Do you need a second full bathroom. I'd change to a shower room with a cloakroom / storage area. Go lengthwise. Change also the Kitchen to where the second living area is. Swap the second living area to living / dining. Much nicer to sit and relax over looking the garden. I don't know what type of flooring you currently have in the dining room. If it's floorboards then you should be able to have the kitchen left and plumb out to the right under the floor. Obviously if it's concrete this won't work and you'd have to have a further shuffle about! I presume also that you can't just fit in a toilet under the stairs as the meters are preventing this? ( I know that moving those can cost a fortune! ) Opening the front door and being able to see front to back makes the house seem a lot larger. So, yes I'd sacrifice the layout of the bathroom if a larger square bathroom is not needed. If you can't plumb the water drainage from the kitchen across from left to right then you are better off with this type of layout. Personally I think you suffer from lack of counter space even with a long island, but it's do'able with careful planning. Plus, I also think it's odd having two living areas back to back. I'd take the advice of a builder and see if you can sort out the plumbing. Go for the first plan with the bigger kitchen in the middle and the living / dining area at the back. Good luck!

Hello Karen, WOW what a fantastic project and this open plan space looks incredible. I feel the positioning of the living area and dining area works well and makes complete sense from what you have said about the views etc. My concern is the kitchen as I feel the current position/layout is a bit of an obstruction and to me the space does not flow efficiently and effectively. I would switch the island around so it sits the opposite way and then you could potentially have your hob on the island which will sit in front of the tall units where your ovens and fridge will be. This way the kitchen layout will work a lot better. I have attached a quick sketch below so you can see what I mean. Also this way it will give you more room around your dining table meaning the whole space will flow a lot better. You have asked quite a few questions here so I would be more than happy to discuss all of this through an online video design consultation. I provide a personalised design service by working closely with my clients to create a space that reflects their personalities and way of living. I would love to talk in more detail with you about this exciting project, so please do get in touch and we can look at ways to see how I can help to create your dream space. Regards, Hannah

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions so far. I've incorporated lots into an updated plan attached. This one is pencil to show more measurements. Things I've changed based on your feedback are: 1) Moving hob to other end of island to keep cooking area all in the same space. 2) Binned the American fridge in favour of separate integrated fridge and freezer 3) Centred the sink into the middle of the base units 4) Put a dish drainer above the sink to keep countertop free (seen on other discussions) 5) Moved island seating to opposite end to view garden. This is going to be our house for the next 15 years or more so think this would bother me if it wasn't. 6) Widened the island to 1200mm and shortened it to 2700mm. Doing this and moving the island 100mm closer to the side wall gives around 1200mm clearance to the 'chunk' structural wall that can't move. I love the idea of a tall cupboard being a breakfast cupboard as @pjdklm suggests to house, cereals, bread, toaster maybe even microwave. 600mm is probably too small so I could reduce the sink or base units by 200mm to make an 800mm cupboard between the fridge and freezer. Does this sound better? The sink run then would be 3000mm which matches the rooflights. @rinked and @Jonathan thanks for your suggestions and I like the simplicity of the latest design form rinked. However I'm not bothered about distance to washing machines from upstairs as if I'm using the back door, the first thing I'm doing is putting the kettle on. I also want to have the large back room and so don't need as much room for the study or hallway from front door. I take your points about the rooflight above the dining table but with pendants above the island, I'm not sure if I want anything else hanging down from the ceiling. Plus I guess we can always use candles and lamps etc and then we can look up at the night sky. We also have an east facing garden, so have great morning sunshine but if the rooflights were as close to the first floor (as in rinked's designs) they would be in shade by about 1 or 2pm.

I think if you drawer in a full sized dining table, sofas, a bigger kitchen than you currently have and room to circulate you will realise the space is too tight for your ambition. You can use some space saving ideas such as having dining bench seating against a wall which slightly reduces the space needed to circulate and you could make your kitchen cabinets and worktops deeper to give you more storage and therefore have a shorter run against the wall…… but I think if budget will allow you should consider building bigger or alternatively consider making the bedrooms smaller and move the bathroom between the bedrooms to free up more space for the principal room.