Hi Hannah,

How exciting. I have a few thoughts on your layout though.

1. A 6m kitchen is very long/lot of cabinets = expensive and might get you to your 10k steps by the end of cooking supper!

2. The sofa looks like it's in a pretty window alcove but looks into the room instead of outward so no garden views.

How about not having the glass doors (or making them smaller) and having an L kitchen with island in the window as then you can be looking outside as you cook or socialise on your island facing inwards. Then if the sofa goes on the current kitchen wall, it both faces into the room and looks out into the garden.

If you want any help with visualisations or to bounce some ideas around, just give me a shout

Emily x

Thanks Emily. I can see myself on roller skates to get up and down the length of units now 😄. I’ll have a play around with that idea on paper. Thank you! X

Personally I think the new plan is a huge step backwards from the plan you posted in March. I suspect that the cost of removing all the walls propping up the first floor and building an extra 1.5m will cost more than your previous plan to leave the original house fairly untouched and build outwards. I suspect the earlier plan will add far more to the value too as it will be bigger and you will have an impressive sight line through the house.

Perhaps you should be returning to your earlier plan and finding way to accommodate other storage- you don’t need a modest room for the washing machine, freezer and dog bed when there are so many other places they can go in a big house. Personally I think it’s much better to have your freezer in the kitchen, your washing machine upstairs near where the beds are stripped and laundry created and the dog at the foot of the bed.

I also think that the new planned utility is a barrier to the garden.

Separately I don’t think a 6m long kitchen is too long as you don’t have to fit corner to corner. By the time you have accommodated a fridge, freezer, larder cupboard and side by side ovens you have used 3m of wall space and if you intend putting the hob in the island you will need further wall space for the sink. A 3.2m island with space to circulate and stools will also fill the 6m space.

Jonathan! Just when I think I've made up my mind! :) Thank you so much for your comment. As always you talk sense. I am really struggling with the storage though. The thought of a utility/boot room to throw all the kids coats/bags/shoes is very seductive (how sad). We should get quotes for both options coming in pretty soon so that will certainly add to the respective pros/cons list.

There are loads of ways that coats and bags can be stored and look stylish and therefore fit into a kitchen or hallway. If you make the storage out of kitchen cabinets you can make it feel planned

Whatever you decide- best of luck.