Hi Rinq, thank you so much for taking the time to draw up some possible floor plans for us - this has been incrediby helpful. I love your proposed layout for the kitchen. My only concern with your design is that the wall with the kitchen- diner entrance is load bearing and would therefore require structural work to move. Presumably this would not be an issue, just something I will need to discuss with a builder for an estimated cost. Do you think there would be enough room in the kitchen to add a pennisula on the external wall of your design, turning your design into a G shape kitchen? This is something we are considering but it is hard to tell whether the area would feel cramped. I have attached a screenshot of another kitchen design that my partner likes which utilises an island although I do not think our kitchen diner has enough space for this. Again, thank you for considering and proposing a floor plan for the 1st floor. Your approach to moving the master suite to the left of the property makes complete sense and appears a better utilisation of space, although walking this through in the house we have realised the views are much better on the right hand side of the property from the existing master bedroom and feel it would be best to keep this as the master. Do you have any recommendations on how best to use the extension for an en-suite & walk in wardrobe i.e. layout of bathroom items, which way round to have the two rooms, and also considering the window positioning & soil pipe that will need to be inserted to remove waste at the front of the property. Appreciate this is a lot of considerations I am seeking help for so any feedback / comments would be great. Thank you in advance.

My first observation is that in order to get to the existing kitchen from the hall you have to first walk through the lounge and then into dining room before reaching the kitchen. My second is the longest room in the house, the lounge, is only lit from one end by patio doors that take up the whole wall. If you turn this into a kitchen diner then one or the other will be without a window. It’s a tricky one but here goes for starters then hopefully someone else will pitch in and improve on it. Could you convert the existing kitchen into the essential separate living room and the existing dining room into the kitchen? For it to work you would need to change the patio doors for a window above the kitchen units and block off the door that currently connects the dining and kitchen. Then open up the dividing wall to connect the relocated kitchen to what is currently the lounge. The kitchen would be U shaped facing towards what is currently the lounge where you can place the dining table in front of the patio doors with the living area set back. You might have room for a kitchen island or peninsula. The problem I see with this arrangement is the living area has no window. However, by the looks of your photo, there should be enough light streaming in from the patio doors and additional borrowed light from the kitchen. Finally fit a door to directly connect the separate living room with the new living area. A shorter walk to the front door! Finally it would involve a great deal of expense to build an extension just to create a utility room so it might be more advantageous if you built a utility and a study. Could you pinch a bit of the rear of the garage to incorporate the utility?

Do you want to be able to access the utility from the hall and / or the kitchen? Could you consider a wall halfway into the bedroom 3 space and use that as the utility? Would need a good extractor fan - and maybe some clerestory internal windows if you want natural light. Then you could have a door either side of that new wall - from hall-to-kitchen and kitchen-to-utility. And if needed a hall-to-utility door. I’d consider making the door from kitchen to utility - and maybe even the hall to utility - hidden for fun and also to avoid a “loads of doors” look. Could hide them in a run of cabinets for example.

Hey Bas, Congratulations on your new home. I think it is really important to consider what do you actually need/want and go from there. I will ask you a few questions that might help to get you thinking. Do you need/want a large kitchen with island and plenty of space to cook? Or do you just need a very basic spec kitchen? Do you have people over and socialise a lot - do you need a dining table or are you not that bothered? What do you do to relax do you watch tv/read/listen to music/play music - then you will know you need a good sofa space if you watch tv or if you need a nice corner nook with plenty of space for books? Are you a muddy boots family or do you just need somewhere really simple to wash/dry your clothes? Do you work from home? with lots of storage space for papers or is it computer work and a simple desk would work just fine? Once you've gotten to the bottom of the space you need you can consider your budget, how much do you have to renovate can you afford to start knocking down all the internal walls and potentially extending or do you need to be smart with the space that you have. Good luck and happy thinking! Let me know how you get on! Jessica Studio Smith