Hi Victoria, I don't have any plans to show you, but some construction photos of our side extension - I think we have the same layout as you, but in the mirror :)). We extended our kitchen 4 years ago, unfortunately I'm not able to tell you how much it cost as we'd had a complete house renovation and paid it all as a pack. However, the structural beams and glazing in the kitchen were billed separately; main beam was about £3000, the glass (including folding doors) was £15000. I remember we also asked for a quote for a roof with 3 or 4 skylights, builder said he'd do it for £9000 at the time (we live in Cardiff). We had the same problem, wanting to maximize the use of space and get as much natural light as possible. We decided NOT to have two access points to the kitchen, but close off the middle room double door and have an internal window instead. Our thinking was that, if we keep a door there, the space is lost, as it needs to be 'free of stuff' for access :)) especially because, as with your house, we have a loo in between and the back length of that loo can't be anything but a corridor (aka dead space). By closing it, we gained a fully usable middle room and a somewhat closed corner in the kitchen, ideal for bins, feeding the cats, dumping hoover/ bikes out the way, etc. I hope I make sense (I'm a bit tired and my English seams to fail me at such times... :)) You can even have it as a play corner... There are lots of examples on Houzz for side extensions, just search http://www.houzz.co.uk/ideabooks/query/side-extension and browse the results. I'd be happy to share my experience if you need more details, just let me know. Good luck!

I was thinking tall cabinets for the other side of the where the desk is (kitchen side). This then creates a nice zone for that desk which is semi-private. The recess at the far left side is due to pipe work, it could definitely be re-routed but I thought it might be a useful cupboard regardless? Oh and I forgot to add big doors opening out to the garden at that end too. Currently it’s a window.

@katlucy - So imporessive. Can't believe you just knocked that out. I think that is awesome! It is very similar to what I drafted up this morning. The main difference was that I kept the kitchen to the right of the property (on the side of the extension) so that the cooker's extractor fan had an exit, in theory. This design doesn't seem very orthodox though. Probably a million gotchas init! I thought there would be a wealth of ground-floor side return extension examples in mid-terraced properties, but I can't find any, and now I'm starting to understand why that might be.

Love the idea of a courtyard but like you and others have said above, you need to be careful not to eat into your living space. Converting the cellar if it’s big enough could be your best bet to get an extra bedroom without moving… But if you’re ok having a smaller third bedroom this could be an option (quickly sketched on my phone sorry!) The main challenge is getting light to the second bedroom. Instead of a courtyard which I think would take up too much space you could extend the second bedroom slightly into the side return extension to add light from above. Then a third bedroom could be squeezed in although it would smaller. This could be attractive as an office if you came to sell at any point. For the living space, a narrow l-shaped kitchen in the side return might fit (not sure). You could separate the kitchen and living room with a wall or part glass divider to give a more open plan feel. I’ve seen someone do this before with a movable partition to separate the kitchen and living room but couldn’t find the picture anywhere (annoying!). In the living room, you might be able to fit a small round dining table near the fireplace (possibly). You could also add a glass box window seat to give extra seating/perch spot or just go with big windows / doors. Just some ideas. Had fun trying to think around this problem so thanks!