Pete I am North London (Islington borough) and went ahead with mine, finished just over a year ago and it’s changed the flat entirely, so happy I did it. Layout similar to the plans in original post but larger kitchen. If you have an idea of layout you want I’d recommend trying to find a junior architect or go with some sort of basic pack option. Architect fees were way more than I expected and unnecessary for me. I found my original suggestion was the best option anyway and despite agreeing a planned budget it was way over spec’d resulting in tenders out of my reach. I ended up finding a very well priced builder myself using mybuilder.com who still worked to fixed fee contract, came in significantly cheaper than lowest architect tendered builder. Speak to your neighbours before Party Wall letters go out, you are about to disrupt their lives for 3 months or so, worth having them on side :) Try and pick/plan the small things as early as possible - you can’t imagine the ridiculous amount of stress you feel having to pick and order kitchen cupboard handles out of the millions of options there are when the builders are ready for them now! Good luck!

We went for blockwork and render but were surprised that the saving was pretty minimal (less than £50 and was the same with all our quotes) so it was more of an aesthetic than budget issue in the end.

Hi Saskia, Depending on your budget & site conditions you could build a very small light weight extention to serve as main entrance lobby. This will create a separate entrance without shrinking the existing reception. Regarding the glass to the other bedroom it all makes sense. Your utility cupboard could stay against the wall, flush with your new kitchen, which would move where the small bedroom is (I assume this is your plan for now). We've designed something very similar not long ago, please see link below. The project is currently under construction and will be finished at the end of June. https://www.houzz.co.uk/hznb/projects/victorian-house-rear-and-loft-extension-pj-vj~6159497 We would be happy to assist further with the design, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thanks Andrei Kay Moden

Yes, that makes sense, I thought that might be the case. It's a shame the stairs to the cellar are there as it makes it very difficult to have storage here instead which is really useful for any under-stairs space. But I have an unusual idea for a custom rolling storage unit which could roll out to allow access to the cellar storage. It would be possible to make the layout work but bedroom 2 would have to have the original wall with the hall making it smaller. the bathroom could be made a bit smaller to give a bit more space to the bedrooms too. Do you want to have 2 evenly sized bedrooms or 1 larger main bedroom? I hope these notes and ideas are helpful for you! Our services are available if you would like to develop these designs further with us. I would recommend an initial design development session. A 1h phone meeting where we discuss all your requirements and some possible layouts which incorporate your needs/priorities and afterwards I produce several detailed sketches for the ideas/options discussed. If you would like to arrange one of these then please feel free to contact me at: info@phillipbrewerarchitecture.co.uk Then if you choose to proceed further we would produce an accurate and detailed 3D digital model for a planning application and/or set of construction drawings.