Hi minnie101, thank you for your questions. The cupboard is unfortunately the only storage space in the whole flat (for coats, shoes, vacuum clearner, ironing board, clothes airer, boiler etc) so I don't think I can move that but wish I could. By removing the wall we aim to allow natural light into the currently dark kitchen and allow a view from the kitchen out the dining area window and make it more open plan but it could also open up the possibility of extending some of the kitchen into the current dining space but still assessing if doing that will encroach too much on the dining area or if keeping the kitchen roughly in it's current area is a better balance with the dining area.

Sorry for the very crude sketch but here's my suggestions 1. Knock bathroom extension and replace with 2 story extension squared off with kitchen block or better again if suitable from outside extend kitchen and replacement extension footprint to width of house. 2. Change rise of stairs to opposite side, this benefits upstairs so that the landing can instead become part of a bedroom. Existing staircase could probably be refuges. 3. Put main/family bath where fireplace is as it would prob be easier to work the difficult shape for a bathroom than a bedroom. 3. The new extension upstairs can then become the master bed with space to incorporate ensuite and/walk in wardrobe etc. 4. Put utility space in downstairs hall making use of under stairs as well if possible. WC could possibly also go there. 5. Dining room/kitchen could become open or broken plan with sliding doors connecting. WC could be on opposite wall with garden entice though small boot room as per second photo.

Thank-you very much for the comments. I hope it will be a great space, but playing around with it and changing the design at the last minute is getting a bit stressful! This is the design that the build company showed us initially - just their initial thought as it how it would look. I found feeling the area where they had positioned the fridge/freezer very tricky. We want a free-standing french larder style fridge and the doors and level of matching with the rest of the units didn't seem like a good fit. The support pillar for the steel that crosses the island in the attachment below has also been a real annoyance. It sticks out 23cm, so it can only really go through empty-ish cupboards. Clearly anything to the left of that steel is difficult to vent. On the design in my intitial post, I was intending to have a dropped ceiling element that stretched just beyond the steel. This would let me have a powerful extractor and exit the flew onto the flat room (hidden by the drop ceiling 'box'). I like the idea you describe of a full wall of units, then island, then table. I guess Jonathan's proposal is similar to that. While I love the efficiency of the "4 double door" hideaway I just don't like the aesthetic, so will need to think about something else. Bringing it back to what we need... Utility room: enough to stash the washing machine, store the vacuum cleaner and hang a few clothes. No need for a sink. Free Standing, 90cm wide fridge, nicely framed either by wall of kitchen units. Waist height oven with an additional "top oven / grill (broiler)" - so at least one full height column. Good size kitchen island with at least two seats. Approx 90cm induction hob, plus a gas domino hob. Powerful, externally venting extractor over hob. I'm relatively open to moving the kitchen/living area to wherever it works best. I'm also not desperate to have the hob on the island (but that would be nice). As far as I know, the builders haven't done anything that can't be easily adjusted at this stage - but I think that will change in a couple of days - and they are planning for the kitchen to be in the old part of the house. As for rooflights - I thought, perhaps wrongly, that it would be light enough with the big bifold doors. It is an east facing room, and the old room had some sliding paitio doors and it felt bright enough. So I have left roof lights out on the basis that - but I'm also concerned about noise. (Cheaper too!). The biggest window we can gave without incurring significantly more cost is 1800mm x 1000mm - I'm minded to be 2 or 3 of these in that middle section. Thanks!

I think shortening the lounge is a great idea. Could the new kitchen door go through the cupboard in the hall next to the shower room? This would make the new wall nicely balanced with the window in the new dining room. If you want help with visualisations, I offer 10 hours of design work for £250 which gives you a full design and the confidence to proceed with any supplier of your choice. If you want to have a no obligation chat to bounce some ideas around, feel free to get in touch 😊 Emily x