On your plan you seem to have moved the external door and window. This seems unnecessary to me. It might be nice to move the internal door- I would consider putting a glass door to the lounge and the kitchen opposite each other to make this narrower part of hall seem bigger.
In my opinion this layout of kitchen will feel much bigger than your plan, there likely is just about enough room for a dryer in there but personally I would either get a washer/dryer or consider making the cupboard next to the bathroom into a laundry cupboard.

Hi thanks for the advice! I think I accidentally posted the wrong floor plan (there are 2 identical flats being sold) - the correct floor
Plan is below. Hopefully this should match up to my floor plan in terms of the external door.

One thing to mention - the wall between the kitchen and bedroom is structural so will need an RSJ. We won’t be able to get it flush with the ceiling due to a flat being above us, so it will have to protrude.

I like your idea of a glass door! We were thinking to just not have a door and open the space up - what do people think?

I know a washer/dryer combo would save space but from what I’ve read you would still need to hang some clothes to dry because the dryer function can’t handle very much. The problem is we don’t have the space to hang clothes up, so I’d rather be able to put everything straight from washing into drying.

The little cupboard in the kitchen is where the boiler and washing machine currently are, so I was thinking to just leave those put and have the kitchen table behind it (next to the window in what is currently the bedroom).

I’m not actually too sure what the cupboard in the bathroom is, but we are also going to gut the bathroom and re-do it (hoping to get separate shower and bath in there!) so space may be tight already in the bathroom. I think we will need to keep all utilities in the kitchen.

Glad to see you think a table will fit!

Oh also - the second little cupboard between the kitchen and bedroom is where the hot water tank currently is. We are planning to get rid of that and replace current boiler with Combi

Alternative idea

I think this is probably my favourite with a u shaped kitchen and a laundry area near the back door

I would certainly move the 3rd bedroom to the bottom (thinner) end of the reception room and if you need to have a 3rd bed option in there for guests, then perhaps consider a wall bed?

Then pinch some space from the current 3rd bedroom to extend the kitchen and the bathroom as you have done.

thanks for the advice!

minnie101 - I have actually seen flat 6, we went to view it! That's partly where I got the idea of extending the kitchen. I also liked the above the counter oven, but I'm a bit worried we are going to be short on worktop space, so I thought an under the counter oven might be better? (with a separate hob - I'm going to look into induction as people seem to rave about them! I had an electric hob in my old flat which was rubbish compared to gas). I think id like to do something similar to flat 6 - but I'd like to make room for a separate washer and tumble dryer

Jonathan - does your second suggestion involve knocking down the bathroom wall? It looks like it give a more spacious bathroom but I'm not sure we can afford the extra expense. The third suggestion looks like my favourite, but do you think there would be enough room for a laundry area nest to the table?

Huw - thanks, I agree turning the thinner end of the reception room into a bedroom is a good idea. However right now, we only really need two bedrooms (one main room and a second office/guest room). But when it comes to selling the flat in the future, I think we will need to reinstate a 3rd bedroom if we extend the kitchen into the current 3rd bedroom. So I think, at that stage, we would consider splitting the reception into a living room.

We have a total budget of around 25 to 30k for renovating the whole flat, including complete new kitchen and bathroom, new flooring and redecorating throughout. I'd like to try and di it as high-end as possible, but I think we are going to be stretched on our budget, so I would rather avoid knocking down the bathroom wall. I think the kitchen wall is going to be expensive enough!

However, it's good to see that people think it would be workable to get a kitchen table, and laundry area into the extended kitchen.

Do you think we will get enough worktop space with the above layout?

My favourite layout remains the u shape and I do think there is enough room for a washer and dryer and a breakfast table in what was the original kitchen area.
Your budget is very tight though- you are no doubt aware that you could spend just that on the kitchen. To keep costs down consider a used kitchen- I would try to buy one with good quality appliances and more cabinets than you need so that you have more choices when fitting. One option-
https://www.theusedkitchencompany.com/shop/magnet-kitchen-with-granite-worktops-used/

Yeah, initially I thought the budget would be fine but I am beginning to realise it's quite tight with the more research I do. Thanks for the link, I hadn't really considered a used kitchen before. There's some really nice kitchens on that site, I'll see what comes up that suits our layout (I imagine there isn't much flexibility with a used kitchen?)

Incidentally, what do people think of Ikea kitchens? I've read (mostly) good things online about Ikea kitchens, and it seems to fit nicely within our budget. I found this website which does nice looking doors for ikea kitchens, https://superfront.com/uk/kitchens

I'm wondering if it's worth just buying the basic cupboards from ikea (or used) and then upgrading them using the above website, and perhaps quartz worktop (depending on budget).

What do people think?

Ikea kitchens are good. I’m not a 100% sure, but I think they only supply their cabinets with doors. So, you either buy them with the cheapest doors available and replace them with doors from another company. Or they might have doors you like and you make them look less standard IKEA by using fancy knobs and pulls.

Throwing away doors seems a bit silly if your budget is really tight.
And replacing them with doors from another company might make it more expensive than you’d like.

That’s good to know, I had a quick look online on ikea’s website and I think I could get all of the cabinets I need for around £1,500 - some come with doors, some without. Your idea of just changing the handles is good though. I just don’t want it to look too bland. But maybe saving on the cabinets means I can get some really nice flooring and tiling

Hopefully I can do this all within budget!

In Ikea, you can buy just the cabinets without doors.

Although on the website, they show some as complete units with doors and shelves etc and are priced accordingly, you can buy just the simple carcass only if you want.

Be warned though, Ikea base cabinets are a different size to the usual standard size (I believe) of 76 cm high , the Ikea base unit height is 80 cm which means you may not get off the shelf doors from anywhere that will fit. Also they are 60 cm deep so standard 60 cm wide worktops won't fit either, if you're wanting an overhang.

That said, it does mean loads more storage space, also Ikea have a huge range of different looks and styles of doors, plus some excellent and ingenious interior fitting and storage solutions.

I think you need to start preparing your budget- for what it’s worth this is how I would do it:-
Taking down wall £1500
New boiler £3000
Additional kitchen electrics £1600
Second hand kitchen inc appliances £4000
Cost of transporting kitchen £500
Installing kitchen £1800
Reworking solid work surface £1400
New bathroom supply and installation £6000
DIY redecorating £900
Light fittings £600
Carpet and flooring £2500

Following on from Jonathon's comment about costs, if you were to choose Ikea cabinets, delivery is only £35, irrespective of how big the order is.

I think there are a number of number of people and designers who use Ikea carcasses, you should be able to find tips online but key is design and good fitting (it might be worth spending some of your budget on design to ensure you have a safe design that works plus avoid any costly mistakes. I would try OnePlan on here)

https://www.remodelista.com/posts/21-ikea-kitchens-budget-design-hack-custom-fronts/

In terms of the Quartz , you can wrap an "existing" worktop. colourhappy who Is on here had a new kitchen installed and had a cheap moisture resistant worktop fitted and then had the Quartz overlay fitted. I'm not sure which company she used but it may be worth creating another post as I think she saved quite a bit of money by doing it this way. I've attached a link for one such company anyway

http://www.stonecoverkitchens.co.uk

Hi Minnie, I would second Ikea kitchens, they recently came out top with John Lewis in Which magazine. Our fitting bill equalled the cost of units - it's all about the fitting in my opinion. The quartz worktop is basically an overlay, so they can cover an existing worktop or go over moisture resistant MDF. It was 'Granite Transformations' in Cambridge, but I think they are national.

Thanks colourhappy :) I was hoping you'd see the post, always good to get recommendations of a company

Thanks all, sounds like Ikea kitchens are the way to go!

I was looking at a website called affordable granite and it seemed like the worktops would cost £2,500 max including installation - would the overlay be much cheaper? Will check out the recommendation!

Also, is the overlay just as good as the real thing? Would we notice much of a difference?

Ikea option -estimated costs
Cabinets- £1500
Appliances- £2000
Worktop- £2500
Fitting £1800
Total £7800

Estimated Used kitchen costs
Cabinets/ worktop/ appliances £4000
Est cost of transporting kitchen £500
Reworking worktop £1400
Fitting £1800
£7700

I still think the used kitchen option is worth considering as you will likely find you get a better quality kitchen and appliances for a little less money. Buying a used kitchen and appliances for £3k and then putting a new worktop on it also compares.

Thanks for the mention Minnie .
This kitchen design that we did last month was for an Ikea kitchen with non Ikea doors ...



I had a quote from the same composite company (but Dorset crew) - worked it out the same price as new granite tops - so I didn’t go ahead (...it’s still on my to do list ! )

The good thing about buying Ikea Kitchens is you can literally buy just the carcasses and drawers and install and use it and add the drawer fronts and doors later ! Great for spreading the cost or if you are doing a long term build !