Hi Minnie, Thanks for this. You've had some serious thought into my predicament. There is a scale on the drawing but for you its approx 12m x 5.8 (external of the barn unit excluding 'link) but walls are quite thick. I do like your idea and think modern living, which i like tends to focus round a kitchen dining living space which doing what you say would achieve. I think I'm going to have to sketch up your ideas too and see which would practically be the better choice. We've probably spent most of our time obsessing over a really nice master, when actually you spend little time in it... well little time awake. so does it need to be so big. Id hoped to actually create a similar kitchen dining experience by removing the wall between the kitchen and living room to crate a bigger room. This would enable a small island and allow space for a dining table in the current front room and replacing the windows on the kitchen facing the garden with a more modern 'letterbox' picture postcard window to draw in the view. It was also my concern that creating this kitchen / dining in the barn would negate the need to use the original house as all family time would realistically be spend on the ground foor of the barn / bedrooms above. For what essentially is a compromise to what we had originally submitted to planning, i don't want to create anything that means the house becomes the subordinate or poorer relation to the new. It should flow and be part of the whole. I think if we went with the kitchen in barn (as awesome as it would be) wed just may as well not build the link and make a separate house minus your boot room of course. This would maximise our investment but I'm not a developer, Money is not the driver.

Try looking on your local selling groups and Facebook marketplace as they come up all the time. People sell then when they get too big for their hours or when they move and they can’t be bothered to take them with them, ha ha. The new bathroom is still a shell :0( It’s been delayed because it’s now an internal room and we have been trying to work out about putting an outside window in ie cost (around £600!) vs is it worth it because it’s easy facing with a house opposite so gets no sun. Would always have to turn the light on - plus it would be above the shower so can’t open etc. Seems a lot of hastle! I have a separate thread on it somewhere... But anyway, we might create an internal window into the utility and borrow the light from the kitchen?? Not perfect but it’s some natural light at least. Will update the bathroom thread as need help with the shower anyway ;0)

Hello, if you don't want sight lines then I wouldn't have Crittall to be honest (unless you wanted Crittall without the cross bars of course?? as they are super busy and won't give you a clear view of the garden) We opted to go for bi-folds with slimmer sight lines and wider panes so there would be less lines. On your size opening, it would take 3 bi-fold panes which means the central one is just glass. If you had sliding doors then you would likely have 2 panels with the bar being right in the middle (unless you can slide them into pocket doors!) Bi-folds - they even do frame-less bi-folds now or ones with the lines super narrow so I would get prices for those. It also depends on your garden - as you say, because we had the bi-folds leading directly onto a patio area. If you have to step down then the garden will feel quite separate anyway and so you don't benefit from having an open 'room' as you would with a semi flush or flush threshold and bi-folds doors. In that case, Alu french doors with side panels that don't have all the cross bars would likely be the cheapest option for you.

I'd vote option 4, 2&3 don't appear safe (also option 5 with emptying things into the sink and just impractical). Using option 1 layout, could you have the kitchen along the length of the left wall moving the sofa forward a little, with a narrower coffee table, (and putting the hob and sink as far from sofa as possible). Put the dining table on the bathroom wall with a bench seat. Put a cupboard in the 500 alcove for a larder. You may have room a small chair next to the tv (one that doesn't visually feel the room). I'd make the opening to the courtyard as large as possible. Not sure how that would work as planning isn't my forte and I would strongly suggest engaging OnePlan or similar. I do agree with the estate agents advice though.