Help with planning space for kitchen / diner / living extension
Hi
I am hoping some of you may be able to help with some bright ideas! Attached are some photos of our current ground floor plan and the proposed side extension opening up into existing kitchen and dining room to make a larger open plan kitchen / diner / family living space. We will retain the lounge at the front of the house. The current proposal is to incorporate a utility / downstairs toilet to the back of the existing diner room but we’re unsure whether this really leaves us with enough space to do what we want in the main room. We are looking for a space that allows us to spend time as a family as well as entertaining friends - we are a family of 5 with three boys aged 2, 4 and 11 so space is quite important! We had originally not planned the utility space but given the amount of washing in our house, it would be great to have it out of the way, especially with the room becoming more of a family space. I’ve attached some photos of possible room layouts but we feel we haven’t found the right solution yet and unsure whether there is really enough space for all of it or whether we need to make a decision about what to sacrifice - ie the utility and toilet and / or the kitchen island. All of the furniture and kitchen will be new so we are open to any possible layout really! Any suggestions or advice would be very welcome. Thank you :-)
Comments (16)
PRORumi Bunya Design Ltd
6 years ago
rainbowgold1
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Open plan kitchen/diner/living room layout
Comments (7)I would say first and foremost that as this is a large project, you can't do without a concept planner or someone that can draw up your plans in 3D so that you can 'vitually' walk around what you have in mind. You need to pay attention to your access doorways, they aren't marked on either plan. You will need to have the kitchen on the left and access both the pantry and utility from there. Therefore you will negate the whole of that wall for access to those two rooms. Placement of furniture that you would like / need has to be thought about along with the build. It's just as important. The 1st floor doesn't seem to work as there is no access to the Family Bathroom on the plan. Obviously you know the actual shape of the stairs and there are no dimensions which makes it difficult. However, you may need to create a landing and thus you would, if you use the layout given have to sacrifice one of the bedrooms or change the plan. A planner is essential, one that can give you the rooms sizes that you want and utilise the space available....See Moreneed help with planning an open plan kitchen/diner/living space
Comments (3)I meant that you had drawn a run of units that was 20’ long and you could likely get a great kitchen into a smaller space, leaving room for dining. Attaching a dining table to the island is a stylish look and often helps people with insufficient room. Personally though I would prefer the flexibility of a freestanding table that you can extend....See Moreplanning kitchen/ diner/ living space
Comments (10)Hi we have almost exactly the layout in your 3D pictures. We do have glass doors where your TV is shown. Our TV is on the side wall with a sofa facing it (so we can also look from that sofa towards the dining area and garden) and an armchair facing the glass doors. The glass doors mean less furniture is possible in that “snug” area but also means we get light and feeling of space from seeing the front room rather than an enclosed feeling. I‘m glad we have them. We have our sitting area at the back and dining table near the garden like in your 3D mock up. We also have a small sofa towards the garden, on your 3D mock up this would be to the right of the big painting by the dining table. So we have a darker inner sofa area for TV watching and a smaller sofa for sitting in the sun. Admittedly we don’t have a big seating area that sits lots of people all together, right now that’s fine (guests tend to stay at the table anyway, or we move to the front room) but can swap things around if we find we need that as the kids get older....See MoreHelp planning open plan kitchen/living extension on 1930's house.
Comments (8)I’m glad you like the idea for the dining table! If I’m being completely honest I don’t really know whether the new layout ideas really give you any more useable space. Do you need a desk in the room? If so it might be worth having the bit of extra space but it could be worth making the garage storage space into a study space as well rather than having the desk intrude on your living space too much. What do you think? If you kept the bigger storage room then you could maybe do something like the picture attached so having a multi purpose room?...See MoreLaura
6 years agoLaura
6 years agorainbowgold1
6 years agorainbowgold1
6 years agoLaura
6 years ago- PRO
Rumi Bunya Design Ltd
6 years agoHi Laura. I've attached a quick drawing of your plan. Is this what you meant? I think in this way you could have about the same amount of units with your option 2, a decent size utility station and also enough space to accommodate a dining space next to the kitchen.
gralosch
6 years agoEllie
6 years agoLaura
6 years ago
bookworm987
6 years agoI think that what you want is achievable with very careful planning. A separate utility room is an absolute godsend and you won't regret it. I would definitely use sliding or folding doors as someone else suggested, otherwise you won't fit washing baskets etc. in there.
In the kitchen, you need to plan the layout of units really carefully to make the best use of the space. I've given a suggestion but it depends on your priorities. I'd push the dining table as far against the wall as possible, using a bench to maximise seating. You should manage a couple of seats at the island, although you'll have to sacrifice storage space for them.
Then try having the couch at a right angle as shown - I know it might seem strange that it has its back to the door, but I think it makes sense. The children's play area is self contained, with a large rug and maybe a couple of bean bags. The couch itself should be as slimline as possible while still being cosy. A whole wall of storage will help to keep all of the toys and games tidy. The only thing I haven't managed to include is a tv- I think the wall facing the couch is all glass? You could possibly put one in the storage unit but it would be at right angles to the couch, so not the best position. Maybe go without?
PROBetterSpace: The Floor Plan Experts
6 years agominipie
6 years ago
kikiamack