Thanks for these. Im not sure if we can do the extra corner bit for number five, but I do like the layout, it will depend on cost, also don't need two tv areas, as we have a front lounge in the house anyway. the office was supposed to be a mixed use room, as a playroom with kids storage and also an occasional bedroom, so sofa bed In there. I know many people have hobs and sinks on islands, but I just think i'll end up dumping things on there.. I have four in the family, two adults, two kids, but we have a lot of people round for entertaining and parties, so space is what I'm after, but was also looking for somewhere the kids can go out of the way from adults if need be. As for kitchen, the reason for having large larder is to put not only food/drink spare fridge in there, but also things we don't use all that often in the kitchen, equipment etc.. I like everything clean and hidden away. The office on number 5 would be separate anyway as this concept includes sliding doors, which fold into the wall, so only entrance would be from outside, not sure if I can afford these yet though. Please keep suggestions coming, or alternatives, all welcome as I can't visualise.. thanks

Hi all, Thank you for your comments; I appreciate them! Natasha - the units you have suggested are very much what I had in mind. We will have a shaker kitchen and the media unit would also be shaker style and would have 4-6 cupboards with the TV in the middle with book shelves either side. Part of the reason we kept a partial wall was to make the space more usable. I can’t envision how the fully open plan room will be able to meet all our needs, but I am open to ideas! I feel that open plan would be more impressive, but potentially less usable. With regards to the doors. I do plan to reverse the doors both into the kitchen and family room part, but couldn’t work out how to do it on the app I used for the floor plan. It is a 1920s house and we have the original doors which we are planning to keep. We are also keeping a lot of floor space as when the table is not extended, we still have young children with lots of Lego and trains etc. I plan for these to be hidden in the cupboards at bedtime. J - we haven’t installed the kitchen but we have ordered it and paid a big deposit. Some of the units are bespoke/irregular sizes and I don’t think we would be willing to change this. I have attached a photo of our rendered kitchen plan. Thanks again for your comments. It is good to have other people’s opinions and ideas.

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?

Maybe just adding to the corner to take the porch width right across the back would help. By incorporating the porch area into the structure of the house it could give an informal dining area to the kitchen but also allow a travel within the home to be circular. I would consider a large slider or combination of slider and window to keep the outside wall letting in lots of light.