Half side return?

5 years ago

Hi everyone,

We're buying a Victorian terrace with the traditional L-shape, and we are thinking about doing a side extension. The kitchen is 3m wide x 4.5m long currently, and it has bifold doors at the end, leading to the garden. At the moment, there isn't really any space to even put a dining table into the kitchen, I don't think. The units run all along one wall and half way down the second wall, leaving space only for a small bistro table at the end next to the door.

What does everyone think of a "half" side return? The idea would be to fill in the side gap, but only half way. The gap is 2m wide and 4.5m long, so perhaps we'd fill in 2-2.5m length. The reason is that I'm worried of creating a tunnel effect/claustrophobic feeling by doing a full side extension, the garden isn't particularly big and it would be great to keep a bit of outdoor space, while at the same time creating a flow connection between the living/dining area and the kitchen. I don't want to make the whole thing confused, though. Not sure what one would do with this inbetween space.

I would also be up for options that don't require a side return - perhaps a clever rejigging of the kitchen layout to fit a seating area?

Houzzers, please help!

Pastelgirl

Featured Answer

minipie

5 years ago

We live in an area of Victorian terraces with small gardens and most have extended into the whole side return. The side return area tends to be pretty underused as outdoor space, other than for a bit of storage, so people don’t mind losing it so much. Whereas if they extend fully and use bifold doors across the back they can create an ‘indoor outdoor’ feel in their kitchen, which helps make up for the small garden.

As regards the tunnel feeling, I guess you mean the rear reception would be dark? If you put a lot of glass in your side return roof, especially just where it joins the rear reception, you can still get a reasonable amount of light through,. Also I noticed the two receptions are open, so the rear reception would get light from the front.

From a resale perspective, I suspect many buyers would be disappointed that the side return hadn’t been extended fully, and might see it as something that they would want to re do (therefore wouldn’t pay more than for an unextended house).

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Comments (7)

PRO
User
5 years ago
Any chance you can draw up a rough plan of that including where the drains are?
pastelgirl01
Original Author
5 years ago

Here is the floorplan. I don't know exactly where the drains are, but there were definitely a lot of pipes on the inside and back wall, in the area that would be part of the extension. I should say that the garden is small so extending back is a definite no.

Any thoughts very much appreciated!
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PRO
Anderson Sinclair Ltd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Creating a half extension would allow a dining table to be put in that area, but your kitchen may then feel the brunt of it. Looking at your plan you could then create some form of island against the wall which helps give you some storage areas back, this would then also help link the dining area with the kitchen without having a table directly in the kitchen/cooking area. Maybe a dining table with some bench seating depending on the width of the area? Please excuse the crude sketch but hopefully it gets the thought across...
pastelgirl01 thanked Anderson Sinclair Ltd
PRO
User
5 years ago
Agree with above, the only restriction are the drains, They will probably be directly outside the wall with the sink on it, and who knows where they go before or after that.

However, I would definitely fill in the whole area. Also, be mindful of the loss of light to the dining area, and make sure that you have a roof light of some sort near to it to compensate.

I'm sure there are loads of variations you could consider, as long as you get the right professionals on board, a good concept planner for instance...........worth every penny. They'll make sure you use every inch possible to it's best advantage. Obviously neither of these are to scale and are just a little play around, but with the right person on the job i'm sure you'll find something that you like.
pastelgirl01 thanked User
pastelgirl01
Original Author
5 years ago
A belated thank you to everyone, all your ideas were very much appreciated! Unfortunately the purchase fell through so the search continues :-)
PRO
BetterSpace: The Floor Plan Experts
5 years ago
Hi pastelgirl (excellent username!)

A half side return sounds like a viable option. Rejigging to add a sitting area would result in reducing the functionality of the kitchen area significantly, so you'd better go with a half/full side return.

With regards to the half side return, I am not sure how important the other unused half is, in terms of retaining an outdoor space, but as mentioned earlier by minipie, it would be interesting to consider a full side return and utilise part of the new dining area as kind of an indoor/outdoor area, with large windows to allow in light, and sliding or bi-fold doors. This improves the space in terms of resale value and functionality.

I hope this was helpful. If you need any further advice, feel free to get in touch via email (ed.rogers@betterspace.co) or through out site: www.betterspace.co. All the best! Ed
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Half side return?

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Half side return?

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