Hi Jonathan, many thanks for the alternative plan. Below I am posting a few pictures to make it easier to visualise. The house was bought early last year and we managed to do some bits (replace and install new doors, repair and replace staircase, new flooring upstairs, painting and decorating and the new drive, and then my husband got a job abroad and we had to move). The storage cupboards in the corridor are under the stairs. We have two cats and need to incorporate their litter boxes (I was thinking of the original larder (currently accessed from the kitchen, but I am thinking of partially removing the wall between it and the loo, blocking the current door - I will attach my idea). Kitchen back door is a new security laminated glass etc door so have to keep it where it is. We are thinking of knocking down the wall between the current living room and bedroom and turning it into a tv room (we are not into watching on the big screen these days). The original prev owners photo with the old style telephone - larder kitchen access. The back door was replaced by us. Current plan (more or less accurate - with the two bedrooms downstairs) What i have in mind - broken plan kitchen living room, and bigger bathroom. Would love to have a separate shower but not sure if we can have both - i do not have the bathroom/loo measurements. Pocket or sliding door installed. Would be grateful for any suggestions. Many thanks.

Hi Raj, Huge congratulations on your purchase! Half way done I suppose towards the final dream home:) If it's the whole house that you are considering gutting and remodelling, a holistic approach would be needed to make the best use of the full footprint and then you can decide having that dramatic space is worth it or not. It feels like you may consider getting help from a designer just to do a feasibility study with some internal massing models/views for you to fully understand the volumes better and assess what exactly matters the most to you. Hope this makes sense. If you need to speak to a professional, feel free to call me. No commitment, just a chat. Cheers, Tuba

Yep, good suggestion. Don’t think you’d get the fall going under the floor as it’s a long run. I’ll get some ground workers to offer some prices. I think there’s an inspection chamber near the front door so hopefully connect in there. Do I need to get permission from the water authority to connect as it’s on private land? It won’t be increasing the capacity as it’s a replacement, not new. The main grey water drain is in the road which this would connect to.

My first thought is that a side extension would benefit you greatly, but if that is beyond scope then I think, as Black and Milk suggested, the removing the wall between the kitchen and dining would benefit. Other thoughts I had were to make the dining room door the access to the side area and removing the door in the kitchen, giving more bench space as the kitchen could become a galley kitchen. You would need to check if that meets the relevant regulations for fire safety etc. Another option in the more open scenario could be to use the under stair space to extend the storage and fridge location (using a concealed fridge style to blend with cabinetry) and then be able to create an L shape bench for more bench space on the bathroom wall.