Best use of extension space?
Hi, I am fairly new to Houzz and this is my first post. My wife and I have recently purchased a Victorian terrace that had been converted into 2 flats and we are in process of converting back into a single home. Our budget will only allow us to knock through existing walls in the extended part of the ground floor to create an open plan space to increase our living area.
So far my wife and I have bounced ideas off of each other and come up with a draft plan for the ground floor but… I have just discovered this Advice section in Houzz and realised there a lots of budding home enthusiasts (professional and recreational) whose advice could be invaluable (if anyone would be so kind/interested)!
Our current plan is to convert the rear of the property into an open plan kitchen/sitting room/kids room. And keep the original ground floor rooms as (a more formal) living room to the front and dining room in the middle. Worth noting we have a toddler and will have a new born soon!
I have pasted our ground floor current and proposed plans (apologies – the proposed plan has been amended in blue ballpoint for now!) as well as our current idea for internal layout rear extension (which I used free app to create and is near-scale). In terms of style we are thinking modern handless kitchen with light grey cabinets, white quartz worktop with dark wooden features (eg kitchen peninsula and shelving). There will be new bi fold doors at rear of property, sliding door into the light well and a sky light (we are thinking black aluminium for glazing). The floor we are thinking wood engineered will work well. I have also added a pic of a kitchen we have found on this site that has inspired these ideas (albeit ours will be a much cheaper version!).
Any thoughts/suggestions on our proposed plan, kitchen layout or style choices will be gratefully received! Are we missing something obvious, is there a better way of utilising this space?
Comments (8)
Ellie
4 years agoJonathan
4 years agoI’m also not keen on the kitchen as it will be in the highest traffic area. I also think that when you look at moving meters and rebuilding the side porch you will feel you have spent a lot for little gain.
So personally I would put the dining space in the current kitchen position
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is this the best use of space?
Comments (5)I'd go for more storage and a separate Utility. If you remove the Chimney stack in the dining room and cut the room in half you can make a good sized Utility. ( You probably have another fireplace in the formal lounge ) Doing this, probably takes the allocated kitchen size from a 1/3 to a half and you get a utility too, so way more storage. Inside the entrance on the right of the kitchen, full height units for storage including coats and shoes, as there's no room in the hall....See MoreIs this the best use of space?
Comments (4)I’m not sure you have the space to turn the sofa the other way as you need a decent corridor between dining table and sofa so the sofa would be really close to the wall/tv. It would also close the room off seeing the back of the sofa? You could definitely gain 200mm by moving the island closer to the main run (yesterday’s comment!) and do you need the island so wide as you could gain 300mm there? By eye i think you can reduce the space between island and table slightly too. Is the stove a must or in that location? You could have a sofa (not L shaped) on the left wall with a tv on the bottom wall on a swing arm bracket. Or sofa on the bottom wall with the tv where the stove is (which may work if you reduce gaps elsewhere). I think i saw you mention going to a kitchen designer. Have you come across OnePlan on here? Karen can design the kitchen and whole space and produce 3D renders so you can get a real feel of the space and she works remotely. The fee is very reasonable too https://www.houzz.co.uk/pro/oneplan/oneplan...See MoreBest use of existing space after a kitchen extension?
Comments (3)I really don't think you should ever be faced with "old" and unused space when you have a design for an extension. Any redesign of a home should be holistic and take account of both all the old space and all the new space to create a home that fully works and is integrated. If it's not integrated into a fully working home then it will always feel disjointed and uncomfortable. Best wishes with your home redesign! Jane award winning chartered architect eco-home and conservation area specialist www.i-architect.co.uk For helpful videos watch my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@iarchitect...See Morechange of layout on a budget to get the best use of space
Comments (7)Paul's suggested what I was thinking. Move the utility to the back of the garage, pull the kitchen and diner to the left hand end and centre and have the right hand end, with the view, for your sitting room. I would look into fitting doors to this new sitting room, either double doors or possibly a folding arrangement, so it can be a separate space when needed. I'd really want to create a hall with the light/view from the back coming through into the central space. To do that you could look into knocking through, extending the new sitting room further towards the front of the house and use the reduced, old sitting room space as a study or snug. I can't see the sizes of the spaces but a smallish, squarish room could be cosy after the bigger, more dramatic sitting room at the back, while allowing for a reasonably-sized hall. Sorry I can't post a diagram but hopefully you get the idea!...See More- PRO
User
4 years agoHaving a small extension on side that is 4 x 1 where kitchen and diner is would actually make a lot of difference to your kitchen, just add 2 veluxes for light,
You will then be able to have a kitchen on left as in all the panels on one wall with large island table and good space otherwise it is very compact and rear use for dining with nice bifold doors
james_n_cox
4 years ago
PROOnePlan
4 years ago
PROFrome Interiors
4 years agojames_n_cox
4 years ago
james_n_cox