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Advice on floorplan configuration

last year

I recently purchased a detached property with the floorplan attached.

I would like to remove the archway between the kitchen and reception room, which will limit the available space for kitchen cabinets and worktops etc.

Money is somewhat tight, so I would like to work the best I can without too many structural changes. There is a window in the understairs 'store', which I think would make for a good cloakroom. I had thought about adapting the diner into a utility room, perhaps to include a shower, but that seems a disproportionate space compared to the kitchen.

I then thought of pushing the kitchen wall back into the diner to afford another run of worktops to the left in the kitchen, though as a structural wall, I expect that would be rather expensive.

Any thoughts from those more practically minded and imaginative than I would be gratefully received. Many thanks in advance.

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Comments (2)

pauldrowan
last year
Archways are usually formed from a square/rectangular structural opening with the curves added in non structural materials and plastered over, so squaring off the existing arch shouldn’t be too big a task. If however you’re enlarging the opening then that is a structural wall and will need steels to form the larger opening. A structural engineer and building regs sign off will be necessary. Expect to pay about £2/4000 all in depending on location etc. The wall between kitchen and dining, if you push it back then you’re immediately blocking the door into the dining so will impact on this and create further work. (The diner on your floorplan was most likely the original kitchen to the house and so there might be a blocked up opening of some sort on the wall between this room and the reception room that used to be a window or a back door).
User
last year
On a tight budget, this is what I'd consider doing:
1. Knock through the diner to move the path into the reception room away from the kitchen.
2. Put cabinets along the left kitchen wall. If regular cabinets don't work, get thinner ones (40cm).
3. The left half of the old diner can become the utility/shower
4. If you use the user-stair store for coats, you could also move the opening into the hall:
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