Hello James, Just a thought here and a very quick one!... If you have a galley arrangement you don't cut the room in half. You could then have a different kind of island/eating area. I love the island that morphs into dining if there is not a degree of separation to have two separate entities.. . The room spatially will feel more open, but of course it must be something you're happy with. For the seating area consider a chaise longue as if two don't sit, one can recline and gaze into the garden! If you were to make the side return ie follow along from the external wall (Living room) you could move the kitchen back in line with this. It's not a massive extension possibly 70 or 80 wide ie the doorway width approx.. It allows the access way to be left alone and thus you can still walk down past your kitchen.. There's no courtyard but you have a better flow through from front to back.. It's simpler perhaps but sometimes this is the best solution to a problem.. The living room could possibly have the angled wall removed to open up the living and kitchen area.. RSJ or some structural addition if the wall is load bearing and you'd need consent most probably.. Structural engineers, but the architect can advise you.. if you liked the idea.. It means you lose the door to the alleyway from the living room but I don't feel this is a gr8 loss.... You could move (or rather extend backwards to the new rear wall) the loo to my suggested new "rear" wall position boxed in from either side of course and with pocket doors and a small (read tiny) cloakroom in front accessed from hall side... so the door isn't opening directly into hall/kitchen/living but has two doors. So the end of the living room is squared off and forms one side of the new loo position. It's a minimal move. You increase the flow through from the living room by opening this out more and even a smaller amount would benefit. and then you can start the run (Kitchen) from back of downstairs loo with larder cupboard for example so there is again a degree of separation from downstairs loo and what is going to be kitchen units.. I also like to plan large monoliths like double height fridge freezers or larders in corners, which doesn't impede the view! Sliding or concertina doors at the back or my specific favourite .... Bring the outdoors in and visa vera! It's rather a more simplified design but I think it creates flow which I like the idea of in a home such as yours. You could put in wooden french doors if you wanted to separate front living from rear living but still keep them with the aesthetic feel of one room.. Don't lose the fireplaces if they're lovely they might be worth keeping! The other alternative is to square off the loo, do the small side extension as mentioned above and then you have two walk ways into kitchen from hall side and from kitchen side.. Then you'd have the FF or larder in the middle on the Loo wall .. This arrangement isn't open like my first idea.. but it would save you moving the loo in question.. : )) These are on a huge scale I know but they're to give you some inspiration about how to handle the door from kitchen to garden! Think garage style pulley system.. This kind of solution makes for a spectacular entrance to your garden and beyond!

As you are NE facIng I think it’s worth the extra velux as you’ll get a lot more light. Also for some reason one on its own doesn’t look quite right proportion wise. As an alternative you could consider swapping to larger rectangular rather than square veluxes, you might be able to get away with two on the side and one on the end. The cost of installation is usually per velux so may even save money this way. As regards the side return opening to the central room, I would say you need at least a window there at least. If you have an internal window (rather than door) there is still space for furniture under the window. Without a window that room is usually too dark. Having said that, I notice your two receptions are open plan and the front window is SW facing, so perhaps the central room gets enough light that way. But personally I’d still keep a window in that location for extra light and in case you ever want to separate the two receptions. You could even consider a transom window high up on the wall, that will let through lots of light as the light comes from the nearest velux anyway, but leaves plenty of room for furniture underneath. Could look a bit odd with a period look but would work with modern decor.

Thanks Minnie - actually thats an interesting perspective. Yes _ as when I sell I'll convert it back to a 2 bed so that developed space will need to be living space as well as kitchen/diner as the current lounge will be the second bedroom. . I like the idea of the table on that wall and can be counter top space when cooking if needed.That also gives space for cosy sofa., not the small one I was trying to fit in. The courtyard won;t be covered but I have a patio and 38 foot garden with furniture on so that covers that. Thank you!

Hi! It's really difficult to consider just the side extension alone. It's essential to consider it alongside the rest of the floorplan. It needs to work well with what you have, so you can get a complete home that works well for you. All the specific questions you have indicate that it's not yet clear to you how you'll be using the additional space. Once you are clear on this then you'll be able to answer those questions quickly and easily. Our random opinions on how your space should be doesn't really help you that much to get it right for you. It's a large footprint so there's going to be many options for you to redesign the space, but to get it right for you its necessary to have an in depth understanding of what you need to live happily in this house. How do you live your life now and what challenges does your home give you as you try to do that? How do you want to live your life and what changes do you need to make so that you can do that with ease and pleasure? When you have the answers to those questions all the rest will be clear. Get started with figuring this out with my free Design Your Home Vision Checklist. You can get that here: https://www.i-architect.co.uk/dyhvchecklist.html Hope this helps. Best wishes for your home designs! Jane award winning chartered architect eco-home and conservation area specialist www.i-architect.co.uk