House plan advice - last lap hopefully!
Hello All,
I finally have a layout I am happy with and would appreciate your thoughts on anything that could be improved. I am adding to a semi-detached house - so one side is attached to my neighbour's house, and I am limited by what I can do with the unattached side because of planning rules. The unattached side also faces the back of my other neighbour's long shed anyway so there is not much of a view there. The kitchen/diner leads to the back garden which will be landscaped.
-Generally, what I like is the relationship between the rooms and especially that the dining area sits between the kitchen and living room. The living room faces south and has an existing fireplace so I would like to keep it where it is. I also like that the kitchen is tucked away a bit. The dining area faces north-east so we get a lot of sunlight in the morning. I plan to have the windows and doors on that side triple-glazed to avoid any cold spots when the sun has moved away. Also, I would ideally like to keep the access from the kitchen/mudroom to the study but would consider other ideas if it would improve the plan.
—The grey shading shows the walls of the existing house and yellow highlights are the doors and windows. The red markings in the kitchen area show the room on the top floor.
**Ideas on how to achieve a separation between the kitchen and dining areas even if psychological while preserving views of the garden and general openness would be greatly appreciated. I have always had closed kitchens so the new plan is a huge leap for me :-). Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
Comments (11)
Jonathan
2 years agoPersonally I think the rear hallway and oversized pantry on your plan is an extravagance in all but the largest houses- and it seems like it compromises your dining area. So I offer an alternative.
KXD
2 years agoAh! What a lovely alternative Jonathan, trust you to pull another one out of the bag! Interesting you mention the pantry cos I sketched the attached earlier removing the pantry. This also gives more space to the dining area, provides more separation between the kitchen and dining (which I like) and allows both spaces to breathe a bit. It will also allow a window/skylight along the eastern wall. But I am poring over your plan now because I like so many of your suggestions! Thanks again!
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2 years ago- KXD thanked Jonathan
KXD
2 years agoKXD
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoHi Jonathan, thanks for commenting on my post. I have thought about your comments on the pantry and dining area... I am still considering your alternative but wanted to run this idea by you (including others on the forum) to see what you all think. Although the foundations are already done, (1) I am willing to create a little bump out to house the main sink so that it is out of the main kitchen space. I have also removed the utility area in the old plan (I have a utility area upstairs). So the sink will serve both the kitchen/pantry and any other wet needs. (2) I have reduced the island to 900 since it will only have a prep sink and not a hob. This leaves about 3200mm/10.5 ft for the width of the dining space. Do you think I still need more room? What do you think of the new plan? I quite like that the sink is not in full view of the main kitchen/dining space. Also, like that there is quick access to the garden to/from the sink without going through the main doors.
However, I am concerned that the small projection may block the path of the sun and leave a shadow in front of the dining area? 🤔 What do you think?
KXD
2 years agoAlternatively, I could avoid the bump out and still move the sink to near the pantry? It means the hob/pantry runs will not be exactly in line with the island. It will look something like this...bad idea? Thanks.
KXD
2 years agoKXD
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
K OB