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RenovatingDesign DilemmaKitchens
waichiu_yip

Having an extension and need help with internal reconfiguration!

Wai Yip
3 years ago

Myself and my wife have spent over a year thinking about how best to extend our house bearing in mind costs. We have no idea if what we are doing is the best way and we frequently change our minds. We actually got planning permission 6 months ago for a rear extension but over christmas scrapped it and decided on a side extension and to convert the garage. Here is what it looks like currently.



Below are the proposed plans (yet to be finalised and submitted) where we have double extended to the side and the rear side corner. Happy to move or knock down walls if it fits and that's where we are really really struggling. What we want is a decent sized open plan kitchen diner and a ulility room connected to the kitchen and to make the other rooms make "sense". The living room with the study is also something we're just not sure about how to make it work.



As an idea of incorporating the utlity room I have put some purple lines to have a small space in the bottom left of the kitchen (next pic). But would this be weird? Also the space just to the right of the dining table seems to have a lot doors now and we are concerned it becomes just a corridor and not a good use of space with the dining table disrupting the flow.



I think we're happy with the way it will be extended (i.e. the external walls) as we get to keep our garden and extending sideways seems to use space which would otherwise not be used. We are just overwhelmed by what to do internally and every choice and decision opens up so many more questions.


Any help and advice would be much much apreciated!


Comments (10)

  • tamp75
    3 years ago

    Hi, I’m sure others will have better possible solutions but I agree with you about the study in the open plan area - I don’t think it works either. Plus if it is being used for work, surely you’d want somewhere quieter / closed off? I’d consider putting the study at the front of the living space & possibly have it as a study / library / snug closed off from the rest of the open plan space. It looks like you’ve got a nice big window there so it would be light enough for working. You could then have your living space at the back opening up onto the conservatory. I think closing off the study/ library would also remove the ‘corridor feel’ & possibly reduce the number of doors needed. I think the utility is better separate than as the purple corner of the kitchen but I’d def want it to be accessible from the house, not necessarily from the kitchen - depending on how you plan to use it. Ours is at the opposite end of our house to the kitchen as we use it for a laundry room rather than extra kitchen space but I’d find it annoying if I had to go outside with the laundry to get to it on a cold winter’s morning! If you don’t want to rearrange your kitchen layout, could it be accessible from the hall? I appreciate you’re going through an external wall there but it would still be possible.
    Btw, I think you’re right to spend a long time in the planning - it’s much easier to change things on paper than in reality!

  • PRO
    Riches Interiors
    3 years ago

    Hi! First of all, it is great to see that you have taken the time to really consider whether the initially planning permission was right for you. I want to ask, how much do you use the conservatory? I ask this because if you are going to have a lovely open kitchen dining area with presumably doors out onto the garden, would the conservatory become wasted space? You could consider converting the conservatory into a big bright study/office, and utilise the current study space in your plans for the kitchen diner. This could mean that you have far more options for the kitchen arrangement/layout and make the most of the whole downstairs interior space without compromising more garden space.


    There are many options for how you could layout the kitchen/dining/utility if you were to consider using the conservatory footprint as well.


    I am very happy to chat further if you think this is something worth considering, my email address is info@richesinteriors.com. alternatively feel free to message me on here!


    Look forward to seeing how you get on.

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  • keiblem
    3 years ago

    I agree with tamp75 the study is in the wrong place. It needs to be away from the primary living areas not slap bang in the middle. I am not sure that Riches Interiors suggestion to put the study in the conservatory is such a good idea. Conservatories are notorious for being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. I think I would be inclined to go with tamp75 suggestion and put it at the front of the house. It could have its own door from the hall thereby negating the need for the current door from the hall into the living room.

    I also agree that the utility definitely needs to be accessible from the house. You could include a door at the end of the run of kitchen units (on the stair side). That way it wouldn’t interrupt the run of kitchen units and the wall is new so it’s inclusion shouldn’t add too much extra cost. Rather than have the door set into the wall fit it in line with, and in the same style, as the kitchen cupboard doors so it looks integrated.

    You seem to have a ‘dead zone’ between the kitchen and the rear double doors. If you made the island narrower could you fit the dining table in that location? Perhaps move the island breakfast bar to the side. From there you could talk to the cook and be able to glance across to the garden.

    This leaves the the central connecting area. I would keep the door from the hall but decide against fitting double doors to connect to the living room. Leave this open making the living area L shaped. This small off shoot could have additional storage, book cases, a seat or two perhaps.

  • Ellie
    3 years ago

    I don't really understand that you don't know how bro use the space... this is space you haven't actually built though. It sounds like you are just going to add on a big box and now trying to fill it. What U think you should do is decide where you want the kitchen to be, where you want a dining table to be- think of views to the garden. Decide how big they need to be depending on how many units etc you need or how big a table you want, then decide how much extra space you will need to extend by to create that space.

    Where you plan the kitchen, are there any external doors or just a kitchen window? If there are doors along the top it would be nice if the stools faced out towards garden rather than having back to it.

  • Ellie
    3 years ago

    I'd rotate the island 90 degrees

  • PRO
    Riches Interiors
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Thanks for the comment keiblem, you are correct conservatories are notorious for being too hot/too cold and therefore using it as it is for an office space as it is wouldn't be ideal. My suggestion however was to use footprint of the conservatory to convert to an office space. It would most likely require additional planning permission (depending on how exactly you planned to use it) as you would have to rebuild with bricks and mortar. It could be something to consider if the property owner had scope for this/wanted to utilise the conservatory area. Just an option though, as I do also agree with you it is the study that is causing a bit of trouble here.

  • Wai Yip
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I'm blown away by the response on here an first would like to give my sincere thanks for all the advice.

    I wanted to add some more details and thoughts to everyones comments. In roughly the same order (i.e. Tamp75, Riches Interiors, keiblem, Ellie).

    The way we see the "study" is effectively an extension of the living room. It used to be the dining room and we were toying with the idea of incorporating it with the kitchen diner. However i felt that it would be very long and relatively narrow.

    The study is actually closed from the kitchen diner but we thought the flow and access from the conservatory would make the journey very long. So we asked if we could have a door there. The architect then put 2 double glass doors which we actually kind of like as it lets light through and let's us keep in line but allows cooking smells to be kept in the kitchen if required. Bu of course we lose more space in that area having to open the doors. Here is a 3d model the architect did.



    The utility room (in purple) would have the internal door into the kitchen, just not 100% sure where. I absolutely agree, we do not want to trek outside to get to the laundry. We have the dryer in the garage now, and it's very offputting and easy to forget to leave it in!

    None of the furniture or cabinets are set. They were placeholders from our architect to give an illustration. This includes the island which is a placeholder and we may not go with one depending... Also basically none of the internal walls are set, we can still change it. This, i suppose is the big thing, as if there is a better way to use the space, we're open to it!

    For the conservatory it's pretty much as you say RIch and keiblem. We do love it, when it's right, but can't use it half the year as it's too cold or too hot. So the current plan is to add a roof to it and any required brick work to support the roof. Hopefully this will give us a quiet space to read or do some exercise all year round. Here is the 3d plan from the architect.



    The "dead" zone on the right in between where the dining table is, the rear external doors, the double internal doors and the hallway door is one of our biggest current concerns. And can we fit the dining table in this area with people sat down and there is still enough space for someone get by to access the kitchen.

    And yes, Ellie, that is pretty much the problem in a nutshell. We have deciced on the footprint, but are very indecisive on internal walls and general layout.

    If we have the utility room there, there is a kind of corner that is made in the kitchen. Would it be or look weird if I put the stove and or sink in that area with it maybe looking sort of recessed? I wanted to match the wall to match the central line by the stairs to make the room see more unified and square. Example below




    I don't want to add anymore, as it's a super long thread again. But again i'm blown away by everyone on here so many many thanks.

  • keiblem
    3 years ago

    Question: Are you converting the conservatory on the same footprint simply because the footings are sound? I have never been a fan of conservatories. Not simply because they were, as you described, pretty much unusable for much of the year. I have never liked the ‘off the peg’ look of them. Regardless of the style of the house they virtually all looked the same and were simply stuck on to a house wall without any consideration to the external appearance. They are now stuck in a 1980’s time warp. There are so many better solutions out there now.

    If you are, in essence, going to demolish and rebuild the conservatory then would you consider building something along the rear of the house? Something that doesn’t jut out so much and continues along to the footprint of the store? Something that looks integrated with the house.

    I just feel that you sound as if you know what you want but the architects are coming up short.

  • Wai Yip
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Well we like the conservatory and it's a decent size, it's mostly because of cost. We don't have unlimited budget and the roof from above the garage will have to be replaced too as it's a flat roof on the first floor. We simply would like a roof on top ((or the minimal to use all year round) but have planned it in case it's not possible and would need new brick work to support. We can then take the decision to change it at a later date, hopefully with minimal disruption.


    So, I don't we want to extend to the rear for fear of balloning costs and also losing garden space. It was our idea and our architect is actioning what we've told him. Whether the internals are the best layout, we're not sure.


    Does anyone know how much this will all cost btw. I.e. double extension and the roof above the garage needs to be replaced. Also the flooring is uneven at the garage and the bedroom above the garage so will need consideration.

  • keiblem
    3 years ago

    I can fully understand your concerns over costs getting away with themselves.

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