Hi Luisa, It’s quite hard to advise without knowing the dimensions of your floor plan. Could you take some space from the current lounge to create a hall way? I’ve drawn out my first thought in rejigging the floor plan. The dining and lounge could be easily swapped over. This allows for a W/c and utility. ( Well, depending on what your dimensions are. Do you have the dimensions for the floorplan? Depending on your budget moving the kitchen to the back is doable but it’s always easier if you’re doing full renovation and the floors are up. The old kitchen could be an office or another snug?

I agree, your first idea (removing weight bearing wall but keeping the kitchen in the same location with a peninsula) doesn't really make sense in my eyes. You're not really adding much, other than a view of the dining area. If you go to the expense of removing a wall, think about how you can make the most of the new bigger space. I made a draft below of what I would do with the layout - this reflects my personal priorities (adding natural light, view of the garden while dining, using the dining table as additional prep surface...like in the old days). You may prefer a view of the garden whilst doing dishes in which case you could stick to a smaller patio door (as opposed to the full-width sliding doors in my draft) and extend the worktops along the back wall, adding a sink and window. What I'm saying is: think about what's important to you, the details that will bring you joy when you're using the kitchen and that reflect your idea of what's practical (foot traffic, workflows between fridge/freezer+sink+hob, etc). This might then actually also answer your second question - would combining current kitchen and dining room meet your needs and priorities? If it would be just a compromise and you think you'd end up wanting an extension anyway, then I would leave things as they are and take time to design your ideal ground floor extension. PS can't hurt to reach out to architects/build companies now and get some estimates, at least then you can work out when you might be in a position to tackle the project and if you're happy to live in the house as it is until then.

I had a galley kitchen which was 2.96m wide and it worked really well. I think what you have is plenty wide enough. Allowing for worktop overhangs, the two runs of cupboards would add up to no more than 1.28m.

Hi Laura, You could definitely extend to the side. But it will cost more to reconfigure external walls than internal walls, for several reasons but mainly because they tend to be structural and structural changes tend to cost more than none structural changes. You may find the renovation roadmap workshop that I'm running next week on Friday helpful to help you manage your project budget, timescale and costs. it's just £47 and 100% of profit goes to Coffee4Craig. You can find out more and save your spot here: https://iarchitectlimited.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1145853 For redesigning your home I could help you with my Big Picture Plan package. I could show you a range of options that would give you the space you want, and to suit higher or lower budgets. You can find out more about that here: https://www.i-architect.co.uk/bpp.html Best wishes with your home redesign! Jane award winning chartered architect eco-home and conservation area specialist www.i-architect.co.uk For helpful videos watch my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@iarchitect