Just a quick option as pushed for time. I don't think making the bedroom and bathroom bigger upstairs is an option without a real lot of messing about affecting other rooms. So, bigger bedroom yes, move bathroom over, yes.

Plus an option for downstairs so that it doesn't compromise too much garden, plus gives you a separate study, downstairs guest room with en-suite

How is your plot? Any possibility to extend towards the front, or will that cost you your driveway?

Wow thanks for all the responses.

We have the space to extend to the front (I had thought about at least squaring off the front where the kitchen is).

Would the garage door be the principal elevation? Meaning we could extend to that line with permitted development?

Excellent idea! Weirdly enough, if you pick up the guest bedroom and en-suite and bring it in line with the garage it fits perfectly and makes a more square kitchen / diner / lounge.

Also, I used that side for the guests because it's actually smaller than the garage, so the study will be better use for every day, being that little bit larger. Although the garage is 8'9" and the kitchen 8'11", that's at it's widest point, so the most part of the kitchen is actually smaller than the garage. ( hope that makes sense ).

I'll try and find some time somewhere soon (will be on a short trip next week), because I think the south side could be used for better purposes than bedroom/toilet/study. Maybe even a two storey extension towards the garage exterior wall. Give me some time and meanwhile enjoy other people's ideas ;)

I think the study being just slightly bigger than the other side of the house lends itself to all sorts where it is. It can be a play room, a teenage den, and adult retreat, but close enough to the living area to be of great use.

With the kitchen moved at least you get away from the 'long narrow room thing'.........not a massive fan of those.

I personally think that the biggest problems you have are the very tiny bedroom upstairs, and the fact that it's quite a large capacity house with no separate Utility. Making a guest room downstairs albeit with an En-Suite is not necessarily the way to go.

You have no storage downstairs, and thus, instead of another bedroom I would err on the side of storage and a Utility.

This is a better layout and would suit more people.

Man about - this is pretty much what I had in my head initially. Think that the garage conversion would have a sofa bed in it rather than be setup as a bedroom permanently, And agree en-suite is not required.

I notice in all the suggestions people have made, the extension at the rear is only one side - is there a particular reason to not go across the whole of the plot, but use skylights to get the light in?

Having watched that VR changing rooms last week it really got me thinking about how to make more of the sun on the south side (front) of the house. The kitchen as it is now gets beautiful light in the afternoon/evening so think maybe a Utility is better served towards the back.

Main reasons for not going straight across at the back with an extension is the size of the garden. It's quite small, for the size of the house. You may be in danger of over extending.

Secondly, the garage is larger than the opposite side of the house so is better for all round use.

In my second render where i put the utility in and then use the Garage as a study, it utilises the current kitchen area better. The current kitchen is very narrow for the size of the house.

Using the Garage as a study / guest room is good, but it has no good access to a toilet.

So, I hear what you're saying about the sunshine, but the house does not lend itself to a kitchen / diner at the front, as the rooms are too small. Plus trying to put the Utility at the rear just won't work in my opinion as it then cuts the space in half and makes the kitchen / diner dark, plus you now can't see the garden from the kitchen / diner.

I agree with Jonathan, if there are multiple uses going on, then you would be wise to invest in a concept planner to discuss all options, as you could discuss this till the cows come home, as they say.

You need basically to decide how you want to use the house and what you actually need versus what you would like, and then see how it can be achieved.

Thanks for all of this Hugh.

Any tips on what to look for in concept planner?

Any recommendations warmly received.

Karen at OnePlan on here is very popular, i'm sure there are others, but I know that she can work remotely, which is always very handy. She gets excellent feedback.

thanks MATH ! x

Some Ideas below for your questions:

Downstairs we want to convert the garage into another room, that can act as a guest room when needed. In terms of the rest of the downstairs we are thinking opening it up and possibly an extension at the rear. Would love doors across the back and potentially moving the kitchen to the rear. A separate utility would also be good.

You are able to open up the whole of downstairs if you wanted to, the key is the structural supports that would hold your house upstairs this work can be expensive, however with smart design from the architect and structural engineers would help reduce the costs significantly,

Converting the garage of the existing house it is a straightforward process you might require planning approval for this. usual costs are £6000 to £8000 plus vat to do this depending if you require to move the services such as gas and electricals or add a en-suite.

Opening the rear of the house, the most common practices when it comes to open plan kitchen, dining and lounge is the beam that acts as a box beam to hold existing structures this will give you an open plan kitchen, dining and lounge areas, options are amazing to what you can achieve whether you go with flat roof where you can have 3m by 3m lantern or pitched roof that has 3 or 4 veluxes and kitchen with the island or 5 panel bifold-doors making your house look and feel great. This will come at an "cost" if you imagine a terraced house extension that is 3 meters out 5 meters wide will cost £35k plus VAT and that is only for building cost(to plaster finishes considering your foundations are 1m deep only and no manholes or other services required to be relocated) plus your second fixes such as kitchen, windows, doors, flooring, painting, paving and gardening etc.. by time you calculate all in you will be on £50k - £60k plus vat (depending on type of finishes you will go for)

The key is to prepare properly and really make sure you can afford it.

The consultation costs are additional you require architectural drawings and technical drawings, structural engineer drawings and calculations, party wall agreements if within 3 meters from neighbouring properties, build over agreements if thames water owns any pipes on your land, planning permissions, building control for inspections, clear overview of any trees that are around your property this can really push your costs up of underpinning if required.

Consultation costs by the time you are ready to build can cost £3k to 5k all in above depending on size and details.

Hope this helps and clarifies some questions about design, construction and costs.

You can read more about design and build process on our website: https://www.nuhous.co.uk/design-and-build