Thank you so much for the input, especially to Jonathan for adapting the plan. It's really interesting because our initial goal was absolutely to open up the line of site right from front to back, but the reason we changed our minds is because we were going to end up with a very small utility room, that seemed almost not worth having. We also have a dog, so the goal was to have some way of containing the mess! We are changing an existing window to a door to do this in the utility room I showed. 1. Moving the kitchen to where Jonathan suggests means we would lose use of an existing chimney breast, where we planned to have a wood burner in the planned 'family area'. 2. The existing wc also needs to be made larger as it's currently under the stairs and my husband can't stand up(!) I am attaching another picture that the architect initially drew where you can see the small room to the right of the 'corridor' is intended to be the utility room...

My first observation is that in order to get to the existing kitchen from the hall you have to first walk through the lounge and then into dining room before reaching the kitchen. My second is the longest room in the house, the lounge, is only lit from one end by patio doors that take up the whole wall. If you turn this into a kitchen diner then one or the other will be without a window. It’s a tricky one but here goes for starters then hopefully someone else will pitch in and improve on it. Could you convert the existing kitchen into the essential separate living room and the existing dining room into the kitchen? For it to work you would need to change the patio doors for a window above the kitchen units and block off the door that currently connects the dining and kitchen. Then open up the dividing wall to connect the relocated kitchen to what is currently the lounge. The kitchen would be U shaped facing towards what is currently the lounge where you can place the dining table in front of the patio doors with the living area set back. You might have room for a kitchen island or peninsula. The problem I see with this arrangement is the living area has no window. However, by the looks of your photo, there should be enough light streaming in from the patio doors and additional borrowed light from the kitchen. Finally fit a door to directly connect the separate living room with the new living area. A shorter walk to the front door! Finally it would involve a great deal of expense to build an extension just to create a utility room so it might be more advantageous if you built a utility and a study. Could you pinch a bit of the rear of the garage to incorporate the utility?

Bungalows are super properties to buy. Often they have big plots and often they need modernising so you get to put in what you like. In this case there looks so be enough room to double the width of the garage. However there is less garden at the back than at the front and the front probably gets the best light. If it were mine I would be considering taking down the leylandi that plot look smaller than it is, and then I would be thinking about if it is possible to put a French door in the lounge in the north side an building a patio there in order to get the westerly sun in the later afternoon and evening…. I would also be strategically planting the front garden to make that patio more private from the road.

Hey Bas, Congratulations on your new home. I think it is really important to consider what do you actually need/want and go from there. I will ask you a few questions that might help to get you thinking. Do you need/want a large kitchen with island and plenty of space to cook? Or do you just need a very basic spec kitchen? Do you have people over and socialise a lot - do you need a dining table or are you not that bothered? What do you do to relax do you watch tv/read/listen to music/play music - then you will know you need a good sofa space if you watch tv or if you need a nice corner nook with plenty of space for books? Are you a muddy boots family or do you just need somewhere really simple to wash/dry your clothes? Do you work from home? with lots of storage space for papers or is it computer work and a simple desk would work just fine? Once you've gotten to the bottom of the space you need you can consider your budget, how much do you have to renovate can you afford to start knocking down all the internal walls and potentially extending or do you need to be smart with the space that you have. Good luck and happy thinking! Let me know how you get on! Jessica Studio Smith