Yep but that's different issues completely with sounds, but it does comply with building regulations. Is it something you would want regarding sounds/ privacy, think it's a personal thing. If you where adding a new bathroom that wasn't there prior, then you would have to put in an extract external air fan that will change the air 4 times within the hour and comply with building regs, have to put plumbing in for a shower should you need it in the future, have activity space allowing it to be used by disabled people safely, but that's not the case here since the bathroom is existing.

Thank you Carrie, that is really helpful. We originally purchased the larger sofas as I am 6ft 1" and my eldest teenage son, 17, is already taller than me. I also have problems with discs in my neck hence the higher backs of the sofas. I had thought about placing the tv over the fireplace but worried it would affect my neck. To be honest I have thought about putting the tv on a unit against that wall as it does look cramped in its current corner. Since posting this original message I changed the layout of the sofas so the armchair is in the window and the sofa originally in the window is now pulled forward to the middle of the room facing the fireplace. So this gives us a walk through behind the sofa. It seems to make the room more cosy but doesn't make it look smaller. I like your idea of smaller sofas, lighter in colour - our current ones do look bulky in here. Thank you. I am still keen to change the fireplace though- to a similar size but more modern. Thank you for your help Sarah

If you decide to go the stid wall route, then bear in mind that a single skin of 12.5mm plasterboard on each side with internal sound insulation gives you a 42 dB rating and if you have a double skin on each side with sound insulation, then you get a rating of 54 dB. This is the difference between hearing murmurs and nothing at all. Many of the builders that I have come across also tend to use timber as the internal studs, which in my opinion is very bizarre as metal studs are easy to install and are designed specifically for these types of walls. What i more they allow the insulation to be tucked in and sound transference is not an issue. The thickness of a standard single skin wall is 75mm and the double skin is 100mm. AS mentioned above these walls are easy to remove in the future and reinstate to the original. Best of luck.

Sorry Mat not sure if I follow. Are you having storage put in by the door? There is no storage labelled on your plans. If so, then visually speaking, the room starts from where the floor starts not from where the wall behind the cabinets starts. So if you have the same distance from both sides i.e. from right wall and from the left cabinet, it will still look symmetrical. Do you see how the room starts from the door of the cabinet and not from the splash back behind the sink? Here the column between the doors looks the same size as the wall next to the cabinets, whereas in reality the wall is at least 60cm wider. Again here the door appears to be in the centre of the room but in reality the wall on the left hand side is much wider because it carries on behind the cabinets. The designer has cleverly placed a T.V. there to stop the eye from noticing the rest of the wall. The same effect can be achieved with floor to ceiling cabinets. Was that what you were asking about or have I gone way off?