Open Plan Layout & Styling Help

3 years ago

Hi - we are having a 4.2m x 5.8m kitchen extension added to our house later this year (top right of the plan). There are a couple of areas I am struggling with, mainly in the centre of the house where the kitchen was previously.

1. Does it work to interconnect the main living space with the new kitchen/diner space with a walkthrough arch or does this compromise the living space too much?

2. What would be a good way to style this walkthrough area? We are thinking about adding a window here, maybe a hallway chair/console/rug/standup light.

3. If we wanted to use this space as a work from home area, what ideas could allow privacy to occasionally seal off the gap between the walkway and the kitchen?

4. How could we use the living space that used to be a dining area, which would now be the entrance from the main living area to the kitchen?

Appreciate any ideas - really stuck on how to make this part work for us.

Thanks

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Comments (5)

katlucy
3 years ago
How about squaring the sitting room/dining room, moving the sitting area to the rear and creating a study room at the front, perhaps with a wider hallway with storage?
colum81
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks, I like this idea a lot, but it means demolishing 3 supporting walls and then I think we would have to move out during the build which isn't an option unfortunately. Maybe something for the future!
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Its hard to give a full breakdown of options without studying the full plans, your requirements and budgets. This is something you need to do with your chosen Architect. However, there are many options for adding windows and ways of making light bounce around the house, but if your architect has said you can't add more glazing you should ask why. I would suggest it is because it will start to impact the thermal efficiency of your house. North facing windows get no solar gain so by adding too much you could end up with a house that is difficult to keep warm especially if your house is older. You could upgarde to super energy effiecient glazing but of course that will come at a cost. Having looked at your existing plans it looks like your house has already had extensive work done. Unfortunately it doesn't appear like an architect was involved. A lot of the cost of your renovation will be in correcting previous mistakes and even then you will end up with columns in ever room unless you are willing to pay to have that corrected too. The cost could make the option of moving more viable? Did the previous owners also extend upstairs?
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katlucy
3 years ago
Just one more idea, would you consider the extension being your sitting room with log burner and views of the garden……it looks like you would have more space for the kitchen diner if you could swap.
colum81
Original Author
3 years ago
That’s also a great idea, but I think would need a lot of plumbing to relocate the kitchen. I actually met with our architect today and suggested your first idea which looks like it could work without too much upheaval. I’ll post something later to show you what we are thinking. Really appreciate your ideas, sometimes I stare at something for too long and just end up drawing blanks!
PRO
My Bespoke Room
2 years ago
This sort of tricky problem is exactly what we cover at My Bespoke Room and we can help you design your space with one of our expert designers. We can explore multiple layouts to ensure you’re getting the most from your space, define the colour scheme and design direction that suits you perfectly, source all the items within your budget, create 2D visuals to visualise the space, and more!

If you’d like to know more about our service, you can book a call with me here and we can go over your project in more detail :)

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All the best,

Paula & The MBR Team

Open Plan Layout & Styling Help

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