Would you consider using garage as store and extend kitchen across the room by removing larder and access store from corner. rotate kitchen island and use full width for dining and 2 sets of double doors/bifold doors across entire garden room

Hi. I agree that the corner seems a waste of space but practically it would be a long way to walk to the pantry. Is this your only dining area or is it a breakfast area as the table is quite large? Do you not want to use this more as a family room with a tv and sofa? Is the pantry actually a combined pantry and utility room? What way does this room face? I only ask because if you incorporate that corner into the pantry, it appears you only have that one door as your light source? Can you also have any windows or a door (if used as a utility) on that right hand side? Sorry for the questions but more details are probably needed and how you want to use the space although I admit I think I would employ the services of One Plan!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me your helpful advice.

It would be our main dining area. The adjoining room acts as a family room with sofas and TV and is connected to kitchen by glass double doors so seating is not a priority. Although I'd like to fit a small wall TV to watch when I'm cooking!

The garden is south facing and the side larder/store is east facing but as its single storey we are having a roof window for light. We are only metre from boundary on this side so I guess we can't have normal window here. I think we can have a door though which would be a good idea if this was a bigger area.

The room will be more of a storage area than a larder. Somewhere to house spare fridge and freezer, Hoover, ironing board, wine and beer, bulk food, loo rolls purchases, Xmas stuff etc. currently we have a lot of this stuff in garage and spare bedroom. if we went for the option with the larger store room it might be possible to relocate the washing machine and tumble dryer here too but would need to check with drain situation.

thanks again

Thanks for all the details. Given the storage requirements I agree you don't need the door opening from the kitchen. Just speaking personally though I would be reluctant to spend all that money on an extension if much of it were to be used for storage ( but as I say that's my personal view!) Have you considered having storage starting in that bottom left hand corner of the dining room and running up to the existing back ŵall and then moving the back doors along? You could look at cabinets to match the kitchen units or something more formal depending on dining table choice. Do you also need the door into the garage from the store room as you may be able to organise the store room better without it? You would still be left with a large dining room but will you want to add sideboard, bookcase, accent chair etc or is it literally a dining table?

Yes I agree about the door to garage I think we will lose that.

One of the reasons for doing the extension is to add value to the house. It is our only 'pension' as we will down size in about 15 years and want to get as much as we can for it then as well as having the benefit of the extension in the meantime. The space to the side if the house where the larder/store is located is just a waste of space at the moment covered with broken concrete slabs so when we decided to extend the kitchen this seemed a good way of tidying up this area and making the house bigger. We were hoping the extra expense would be compensated by increased value.

That's a tricky one! There are obviously 2 arguments for this.. Based on (I think!) current trends, I would add a utility and make the dining room a family space so with enough room for the table, seating and a tv. I may be tempted to extend out the back by 4m if it doesn't compromise the garden and is in budget as it makes that space more workable as a family room ( appreciate it is very long though!). Can you also convert a part of the garage out of interest? On the flip side, 15 years is a long time and the house will likely need a new kitchen then and therefore purchasers may be able to reconfigure the space to suit them although utilities would be trickier. I came across this article as I wasn't sure if estate agents took into account the square footage of any storage when valuing houses, as I know ours didn't feature in the floor plan and we're lucky to have quite a lot http://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/guides-advice/phil-spencer-on-valuations-34312 From a surveyors perspective though I believe storage will impact the valuation but whether it equates to the same in price per sqf I doubt it??! It's a shame you don't get any surveyors on houzz really! I think in any case it would be an idea to recruit the services of someone like One Plan or maybe an architect ( karen at One Plan gets excellent reviews though!) to get a space that properly functions and will either appeal to a wider market or can easily be reconfigured to do so. That's my completely non-pro ramblings!

I agree that if you want to make sure your investment in the space is worth it you need to get a professional to advise you. You will save money in the short and long run. From experience they more than pay for them selves through best value and 'thought-through'design.

Thank you to everyone. Jonathan thats a very interesting idea I really like it - seems a better use of space and would lose less of garden. Also cost less hopefully. Only problem I can think - would the table block the way when walking through to the garden and other rooms?