still be quite far from the cooktop/kitchen-so shouldn't be a hassle).

Option 2- Door (a) is closed off completely and a Door (b) is added on the partition wall.

Pro: Bed 3 will exit via Door (b) i.e. the main lounge. A smoke detector will be installed just outside door (b) in the lounge which actually makes a bit more sense.
Con: The cost of doing this has tripled to $3000.

Question: My question is which option makes more sense to you? At the end of the day I don't think the tenants will care too much where the door is so unless there are other considerations I am leaning towards Option 1 (being 1/3 of the price).

Thanks for reading.
 

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Sounds good. I would put the doorway in one of the corners of the wall between the meals area and new bedroom if you can change it cheaply or someone will be navigating a table and chairs to get into the bedroom. If it will cost money to move it, for a rental I would not bother.

You have not shown where the new door from the living room into the kitchen will go. I'd try to keep it up towards the entry end so people don't use the living room as a hallway to get to the kitchen.
 
with out dimensions its hard to tell the impact of either.

Is it an option to join the lounge/meals area by removing a fair bit of this wall, i would be afraid of the living area becoming a bit small and pokey being split into 2 (potentially) small rooms, but i think i am wallaphoic since i love removing the things..
 
Quite hard to tell with no dimensions. A scale drawing would be even better. Depending on the room available, I would do option 3) Put your wall in as per option 1) AND another wall continuing from the meals area, through the lounge room, creating a 4th bedroom.

BTW, why does it cost you an additional $2k for a doorway? That seems a bit expensive to me.
 
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Is it an option to join the lounge/meals area by removing a fair bit of this wall, i would be afraid of the living area becoming a bit small and pokey being split into 2 (potentially) small rooms, but i think i am wallaphoic since i love removing the things..

That is a great idea, and what I would do if I lived there. It would lessen the impact on the kitchen/meals area of having two doors into the area and the congestion this would cause, especially if a table and chairs is in the area.

I also like ripping out walls and making big spaces :).
 
That is a great idea, and what I would do if I lived there. It would lessen the impact on the kitchen/meals area of having two doors into the area and the congestion this would cause, especially if a table and chairs is in the area.

I like this too, especially if creating a 4th bedroom like my suggestion.
 
I like this too, especially if creating a 4th bedroom like my suggestion.

Lizzie, I didn't see your response about the fourth bedroom, but it is a good idea too. The only downside is that with four bedrooms, that smaller living area might be too small for the number of tenants and/or family members wanting to live there.

But even if the third bedroom is created, a fourth is very easy to do by knocking up a wall. I would chat to a local agent about the three vs four bedroom and what potential purchasers and/or tenants want would be good idea before deciding.

We knocked through a new front entry into a queenslander to create a fourth bedroom from the long ago enclosed front verandah which housed the original front door.

It didn't take any space away from "living areas" because this enclosed front verandah had to be traipsed through to get to the front door. Now the house has four bedrooms, we have found that a few lookers liked having the fourth bedroom, but wanted an extra "living area" so everyone didn't have to be living in the one large lounge/dining area. Luckily this house has a full width deck at the back, which is effectively an "almost" all year round extra room.

The other downside we found of having four bedrooms was that people looking for a four bedroom house to rent want a second bathroom, which we don't have.
 
Lizzie, I didn't see your response about the fourth bedroom, but it is a good idea too.

LOL! That's because it was me, not Lizzie.

As for the living space, I think it depends on what else is available in the area. We have a few 4 bedders. None have much living space, but that is because they are ex-housing dept properties and that is how they were built. In any of the older homes in the area, people don't expect large living areas, unlike the newer homes.
 
Sorry Skater. I must be having a "senior" moment :p.

I do agree that it depends on location and other things. The house that we changed the entry to a fourth bedroom is in a suburb where four bedrooms would be unusual in a house that has not be extensively renovated and enlarged.

Since adding the bedroom, we have not had all four bedrooms used as bedrooms. We did leave the double entry doors so that this bedroom could be used as an office with a separate entrance, so hopefully this makes it flexible.

The biggest complaint, it seems, is the lack of a second bathroom, which we may look at "one day". We would have to give up the small "original" third bedroom to put in a second bathroom, so we would be back to three bedrooms, two bathrooms.

Too many decisions...... it can wait.
 
Response to your questions

Thanks for your replies.

I've added some information as suggested by some of you (new attachment below).

1) The sketch is not really to scale. I have added the dimensions to the 3rd bedroom and the other applicable areas and also have listed where the windows are.

2) As you can see the dimensions are really not big enough to allow for 4 bedrooms + there are not enough windows for that anyway.

3) It is a house.

4) In relation to the question about the costs.

Option 1- involves putting up a partition wall to create Bedroom 3. $1000.
Option 2- involves i) putting up a partition wall to create Bedroom 3 ii) covering up door (a) with a plaster wall and iii) also creating a door (b). $3000

5) My Question: Option 1 is cheaper but the advantage of option 2 is that people can use Door (b) to get in and out of the room without going through the meals area. I am also conscious that I have to install a smoke detector outside the exit of the new bedroom and option 1 feels a bit strange having to put a smoke detector in the meals area. Now the question is, is this worth paying $2000 more for the reno?
 

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For a rental, I'd go the cheapest option with the door where it is in the meals area. Leave the lounge without a door to the third bedroom because you also need a door from the lounge to the kitchen (which is not shown on the drawing).

Two doors along that wall will limit furniture placement drastically.
 
For a rental, I'd go the cheapest option with the door where it is in the meals area. Leave the lounge without a door to the third bedroom because you also need a door from the lounge to the kitchen (which is not shown on the drawing).

Two doors along that wall will limit furniture placement drastically.

Totally agree!
 
Great idea! We do these types of renos all the time very successfully. However when increasing to 3 or 4 bedrooms we always try and add a bathroom even if it's just a small one with just a shower and vanity..

Wishing you every success, Ana
 
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