The best way to make a room feel more spacious is to minimise clutter. If you can replace the bath with a shower then definitely go for the option in Elena's message and install a large shower spanning the width of the room. If you have to keep the bath then perhaps consider a smaller bath (e.g. 1600mm long) if this won't be a problem for you. It may seem strange to make a room smaller when trying to make it appear larger but I would suggest building out a false studwork wall on the right hand side of the room by about 200mm and using the void behind to conceal the pipework for the shower so you only have the valve and shower head visible. You can also put in neat alcove shelves within the shower to store bottles and products so you don't need the basket which will create more space in the shower area and make it seem more spacious. I would also move the toilet next to the shower and conceal the cistern behind the false wall. Again, you can have alcove shelves above the toilet with concealed lighting or set back the whole section above the cistern with a large mirror above. By hiding the shower mechanisms and the cistern, the whole area looks clean and uncluttered giving the illusion of more space. The basin can be repositioned opposite the door, which will be a more attractive view than the loo when you walk into the room. Finally, if your door opens inwards rehang it to open outwards to make the room feel more spacious. I hope that helps and all makes sense! Do get in touch if you'd like plans drawn up or product suggestions.

Wow! Thanks for the comments so far. It's great to get all these different perspectives. Where to start? So one important thing to mention is that we're really tight on our budget. I figured that the most cost effective option would be to keep the current kitchen where it is which I figured only really gives us option 1 or option 2. I wonder how much more expensive it would be to have a totally different design? The original house didn't have a bathroom upstairs but we managed to squeeze one in when we renovated the upstairs while still keeping 3 bedrooms. So this is the original bathroom downstairs. I wanted to keep a small toilet and shower at least for when the kids get a bit older or if we have guests. The pictures of sofas in the living room and extension are a bit optimistic. I'd be quite happy to have one sofa in the living room and one in the extension. Sophie, our builder recommended we keep the window in the bathroom if possible, but this means making the extension a bit less wide - not by much, but perhaps enough to make a difference. The actual side passage wall is the same in both options. We could ditch the window in the wider bathroom option actually and keep the same width of extension. His point about keeping (or having) a window was that it'd be good to have some natural ventilation and daylight in there. We checked the head height and it'd be enough for a shower. I kind of prefer option 1 from a flow point of view, but I'm very concerned about the door opening straight into the kitchen. Alky, I can't really see much detail in your pictures, are you able to upload something a bit higher res? From what I can see, it certainly looks like a big and creative change. The funny thing is that one of the neighbours whose house is pretty nearly identical to this design (apart from the toilet/bathroom) their house looks pretty awesome. But now I'm confused because you've all raised very valid points which make me wonder about the whole design.

I get a sense of your dilemma from your text however a rough floor plan (to scale if possible) and some pics of the problem area will help the many posters here offer you suggestions to help.

looking at moving into a small terreced house, it has the typical layout of two main rooms downstairs and the staircase running through the middle. I am wondering if it is possible to get rid of the walls on either side of the stairs or atleast one side to open up the downstairs and make it lighter and airier. Any ideas if this is possible or how much it would cost?