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Design DilemmaKitchens
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Floorplan ideas

5 years ago

Hi everyone,
I’ve seen some really helpful replies on here and I’m hoping you may be able to help with our floorplan- just to make sure we’re doing the right thing and we haven’t missed anything… We have a 1950s bungalow with a 1980s roof extension- we’re planning to extend the roof further and replace an unsightly box dormer with 2 smaller dormers- resulting in more usable space upstairs. Redecorating the entire house, new windows, new plumbing, electrics, etc. We want to improve the downstairs layout but would rather not extend (I don’t think we need to). We’re quite happy with the plans for upstairs but we’re still not sure about the ground floor. I’ve added photos of the existing and proposed ground floor plans (sorry for the tippex and pencil amendments I don’t know how to do this electronically!).

What we like about the proposed plans:
We’re keeping the door where it is and moving the staircase over to get a more generous entrance hall- with a full height ‘atrium’ style space. We can walk straight into the kitchen from here (through a pocket door) with a view to our lovely garden. The kitchen is north facing so we’re hoping this doorway will let south light in. There should be plenty of north light from the rear 6m sliding doors and velux. Our lounge is double aspect, with plenty of light and views to the garden- we’d like to keep it this way and plan to open up the dining area to the kitchen to get one big L shaped space. The playroom can become a games room or 2nd reception room once the kids outgrow the toys- so we’ve put a pocket door here so it can be shut off from the open plan space.

What we’re not sure about:
The utility room is in a converted fuel store with low ceilings so it can’t really be repurposed for another means- it’s stuck where it is. It’s currently accessed via a shabby conservatory which we’re getting rid of, and will put a door in from the playroom. I would have liked the utility to come straight off the kitchen but this seems a good compromise. The playroom is in a very dark corner of the house- we’re hoping it will be much brighter once the opaque plastic conservatory goes. I thought about moving the kitchen to this corner but I’m thinking it might still be too dark and it’s a less nice view to the garden.
The kitchen layout is tricky with this floorplan. We had an appointment with Magnet and I’ve attached the visuals. It seems really cramped but maybe it’s not so bad? Maybe we’re being greedy but I thought we’d be able to get a more spacious working kitchen area. I’ve since tweaked the kitchen layout a bit- replaced one of the full height larder units with worktop and added some units to the window alcove area (although not sure what to put here). These plans have 1.2m between the peninsula and full height units, but I think we can stretch this to 1.4m if it makes it less cramped. That would still allow 950mm of walkway on the other side of the peninsula. Would that be a good idea or a mistake? Is there anything else we could do to get a better kitchen space? We talked about putting in a tiny extension to square off the room- but it’s a lot of money for not much extra space. Perhaps it’s worth it though?

I should mention we’re planning to have a ‘breakfast larder’ area where we can put the coffee machine, toaster, microwave, etc and hide them away behind cupboard doors. Magnet couldn’t draw in exactly what we wanted but you can see the coffee machine!
Sorry for waffling- I’m keen to see what other options there might be!

Featured Answer
  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Only immediate thought - elbow room on the left side of the built in ovens.

    More critical if it was a wall to the left - but if that unit could move to give you 10-15cm minimum clearance either side it will be easier to use.


    Have you considered/discounted having both the hob and sink on the peninsula and ovens full height where the hob currently is?


    Depends how wide that hob corner really is - I'd mock it up with boxes/tape somehow before making a decision.

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