One option

Looks great thanks Jonathan! Looks like about a 3x4m extension on the back, or do you think any more or less would be needed?

Yes- that drawing shows about 3 X 5.5m

Good morning, I work for several design platforms, in my profile you can find several works done by me. The quality of my renders can be seen in any detail of the room.

In the case of your open space, there is something that I am not clear about in your plan. For this reason, we would need to go deeper with an image of the current state of the room, for example, I see that you have a service bathroom on the left and it was blocked tickets as proposed by FILLIP BREWER do we have to go to the street to be able to enter the service?

Get in touch by my WhatsApp, there you can find more information.

WhatsApp

Hi Proyectoszeza,

The Utility room and the W/C off of it are accessed from a door in the top left corner of the living space. Does that answer your question?

Also your profile has some really nice renders on it. Can I please ask what software you are using for them?

Thanks. Enscape and Lumion and V-ray

Thanks. Enscape and Lumion and V-ray

Hi Jonny. Can I suggest moving the kitchen and dining into the right hand room? You could use one end for a play space and the other for dining, possibly with the help of a bench built into the bay window. ( Your decision would be based on sunshine position / being overlooked etc). Kitchen running all down the right hand side. I'd leave the front left room as a 'grown up' sitting room that can also double as a guest room, closing off the door near the loo. Extend the loo into that wee hall to add a shower. The current kitchen becomes a large utility / storage space but I'd take the right hand window to enclose a home office.

Are you planning on using the back garden a lot as the children grow?

Thanks so much for the responses everyone! I hadn't seen these until now.

We're really hoping we can avoid doing an extension as we do plan on using the garden as much as possible. 

It's great to get ideas from everyone so thanks so much and if anyone has any other suggestions those would be more than welcome too!

I should have mentioned it's a semi detached property, attached on the right hand side on that plan, so alongside that left hand wall is a path through from the drive to the garden.

Photos here which might help, a couple of the current kitchen, downstairs WC, the grey living room is the bottom left room on the plan, the room with the blue wall is the long dining/living space down the right hand side. And the garden which has patio right the way across the back of the house

Hi,

I have attached a short video that I think will be of help to you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Property remodel

Carl

Hi Jonny,

Its a lovely house! What is the aspect? It'd be good to know when the sun is where for thinking about how you'd use the spaces.

Also, what is your budget - and appetite - for major works?

All the best,

Rosy

Thanks so much Carl - those are really interesting ideas, I like the idea of creating an adult 'snug' and having a utility and WC behind that, leaving space for a dining nook by the back patio doors. We've been rather selfishly clinging on to the idea of keeping the large living room as a separate space, but in reality that looks like the best option for opening up the kitchen into!

@Rosy W - the front of the house is Southeast facing, so that back wall at the "top" of the plan is Northwest, see photo (North is straight up on this)

So there should be some evening sun on the back of the house I think!

@Jonny Walmsley I'm glad I could help - please don't hesitate to reach out with anymore questions you have.

Carl

@Rosy W Also forgot to respond to your other question - budget should allow for major works if required but we were really hoping to be able to avoid extending, if we can avoid it!

I’d go one step further than Philip’s suggestion above and take the dining and snug area right across the back of the house. This would give you a smaller ’posh’ living room but a really good everyday living space. Philip - I hope you don’t mind that I scrawled all over your drawing!!

I love the idea of a posh room 😀

Thanks Angie, really loving all this input and ideas!

We have had lots of fun going through all the options and suggestions on here and it's been giving us lots of food for thought!

For anyone interested, here is our current thoughts on layout, without extending... I've used 'HomeByMe' which is great for me but limited compared to the professional-looking tools that people on here are using!

Knocking through the larger living area into the kitchen and moving the WC from that rear corner. Splitting down the 'long' room into three spaces - a small 'snug' at the front, with a small "thrutility" (does that word already exist? If not, it should!) leading to a WC. Behind that at the back (which is actually patio doors in the bay already) would be some sort of a reading nook.

The main living space would be opened up for family kitchen / living / dining. Bi-fold doors across the back to let that afternoon/evening sunlight in.

Cupboard under the stairs is our only 'cloakroom' space (without building a porch which I'd rather not do if we can help it). So that is the coats & shoes space with things like prams having to live in the hallway. Don't think there is a better solution without sticking a porch on the front!!

Uncertain on the logistics / practicalities / costs of adding a WC and utility on the right-hand side (next to an adjoining wall) - where does the soil pipe go or any of the water pipes for that matter?

I guess the next steps would be to speak to builders about this, or employ an architect to go through it in more detail?

Hi Jonny,

I really like the layout you have ended up with, it looks like it has a great main open-plan space with plenty of flexibility. Would it be ok if I borrow ThrUtility to describe that type of room in future, please? :)

The water supply pipes would have to be extended from the kitchen or a bathroom from above. But for the waste pipe, is there an existing one from the bathroom(s) above nearby that you could join to? If not, you would need to run a new drain under the snug or playroom, and this would mean breaking up the floor slab if it's concrete or lifting the floorboards if it's a timber joist floor. The new waste pipe would need venting above the roof or the use of a specialised internal 'Durgo Valve'.

Assuming your house is not listed, you would not need a planning application. So your next step would probably be to have architectural construction drawings to building regulations standards for approval by your local building control authority before construction starts. A simpler 'building notice' from your builder can sometimes be used, but some authorities do not allow these for installing new, or construction over, foul drains.

We can produce construction drawings for your project if you are interested? But if not then I hope this information will be helpful for you.

All the best with your project!

Phill

Hi @Jonny Walmsley

Please feel free to send me an email at carl@carlarchitect.co.uk if you need architectural support.

Carl