Layout looks good but just a couple of thoughts: - consider a porch at the front so you limit the warm air rushing out every time you open the front door in the winter - having some sort of partition (perhaps glazed screen and door) between the kitchen and the dining area will help stop the kitchen noise and smells going all round the house. Presumably the current plans comply with building regs?

The RELM team completed this kitchen in Wimbledon. We stripped down the kitchen completely. Fitted new kitchen cabinets and worktops. We tiled the floor and splash back, installed all plumbing and electrical works and finished it off with an all round paint. Scroll to see the before and after.

Mostly on new builds no workable topsoil is imported so the landscapers have try to level what they have. If it's sticky clay then all they can do is roughly level and squash it flat. That will almost always lead to 'capping' although turf can cause capping too when it is firmed down. If these are the 'only' issues then getting a hollow time aerator and getting a bunch of cores cut out, then filling them with sandy soil might change things a great deal. You may be able to test whether this is going to work well by just using a fork to do a smallish area, sticking it in few inches and wiggling it around. It would need to be an area which is not at a low point as that will refill with water from the rest of the lawn anyway. Sites vary a great deal and what is going on adjacent will have an effect too.

It’s also the case that sometime planners will only permit a remodel and so you have to work with what you have. Great job 👏