There's always other options ! Here's another idea... A. Seating area - pair of sofas and coffee table. B. Extending dining table - turn 90 degrees to extend. C. Family size over depth USA FF. D. Slim storage cabinets - could be midi height or tall - to house extra fold up chairs for when dining table extended and, in future, a place for kids toys. E. Island and kitchen straight run. Dependent on plumbing and extraction for a ceiling hood, could have either sink or hob on island if you fancy. F. Full depth cleaning cupboard for vacuum and mop etc. G.WM and TD space with shelving either side for folded washing and hanging rail for shirts etc - ie a proper laundry room . NB if not on a party wall - vented TD would be great ! Hope this gives you food for thought . Kind regards, Karen OnePlan [ marketing note - this is an example of the sketch consult service OnePlan provide... We happily provided this for free to this Houzzer, on this occasion . Normal rates would be £35 p/h. Full CAD images available too, at either an hourly rate or fixed room rate. We are freelance concept planners, selling only design !]

Hi Minnie, Thanks for this. You've had some serious thought into my predicament. There is a scale on the drawing but for you its approx 12m x 5.8 (external of the barn unit excluding 'link) but walls are quite thick. I do like your idea and think modern living, which i like tends to focus round a kitchen dining living space which doing what you say would achieve. I think I'm going to have to sketch up your ideas too and see which would practically be the better choice. We've probably spent most of our time obsessing over a really nice master, when actually you spend little time in it... well little time awake. so does it need to be so big. Id hoped to actually create a similar kitchen dining experience by removing the wall between the kitchen and living room to crate a bigger room. This would enable a small island and allow space for a dining table in the current front room and replacing the windows on the kitchen facing the garden with a more modern 'letterbox' picture postcard window to draw in the view. It was also my concern that creating this kitchen / dining in the barn would negate the need to use the original house as all family time would realistically be spend on the ground foor of the barn / bedrooms above. For what essentially is a compromise to what we had originally submitted to planning, i don't want to create anything that means the house becomes the subordinate or poorer relation to the new. It should flow and be part of the whole. I think if we went with the kitchen in barn (as awesome as it would be) wed just may as well not build the link and make a separate house minus your boot room of course. This would maximise our investment but I'm not a developer, Money is not the driver.

I think this room is brilliant (not only because of the potential of the size) because it gives you the chance to have two areas with different purposes. One for sitting on front of the fire/chatting to guests and a second for cosying up with your partner on front of the TV. Agreed with Ellie. On the left side, you could have another sofa (or armchairs) perpendicular to the fireplace, with a coffee table and armchair opposite. I like your idea of having two carpets: One under the coffee table, the other opposite the fireplace on far side. I would add a long side board (maybe an oak cupboard, with 4 freestanding legs) in the left corner for shoes, hats etc. It can change purpose if you decide to move it in future. You could add a fancy coat rack (or wall mounted coat hooks) between the two doors on the right. Are there options to put this beside your front door? In between the fireplaces I think a bookshelf would look lovely. If you’re more a kindle fan than a real book fan, use it for your favourite pictures you haven’t had the chance to hang, and vases and pots. You could map this out before buying more furniture, using newspapers or magazines roughly the same size. (Or use the Houzz feature “view in your room” to test furniture you like on the website in the areas). Also get yourself a measuring tape- this will prove indispensable when looking at furniture before packing it off home to find it doesn’t fit. I realise I rambled off a lot there so I hope this makes sense. I just saw so much potential in this room. Hopefully you manage to get it just how you like.

Have a good walk around the outside of the building and look for ( and note on another drawing that you can post on here ) the position of any soil pipes ( the big ones !) as that’s they key starting point of any change in bathroom /loo location .