I don't understand the bit in the lower right hand corner.

Can you lose the cupboard (?) and kitchen door? If the cupboard needs to be kept ie houses boiler, can it be accessed from the other side and made fractionally smaller? Is the fire/chimney breast remaining?

Details of what needs to go in the kitchen ie laundry appliances and what type and number of ovens etc will also help

You could leave the basic layout as is and concentrate spending your budget on new kitchen and taking the walls out properly. Would be good if the single external kitchen door could be taken out and the corner cupboard access changed a quarter turn to left. Then your new units can continue along that wall I think.
Since the dining table will be so easily accessible there’d be no need for bar stools which would make the space look cluttered rather than neat. Think the two areas will balance visually and be pleasant to use and easy to manoeuvre in.

Hopefully that diagram explains where things are today. Unfortunately the door to the external lean-to/toilet cannot be moved as it is the only access. The under stairs cupboard was going to house the washer/dryer as a mini utility. The chimney breast is remaining (or original design had a range cooker going in, but this was when we were flipping the layout). So far the best I've come up with is this, but not sure.

Hi Edward,
Let me know personally if you will need a worktop or a kitchen splashback. We are glass manufacturer and, recently we started a limited offer with 25% discount for orders including kitchen splashbacks and worktops combined.

My email is erwin@sunstudio.london

Do you like it?

Seems to be that the hall door is scuppering things. Do you have a plan of the rest of the ground floor? Did you get a quote for the drains from a company that specialise in only groundworks?

Hi Colourhappy the rest of the ground floor looks like this. I wouldn’t know where to start with specialist companies, just the builders who have been round to quote so far...any advice greatly received.

Hi Edward, the only reason I say that is I have used a local groundworks company a few times and one of their workers is now a friend. I recently converted my garage into a studio and watching these guys 'tweak' a drain to allow me to have a sink was amazing. A builder will subcontract to people like this so you need to go direct. Search underpinning etc in your local area. Worth a try.

Also, I was trying to work out if the fridge could in some way be made less conspicuous. We knocked a hole in a supporting wall to hide our fridge.

Is it at all possible to create new access to the toilet from either just before the stairs start or just after so the door can be blocked up in the kitchen. ? It would make all the difference to the appearance and functionality of the kitchen to be able to use that space. The freestanding fridge in your drawing is a visual and actual block and that space would be much better unoccupied.

Thanks Emily. I wish there were. Sadly there is no other way of access the toilet outside.

Hi Edward. I’m not sure that the stove right next to the door is a good idea and that seems to be a better wall for units rather than wall unit to left of sink which will potentially block light. Have you considered stove on the peninsular? To me It looks a bit tight with the dining table and the stools against the peninsular.

I’m sorry I can’t do a quick mock up but I’m suggesting you move cooker to peninsular facing dining area, you put all wall cupboards along wall where cooker is on your current plan and you lose the bar stools. If you have a nice table and chairs then guests or family can sit around it whilst you get on with dinner.

Thanks Chloe, I totally get what you mean. We had thought about a hob on the peninsula, but were concerned about our child sitting there and getting splashed by oil from a pan etc etc. I guess if I follow your advice and ditch the stools we wouldn’t need to worry about that :)

I know questions have been asked already, but is there enough head height in the understairs cupboard where it juts into the kitchen to make that the walkway into the WC?

Personally I think that given the space you have there isn’t enough space for the enormous fridge and range and scaling both of these down would help.
I also don’t think that there is enough space for the stools at the peninsula and the peninsula needs to be a little shorter to allow the fridge door to open.
I appreciate there are budget limitations but perhaps the most important spend should be on structural changes such as taking out the chimney breast, moving the plumbing or finding an alternative way of accessing a downstairs wc.

Thanks Jonathan. You’re right nothing is ideal about this layout. I’d be happy to spend the money on the chimney (which I know is possible) but the waste water drainage seems to be the part that no one has been able to give me a honest view on a) whether possible and b) what I’m looking at in terms of cost. Most likely it would involve a new drain running 8 metered across the back of the house and then 8 to the front with a new manhole on the turn....

Hi J, unfortunately not. That was my first thought but definitely not enough height there.

And how deep is the chimney?

J - it’s 21.5cm deep (measuring the alcove depth)

If you took some pictures of the cupboard and of the stairs it might help because I know estate agents plans aren’t exact but it only take ten risers usually to get to door top height and looks like yours should reach that. It’s just that either you spend on drainage and taking chimney out or you alter toilet access and I’d bet on which would give more return for money.
You of course could just do as your drawing but that extra bit of space makes something of a different level possible.

You could put a wc under the stairs, use the lean to as outside storage and then the back door would be unnecessary allowing a longer run of units around the oven and hob.

I like that solution Jonathon :) and actually if you have the door leading into dining would you gain more than you lose by block the kitchen door to complete the u shape and have more kitchen?

I really like the plan, just seems a real shame to lose the lean to an toilet we already have. I’m not sure you could squeeze a toilet in the cupboard, we have a standard size fridge today but cut into the underside of the stairs. How much space would the toilet need?

Also if you haven’t done this before it might be worth having an independent “concept planner” help you in working out where everything goes in the kitchen and in working out how to do move toilet and where partition walls should be. I know it’s an added expense but it will give you more confidence when talking to builders when they say they can’t do something or other. Because in my experience they often do that! And will be able to give you a plan so you can get like for like quotes from kitchen suppliers. There are some pros on here that are recommended by people who have used them, OnePlan is one but I can’t remember the names of the others. Anyway, just a thought.

Createperfect and Betterspace are two other ones I just remembered.

Hi there, I have a idea for the kitchen. I think your trying to pop too much in the space. And in your proposed plan, ironically your creating a less efficient kitchen as you've lost the wall space. But when the wall is down your going to have a nice generous room which will be lovely for the family.
My thought is that you should stop seeing the space as two rooms. But think of it as one large dual purpose room.
Think traditional large country kitchens with the cabinetry around the walls and a central large table.
of course this can be in any style. This way, you can leave the door to the loo where it is. The drains can stay put and you just need to open it all up. And probably take out the fireplace...maybe :D
This is my quick sketch. Extend the counter to the doorway. Then you will have a nice long run of counter. Plenty of work space. Remove the chimney and fill up that wall with all the fridge and tall n' bulky stuff. So this becomes your pantry and other storage.
Then pop your large table in the centre of the room. And as a Mr J Oliver likes to say - Happy days.

Thank you J, that’s really helpful and an interesting perspective and one which hasn’t crossed my mind. I think you’re right about cramming too much into this layout, so I’m going to have one more pop at getting someone to give me a view on the drains and if that works out I’ll go with our original plan (attached), if not, I’ll go for something revised based on all of this feedback. Thanks everyone!

Hi. Can I ask how this project went please? I'm planning similar, and wondered if you had managed to switch it around or not? I don't particularly want to have to dig up all the recently laid patio for drain solutions.

Hi there

It worked out really well for us in the end, although given where our drains are located and the ‘fall’ (slope) for pipes under the patio the builder decided to lay the dishwasher waste (in our island) under the kitchen floor rather than out the back and across to avoid the risk of inadequate drainage.

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t cheap and was disruptive particularly for the underfloor hearing but we maximised the space we had.

That looks great. Same cabinets as I want, and we have parquet too. Might have to ask the builder if we can switch ends! I’ve attached a photo of my current plan. Thanks for sharing.

Looks great 👍 our kitchen roll as DIY kitchens Helmsley colour matched to F&B railings paint. Best of luck

Ps - where the original kitchen was we crammed in a little utility area behind sliding doors