Personally, I think it could be great to move the living/kitchen to the front of the house to make use of the bay window. It does make access to the garden a little awkward through the bedroom, but I think it’ll make a great statement having the living room at the front.

Do you need two bedrooms?

how much do you want to change? I would advice to fo for the side extension and bring the living, kitchen ar raw back of the house with the garden access (standard for these type of houses). however with a clever planning you can reconfigure the layout as it or replan the existing kitchen / living room. it depends on your overall goal and budget.

Thanks for all of the input. I definitely want to retain two bedrooms and my budget is between 50-70k, would that be enough to do an extension? Or would it be better spent reconfiguring the current space?

Here is a good article on a cost of extensions https://architectureforlondon.com/news/how-much-does-a-side-return-extension-cost-in-london/

Wow Marina, thank you for taking the time to make these. They have really helped me visualise what the flat can be like.

Great, I’m happy to help.

If you need any ideas on the flooring I’m happy to help

Many thank Ashley

The space looks empty but perfectly liveable at the moment? I think it’s often helpful to live in it before making big changes. We didn’t have the money to do any alteration before moving into our home and, five years later, when we did we made some quite different choices thanks to the experience of really using it. Of course a good architect can think this stuff out for you, but only if you know what you value and what drives you mad. For us it was little things we wanted to keep because they just worked that helped to define the range of ‘acceptable’ answers because they forced certain choices about space.

Great ideas - all will work but I agree with Jon R - you need to live in it to get a feel for it. I did start to sketch out what you could do - but marina has done a great job of that already 😍. Have you seen the programme ’My House Made Perfect ‘ (I think that’s what it is called) some eye opening and practical designs on there.

Simple solution is to move the kitchen into an L shape backing onto the front bedroom wall and creating a good space for dining or lounging area in front of the patio doors. As per my quick edit of your plan - (blue : kitchen , yellow : walls , red : storage units housing TV)
Note in this if possible I would move the wall back on the bedroom just a couple feet, which would make the world of difference , lining up the storage cupboard under the stairs.
You have high ceilings this gives you a sense of space - make the most of this but putting in floor to ceiling window/ patio - something like the crittal range look amazing.
Your investment money is a lot but with real feature items won’t go far. But those items could be the difference between WOW and practical, it’s already practical and my gut is to spend more on the WOW 😍.

What Marina did in her third option was the way I was thinking also. I think it’s always good to keep the private spaces away from the public ones. Good luck

Thanks @Jon R and @PHASE 2 Photography I totally understand what you mean about living in a space first. I think there will definitely be a period of living in flat first (getting the keys in a few weeks!) but my main concern is about buying furniture that won't work in the future. Especially as the current living room is a little tight and a small sofa will be required.

I love the idea of floor to ceiling crittal windows though. I think I'll speak to an architect about the different options for layout and see what's feasible within budget but I am more inclined towards less construction and more wow elements like the windows. Thanks everyone for your comments and help!

Just get yourself some cheap or secondhand furniture to start until you’ve done the work or got a fixed idea of what you are doing because it could feel completely different by the time it is done.
Good luck with it all and would love to see the pics once you’ve done the renovations.

I always think the money is best spent on the bones ie, the light, space and flow of a property. Having great furniture in space that doesn’t work for you. It’s fab to have lovely Crittal windows but if there in a space that doesn’t let in the best light then they’re not doing their job. Just my opinion anyway. Also I really like that little courtyard bit outside the bedroom. As per the previous comment watch “Your home made perfect” it’s got a totally different way of looking at spaces.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to give an update on the renovations and get your thoughts on the proposed new layout. Having spoken with a structural engineer it's not possible to do a side return extension as our ceilings as the back are too low to have an exposed steel beam hanging down. It's also too costly to lower the floors.

So, we've focussed on how we could rearrange the internal floor plan, maintaining both the light from the bay window at the front and the connection to the garden. I've attached an image for you to see. Great to hear your thoughts.