Hi Amanda, on the plan you have living room which it sounds like you use a lot for relaxing. What do you currently use the space marked sitting room for on your plan? If this is not being used much then this could become your dining area and you could redesign the kitchen space in the central room.

Hi Chloe, thank you for your message. Yes, we use the area marked "living" for watching tv etc in the evening. Attached is a photo of the "sitting" end of the kitchen. We do like sitting on the sofa here early evening as it's a bit of a sun trap but the sofa could be smaller (more of a love seat). We are considering having French windows that extend across the whole of the wall and blocking up the window opposite the sofa so that we can have a TV here. We could also possibly downsize the dining table to a round one that sits 4 ish and that could be in this area also... having said all that I'm interested in what others would do with the space.

* I appreciate having a sofa here might be a very limiting decision!

Hi Amanda, I would explore the possibility of removing all the stud walls in the kitchen including the ‘electric’ cupboard ones, rethinking your gas and electric meter housing and putting the entrance to the kitchen at the bottom of the stairs this will open up the space to give you more options. You may regret loosing any windows, can you explore blinds for the window instead of removing it?

Thanks Alexandra, I think I may need a steel support if I look to remove those walls but it is a good suggestion. I just need a structural engineer I think to advise what's possible, and this may add in some cost. I agree re. the window - it's not essential to block it up....

Hi Kat, yes it could! it's similar to my latest design (attached) but I hadn't thought of having the pantry in the stairs area and shifting the door, so that's a great suggestion. I also hadn't considered pushing the island right up to the wall. Do you have the hob on the 'island' in your design? What do envisage to be on the run of units on the left hand wall? THANK YOU! I really appreciate your input. NB- I've put the entry door from the hallway slightly back from where it would actually be (you have it right in your design!).

Hi Amanda,

I kept the water items on the island, (I’m not sure if that would save any plumbing costs though!) and have the island as prep. I put the oven and hob on the left wall, and the fridge and small sink near the sofa/dining/garden for making drinks and keep the cooking area free.

Hi Amanda,

How do you use the living room? With a breakfast area on the island (or peninsula) in the kitchen, I'd rather avoid the round table in the sitting area, and have a formal dining table in what is now called living. You can still have a bench seat under the window and two armchairs next to that.

I quite like the plan by Lucy, the only thing i'd pay attention to is natural light for the "working areas" in the kitchen: in other words, I'd move sink and hob as close as possible to the sitting area to benefit from the light there, and the tall units next to the stairs. Hope it makes sense!

Thanks Chiara, we use it for watching TV/ as a snug. We'd be reluctant to change the use of that room solely to dining I think, however, we could potentially put our large rectangular dining table in the garden room and use that more, or use the 'sitting' area purely for dining. Thank you for your very good points about natural light, that makes sense.

What's everyone's thoughts on having the island oriented the other way as shown here? OPTION 1 (designed by Garrett's Kitchens) this would be looking out directly onto the garden.

Option 2 (also Garrett's Kitchens)

This is what it could look like if I blocked off the walkway to the lounge, where I would be able to look out directly onto the garden whilst cooking at the hob... design by Schmidt

I prefer option 2

My 2 cents: I'm not a big fan of hobs on island, as I'd spill hot food all over my guests if they were sitting at the breakfast table while I was cooking 😝 I'd rather put the sink on the island, but that's me!

I agree it's nice to look out to the garden, the only bit I'd pay attention to is the so-called "working triangle", in particular make sure you can move very easily between your sink and your hob (imagine moving a pan full of boiling water to the sink to drain your pasta, you must have no obstacles in between, and no long distances).

And since I'm writing, just a clarification: I also wouldn't dedicate a whole room to a formal dining space, but you can definitely fit a large table in the living room next to the stairs wall, as well as a sitting area next to the window. That way you could get a larger sofa in the conservatory for watching TV and enjoying the sun!

Thank you for your thoughts Chiara, I really appreciate them. I do quite like the idea of a hob on the island, especially if it means I have the view of the garden / tv better whilst cooking, or to chat to people whilst stirring! But some of the designs they have the seats directly opposite... I'd definitely have the seats offset from the hob so people aren't in the splash area!

Like you say, it is helpful for the hob to be near to the sink though, so I need to consider that. As well as the placement of the cooker. I think Option 2 is quite good from a work triangle perspective...

Great thoughts re. the lounge, we do have a massive l-shaped sofa in the lounge that could be moved... aghghgh decisions decisions.

Here's another design from Leicht (can you tell i've overthought this, and I'm now going round in circles !!!) This one has a utility behind it so blocks off the walkway to the lounge. It would be quite a dark (but potentially useful) little room.