Hello all, thanks for all the comments! I'll reply one by one...: dundrum16 - thank you, yes that is one concern - do you know how much space ideally should be left either side of the toilet (and is access always needed from both sides?)? lkirk44 - great thank you for your view. If we did have a separate toilet and utility we would not use the utility as an office space (which is one of the drawbacks of this option). If we can make it work with a separate office in this location then we will go with that option! Midcenturylass - cheers for your comment although I wonder if you have misunderstood the drawings? The toilet (in either scenario) will be completely separate from the kitchen/living area - there will be a door to get into the toilet room, and another door to get from the hallway into the kitchen. OnePlan - Thanks for your various comments. Yes you are correct we are putting a walkway through the kitchen but unfortunately unless we completely re-jig the ground floor layout, the only way to avoid this would be to massively eat into the kitchen/dining area with an extended hallway. One good thing is that we have side access outside to get into the garden and back into the dining/living area so when we have quite a few guests that will be the entrance and not through the kitchen. Incidentally, we do also have a large front room which will be the formal sitting room. There will be a sink on the island to serve the hob which does contain that element although I accept the oven is still interrupted by the walkway through to the living area. Yongpei You - Thank you. We would be open to you helping us and us helping you but I suspect it may be difficult as we have just started demolitiion and foundations for the extension are about to be dug, so in terms of the layouts in my query, we need to decide those in the next two weeks or so - would that work for you? temple274 - Thanks for both your comments. I was going to ask if I could have some of what you were having but your second comment clarified matters!!! CreatePerfect - thank you, appreciate your comments and that is exactly why we have come on this board, to get others' opinions on our ideas. The space/dimensions available are all on the drawing so any feedback you have on that basis would be appreciated as we need to decide this soon (the office idea only came about a few nights ago - we were set to go with the first option of a separate utility). I do have the plans to scale but for some reason I can't seem to upload a PDF so had to take a picture of my plans and upload that! Do you know how to upload a PDF? Cheers all, any further comments and suggestions very welcome. Pratik

Hi Suzy, It is a very good idea to have a final plan for the garden and do it bit by bit as budget allows. Sometimes people try to do it all at once and it can lead to compromises in the quality of materials to make the budget go further. I think that raised beds will be a very good addition to your garden. I always say that amending a heavy clay soil should be the last option as it is time and money consuming and you need to repeat the procedure overtime. I think that either putting the planting in raised beds (which, if well thought of can be great additions to the garden, creating vertical interest, maybe acting as sections division and seating) or selecting the planting so that only plants that can tolerate this condition (roses are a good example) are used are much better options. Trellises in your case could not only work as sections divisions, but could also screen out the two sheds that you wish to have in your final garden, so probably a good idea. Layout-wise, in my opinion your curved borders do give your garden a nice shape, and creating paths that follow it somewhat would be a good idea. If you need any further help, I offer a completely online range of garden design services from sketches to garden plans with planting plan and 3D visuals. Do not hesitate to contact me in case you are interested to learn more about it. I wish you all the best with your garden, Deborah The Rooted Concept Garden Designs

Generally a Grade II listing means you can’t change the look of the front of the property and I think we can all agree with the value of protecting the quality of a beautiful streetscape. Where the system falls down is that enforcement of the guidelines varies by individual and some will insist on an inflexible obstructive approach and others will be competent. When I had an apartment in a Grade II building I wanted to replace a 1960s picture window at the back of the house with a sash style window. Most of us would assume this would be rubber stamped with some guidelines for implementation but the moron I got protected the 1960s window. So you should have a chat with your local planning office about what will be allowed. I bet that they would be ok about moving the kitchen as long as you don’t change the window or reduce its attractiveness by putting cabinets in front of the window. Any kitchen has to have ventilation they will no doubt stipulate where this must go and you will no doubt have to plumb into the existing bathroom waste. You might struggle to get agreement to knock an aperture between the two front rooms - the argument being that potentially it changes what can be seen from the road.

I think you can have all the things you want in this space as long as you go for light slimline design for your furniture. I would place a slimline design sofa in the corner by the door with a floor lamp on the left and a small coffee table that could be easily moved around. Opposite the desk I would place rows of shelves for storage and decor and the TV. The idea is to have the TV fitted on to the wall with an arm bracket so when you want to watch it from the sofa it can extend and pivot to where you'd want it.And when not in use it could be flush agaist the wall among the shelves.