I am not sure that the side door in the extension makes sense. It will kill a lot of useable space in terms of circulation in the room. I will maintain the external door through the utility room.

It looks like the rest of the house is having work done too. Please could you post the whole floorplan so we can see how it relates?
First thing I’d do is lose the side door and relocate to either the utility room or the garage.
Second thing I’d do is find out how much it would cost to remove at least one but preferably both of the structural pillars.

Would you consider something like this? What you save on reducing the volume of the extension would probably go into more structural steel but every other way I looked at your original space the pillars got in the way.

Hi @pauldrowan - added that extra full plan for reference.

I'd like to keep the side door as we use it a lot for accessing rubbish bins although I could move it to the corner if that will help (that's assuming I can remove that pillar shown as otherwise it will be dead in the middle of an island if one goes there).

The pillars shown were proposed by the architects although we told them we did not want visual obstacles. So structural engineer also went ahead and included them now. I don't understand the point of going to architects in the first place if they won't listen to what you're trying to achieve and advice on cost! #frustrated

Wow, that’s some house. It also looks like you’re going out an extra metre from the original plan you posted, which does help with the position of the pillars.
I would go back to the architect and engineer and ask the question about removing the pillars. It’s obviously going to increase costs but it must be achievable. If the engineer says no, ask another one.

Hi @Seasons in Colour

I suspect that the furniture in your plans is disproportionate to the size of the room. Because I get this layout. In my opinion, it is best to place the kitchen in this way, equally accessible from all sides of the house.

I like Elina’s layout but would also try putting the dining table in the middle instead of the kitchen; leave the columns where the laws of gravity want them to be and make the extension deeper to make a more usable/flexible space buyond them.

You could drop the ceiling in the dining area to make a more focused and intimate space and will have more flexibility for rooflights and the layout towards the garden as well as a side door.

Taking out major columns is always possible but the consequencial engineering (deep/downstand beams, reinforced end bearings and underpinning in the middle of the house, etc) can be extensive and may be better spent where you’ll see and appreciate it?

It’s your choice in the end but talk more to your architect and engineer, they really are looking out for your best interest.

Hi @matt_judge65 assuming a £2k/sqm cost for the build, extending deeper to get an extra 10sqm in the design has a massive cost, compared to getting a box frame steel in place? What am I missing here?