Hi, we are having White Gloss Shaker cabinets fitted shortly, we have an oak solid wood worktop and have just laid coffee oak solid wood flooring. Thanks

Definitely move the front door, but you must keep a downstairs WC so ideally it can slot internally somewhere but it wouldn't be a big value issue if you had to block the internal doorway to the new garage (existing carport) - internal space is much more important. The fireplace will need to be removed for the open plan but again this is easily done with a steel so as not to affect your upstairs. You will have the full rear wall to put a new chimney in and again you can create a chimney breast on the ground floor and the extraction goes directly outside at ceiling height so not affecting your upstairs. It maybe nice to have a fireplace centrally on the back wall with matching width patio doors either side - bifold or sliding depending on your preference. You also mentioned concern for cupboard space, if you went for a new open plan design I would definitely suggest the kitchen moves to one of the sides which will create a large kitchen with plenty of wall space for cupboards. I think with all that open plan living space there's also plenty of room for a utility room probably between the carport and existing garage. (Possibly worth making it a true rectangle across the back by adding a utility here and moving the existing dining back as mentioned before) Lastly to be clever with your kitchen! As an example if you went to magnet retail the units would probably come in around the £13k mark but if you got a trade account the same stuff would be around £2k! I have to be honest we did this on a kitchen and they were a nightmare sending wrong parts etc which was a pain when you have workmen their waiting so I'd probably try howdens next time i do one of a similar standard, but it was still well worth the saving so we could spend more on appliances and a decent work top - which really made the kitchen! Oh sorry one more - really decide what you want before the quotes whilst they're still competing for your business, there will always be add ons that you think of during but if you can keep these to a minimum then it will help stop costs escalating. I think you're budget should be able to do as I've described if you don't go the extension route.

Oil will not keep a shine. It penetrates the wood and is used to keep the wood from drying with the heat of the kitchen, it prevents it from splitting and prolongs the life of the wood whilst still letting it breathe, ie contract and expand with different temperatures, as that is what wood does. There is no reason why you can't varnish your wood, you need to pick a very hard wearing Floor varnish. However, you still meet with the same disadvantages with oil............as soon as you put something hot on the surface it will leave a mark. Oil or varnish make no difference with regards food prep, you shouldn't prep on either! You will mark the wood, however, from a hygiene perspective a varnished surface is actually better because it's sealed. Most people will choose to prep and dish onto boards of either more wood or glass. I think most people think that by choosing wood they can do what they like to it, pan and heat wise............it's not the case. The only surfaces that are not affected by heat are natural stone.

When you say Formica you mean laminate worktops as there are many brands. Laminate worktops are the easier to maintain. Solid wood worktops require maintenance.