I think plan2 looks/works best but i'd suggest a few changes. For the tower run, having only a 20mm filler is to tight and doors open more than 90 degrees so they'll be rubbing at the freezer end, i'd suggest changing the 600 and 800 larders to a 1200 breakfast style larder, having drawers and worktop inside, shelved above and power for toaster etc, the doors can be pocket style so they open then slide down the sides out of the way when in use, make the wall nib a bit wider by about 100mm so you have 50-70mm fillers at each end, probably bring the towers forward (or make them extra deep) and this would allow for the pocket doors to slide away more. Depending on ceiling height you could have extra tall towers or top boxes on top and then infill about 50-100mm up to the ceiling. Also check the height of the appliances as in the pics it looks to high, i'd have a 450 frontal with pan drawer and internal drawer instead. On the opposite wall as long as all the 800 drawer units end past the window is good, window sill same as worktop possibly, (either end the run before or after the window) lose the 400 open unit in front of the wall nib and have a door (door could be made to look like 2 drawer fronts to match) on this as it will be just a dust trap, in the 1000 drawer units i'd suggest having internal drawers for utensils etc, the corner unit is good especially with the fly moon pull out as they're great (in my opinion) and as the corner post is made on site its gives the fitter more flexibility in positioning the units as its not a fixed corner. The sink run is fine but i wouldn't suggest opening a d/washer door to let the steam out as it can damage the surrounding doors, cabinets, decor panels and even worktops (thread on mumsnet where steam has damaged granite worktops). For the island if a 500 bin is big enough then fine but you might find a 600 pull out is better as its usually a 4 bin unit, possibly change the 1000 1+2 so its a 2 pan with internal drawer and then on the other side i'd have 2x 800 which would look more symetrical. For wall units its up to you, but if its an electric hob (especially induction) the extractor should be wider than the hob and if this area is going to be a main prep area than having wall units you can add extra lighting.

Hello everyone. Have been trying to think of different ideas on how to make the downstairs of our house (we're in a townhouse) a more sociable space. Unsure of whether to just redesign our kitchen or start knocking walls through to open it all up. Would appreciate some fresh eyes to see if there are any options we haven't thought of! Have uploaded a photo of our current floor plan. Thanks in advance for any inspiration 😊

I agree with siobhanmcgee90 re sinks on islands - I think they have the potential to be really messy. I also don't spend all that much time at the sink because most stuff goes in the dishwasher. I spend more time at the hob so to me it makes sense to have that facing out into the room. We have a Bora hob on our island and the sink elsewhere (2x400 bowls - bigger bowl in utility room for big pans/dog/etc). We love having the hob on the island - it's sociable when you're cooking. But you do need to know how you are extracting and I don't know whether you can have it extracting to the outside from there as there are maximum lengths for the underfloor ducting and I'm not sure what's beyond the wall to the left - is that the outside, or another house? (The max length depends on how many bends there are in the ducting). But you can have it recirculating. Have you considered all of this? I spent weeks with my builder and Bora (on and off!) planning the extraction so if you haven't yet sorted all of that (only asking as you don't mention extraction in your post) you may struggle to get it decided today. It all looks gorgeous by the way, and you will love having the open plan space with a baby/toddler/bigger child - we are at teenager stage now and still love having an open plan family space.

Thanks so much for this Jonathan! We really don’t want to lose the reception room but there is a much better space for the utility (despite us losing quite a lot of natural light from the kitchen) we already have a wc under the stairs meaning we can have a much bigger utility. Thanks again. Will have another think