Just another opinion...I like the suggestion that others posted to remove the bush and if possible, to put entry door in it's place, to remove the post and replace it with a support beam and brackets, replace garage door, add low wall to separate your driveway from the neighbor's, plant a dwarf tree in the front yard along with some edging plants... But with so many possibilities to choose from, perhaps you could accomplish your desire to make your home stand out from the others inexpensively by...painting over the white part of the house, the downspout directly above the canopy and the garage door to match the lightest brick color. Choose the darkest brick color for all of the other trim and windows. Patch and seal the driveway to freshen it (until you know if you will be permitted to do anything more permanent), definitely taking out the bush and doing some low cost planting just to add some color. It takes time to settle on your needs, style, budget, etc. But it's worthwhile to spend a little cash and effort to get a bit of satisfaction that things are looking better!

Hi Jonathan, sorry life got very busy there for a while! We actually already have glass doors opposite the front door into the kitchen and intend to add a sizeable rooflight in the study so perhaps we will be reasonably catered for in terms of light despite any porch addition. A fresh thought on layout came to but I've had zero time to get acquainted with floorplanner or an alternate piece of software to draw it out. I will endeavour to manage this soon. It basically involves reducing the size of the existing utility so the small hall becomes twice as wide. Then closing off the hallway at this end so this is in effect a galley off the kitchen with pantry style units leading to a door at the study end allowing ease of access from kitchen to garage conversion. Hard to explain fully and it's benefits as we see them without a drawing so I'll work on that!

I think that by the end of this week we'll finally be completed !!!! We had the carpenters around yesterday to fit the skirting boards and put in a nice hardwood threshold and to fit door architraves etc. Sometime this week we should have the painters back to put a 3rd coat on the walls & ceiling, paint the skirtings & doors (F&B Worsted like the rest of the house) Then before the end of the week the builders are back just to finish the little things (the wire for the radiator needs to look better, either trunking or clipped neatly to the wall and painted) etc. We did the standard ceremonial trip to IKEA over the weekend and got the cabinets, blinds, shelves, picture frames etc (plus the obvious 150 tea-light candles that will never get used) It's within touching distance. I phoned the landscape people yesterday and given them 2 weeks notice to start their work as they need to hire a massive sump grinder as the one they have isn't big enough, and give them time to prep. now that the skip and builder have tidied everything up.

I think you can do all sorts. I do like Jonathan's plan, however, the back of the house is narrow, and thus putting the table against the wall in the middle, may not be ideal for you. Leaving the whole area as a dining area may be preferential. I would also question the need to move the downstairs toilet, although it does mean that you don't need a door to the utility in the kitchen. However, I think if you leave the toilet where it is, you can still have a super kitchen, put a door at the end to the Utility, and have a better Utility. Just a word to the wise. If you make a portion of the garage just storage and you have an up and over door, you may need to change it as it will no longer have the room required to go backwards. I don't know what the access is to your back garden, and since you will almost certainly need to change the garage door, you may like access straight the way through from the garage to the kitchen. Thus, you could do two things:- Or go one step further, and remove the wall to the lounge as many people these days like fully open plan.