I'm planning my kitchen and I'm looking to buy a single overnight with a oven microwave combination. I'm looking for these to be side by side so I would like them the same size. I don't really want two ovens as I don't want a microwave in my kitchen side anyway does anyone know a reasonable make or model numbers. Miele and Siemens are far to expensive. I hardly cook so it's only actually the look I'm wanting!! Thanks

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!

I'm glad this question was posted a was something I considered asking myself. The thought of brushing teeth in earshot of the other is... ewww!, but quite right, a his and hers bathroom is the dream as who uses the room at the same time? If I could have my bathroom with a bath, and he has his own with a shower, I would. I'm gauging this on "women with makeup", and "men with stubble" as the key issues with couples as well as who is the tidiest. I love lots of sinks, even have one plumbed outside, double in the kitchen, plus one in the laundry, but in the bathroom I think it would be more of a show of appearance more than use. Maybe the second sink is far more practical actually in the dressing table in the bedroom or dressing room... an old idea but perhaps worth revisiting.

Hi Jane! You said you have little ones so want to avoid climbing opportunities for now. That makes sense but it's also worth thinking about in a year or so when you might want to start involving them in cooking, baking cakes etc, and then you could find it really helpful to be able to sit them up so they can also "work" along with you. If you're on the other side of a peninsula or island to them then you can keep sharp stuff away from them and help them with mixing, weighing, etc... Always worth looking towards the next stages when you're designing with kids because they'll grow and it can take a bit of time to finish a project - they likely will have changed in many tiny and maybe big ways before it's all complete. Hope this helps! Jane, i-architect.co.uk