I think increasing the size of the kitchen is a good idea. It depends on how you use the space. I would keep the living dining room and zone it but take down the wall that you suggested and incorporate the whole sitting room as the kitchen diner. You could also consider an extension where the conservatory footprint is currently located. If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and socialising then thats where the emphasis should be. You can buy kitchens that look less "kitcheny" and more like built in furniture. Another option is to fill in the corner to the left of your sitting room but I'm not sure it would be enough. That might provide more options with a future bedroom downstairs though.

Thank you for your comment. Had also considered what you suggested but doesn't really leave space for downstair cloak/shower.

I'll take another longer look!

I would agree, increasing the size of the kitchen is a great idea. Is there much space under the stairs for your cloakroom/shower? That is usually a bit of a wasted space that can be renovated

Cupboard under stairs is quite generous and I am sure that would house a wc but not a shower unless a wc/shower combined lol

Yes I can see how that can be a bit tricky. Do you have to have the shower? Changing the WC from next to the kitchen to under the stairs could help the small-kitchen issue. You would obviously need to break through those walls and start from scratch with the kitchen but could be stunning and a nice big space. I would still break through the wall to the right of the living room to create a dining space as well

Shower is mainly for future proofing property in case one of us no longer able to go upstairs.

Had considered this configuration

Also should i be talking to an interior designer or architect or the latter an overkill (as no extention planned)?

Also is a free online tool that I might be able to upload my existing floorplan and then do some proposed changes?

It also depends on your budget. A lot of items are very pricey to move like soil pipes in bathrooms. Always better to work with what you have if possible. Your yellow outline is very practical. Could you remove the wall between kitchen and wc and make that whole area into a shower room? Your kitchen could now expand to the right but you need to think about lighting as there are no windows down that side as semi detached. Could you borrow enough light from the sitting room?

Moderate budget. Toliet really needs to stay where it is or it could be moved to where kitchen sink is as toliet in bathroom above so soil right outside. So perhaps something like this

Interior Designers are knowledgeable on this sort of thing but there is a reason we work closely with architects and engineers, I say there is no harm in chatting to them to get some ideas as well

I think that you might need some budget advice.

In order to knock out the proposed walls and create a square room you will need to take out the original back wall of the house and a wall with a chimney breast on it. You may find it is similar money to leave those walls and instead extend the sitting room

Move kitchen to sitting room. Turn existing kitchen into show and utility?

That is an excellent idea as you will now have views of the garden and can make a large sociable space. I would get a builder (or three) to come and give you an idea of cost first.

Like this

Jonathan, how did you make that plan? Is it something I could use.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I am pretty sure that there is no chimney breast in the kitchen currently just looks like two pillars. I might have that wrong, will take a much closer look tomorrow..

How will moving the toilet to the centre of the downtairs work in terms of soil? What is the area on the plan left of shower room, is there a side door there.

There are lots of design apps online so you can play with your own plans- mine has been withdrawn so I am unable to recommend that one.

And the plans seem to show a chimney breast in the bathroom suggesting there is one. Try and find a picture from the garden side and see if you can see a chimney on the roof.

Removing a wall with a chimney on it is of course possible, but your original plan included also taking out the back wall of the house and so you may conclude that instead of spending the money on steel an extension might add more value.

And if you move a toilet away from an existing drain you do need a plan for how it will work. And so you need a builder to suggest a plan. Every house is different but most likely it would go under the floor.

Excuse my awful rendering but I propose you have a galley kitchen in red with a glass door through to a glass side door for some borrowed light. You could then have utility and larder storage in blue on the plan accessible from hallway and kitchen and enlarge the bathroom into the green area to make substantial bathroom. Dining can be in the old sitting room at back of house. Sorry can’t suggest s solution for downstairs bedroom option

Thanks Chloe but galley is not our style and we'd like a island if possible.

You might also consider if turning the stairs at the bottom would leave sufficient room to add a lift by the front door. If you had a lift that goes into the box room that would negate the need for a downstairs shower. A WC under the stairs would then be useful.

Would you consider moving the kitchen to the front, freeing up the current kitchen as an ensuite bedroom. That could be a snug / laundry toom for the moment - perhaps there sre grandchildren who need day naps. Thd rest becomes dining in the middle and living room at the back.

Much has happened since my initial post!

Although we didn't have all of the costings yet, it is clear that they are way higher than initially thought. And there is IS a 2nd chimmey. We have kind of given up on knocking through the wall to make a L shape kitch/dinner/family area due to the huge expense remove the support wall which houses the chimney.

Instead we now looking at the revised configuration below. Even with this we are now looking at further ways to reduce costs as we only have about £40k in total. As well as any building work (including associated fees Structural surveyor/Architect/Building Notice Fee, this also needs cover the following:

Installation of patio in place of conservatory

Clear house of floor coverings, existing bathroom, kitchen, downstairs toilet etc

Erect Stud wall in existing living room

Kitchen purchase and Installation of new kitchen + purchase of new appliances

Purchase and Installation of new bathroom

Installation of downstairs new toilet, shower and utility

Laying of hard floor to lower ground floor / carpet 1st Floor

Painting throughout

Full garden (very overgrown) clearance

Purcahse of soft /hard furnishings, window curtains / blinds, replace of 1 double glazed window and replacement of sliding patio doors.

Purcahse / installation of wood burner

As you can see it is quite a list.

It has been getting us down recently and yesterday we even considered pulling out of the purchase.

We really want to buy this house but we worry that we cannot make it into the house we would like and that we have to compromise so much that it is just not worth it.

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Still contemplating what to do.

Utility has now moved - no natural daylight - does it matter?

The blue outline is the kitchen / diner / relax area

Really struggling with layout. Forgot what is currently indicated. Would really like a soft

Squiggle line is supporting wall to be removed. Pink X is skylight. Really would like to have a chill zone close to the bi-fold looking out onto the garden. Need to consider extractor and sink for kitchen - right hand wall is attached, drainage is in on left.

Any inspiration would be appreciated!

It doesn’t matter that your washing machine doesn’t get light.

You just need to think about what you use the back door for. I think the only reason to have the utility on the left is if you or dogs ever need a muddy entrance to the house

I would have thought that all the work you mentioned would cost at least double the budget you have available. Make a logical list of all the work. Decide which if any jobs you would be prepared to DIY like painting or maybe garden clearance. Do a ton of research on costs of kitchens you like as well as all the finishes you would like to replace. Get sqm costs of finishes and do the calculations to get accurate pricing. Don't forget sums for labour too. Get a couple of builders ball-parks. It doesn't have to be exact just a good estimate will do. Now decide if you still want to buy the house and how much to negociate on the price. You could also stage the work if it was planned properly. Allow a large contingency for just in case. You will use it. I have completely renovated 3 houses. They did not come in on budget as I always thought it was worth spending more on good finishes like oak flooring, top quality carpets, decent kitchens and good appliances. We only lost money on the first one but we tried to sell straight after the crash in 2008. Make sure you will recoup your investment if this is not your forever home.

Isla thanks for your comment but I think you replied to my previous one a week or back. I totally understand and agree with everything you say. Next problem (current post) is trying to layout the kitchen/dinning/family area in the best possibly way.

Jonathan no dogs but might be muddy walking boots!. Assuming the utility was yo move I am seeking inspiration for the layout of the remainder kitch/dine/family area.

Thats easy- you put the dining table in the area with the hall door and back door. You keep the living room by the garden and put the kitchen in the middle as it’s easy to get great lighting in a kitchen plus there is an economy of keeping the kitchen sink next to the plumbing for the new utility

I’m with Isla here. Unfortunately you don’t have the room or the budget to make the amount of changes in your latest picture. I would suggest you have a loo under the stairs and cupboard. A small narrow utility with sliders enough to house washing machine and drier stacked and small sink. Larder with sliders opposite (where the chimney is). The remaining space your dining space. You could build in banquette seating to optimise the space. Knock walls as you suggest and incorporate the additional space to place new u-shaped kitchen and leaving the sitting area as is. You might get that in within budget but it is likely to be tight.

Thanks for your comments about costs and what we might be able to achieve with our - we are well aware now of our budgetary limitation and that they will need to be prioritisation and DIY. On this occassion I was only really looking for suggestions in terms of layour for the piece of the plan marked with blue.