I would definitely go for a larger kitchen therefore a swap. Also if structure allows to remove this little bit of unnecessary wall by current kitchen entrance would make the space more open.( I think in the other plan I see it is happening?) the outside door swap for a window is a very good idea in my mind.

I come across many old houses, such as the one you describe, that may seem like lost causes but have huge potential. When building to the back, many home owners think about the additional space they will gain, but don’t consider the impact the extension will have on existing spaces within the house. In the past, when they did think about light, they did such things as leaving the window in the old room to try to deflect some light from the new room. This led to unsightly extensions that looked as though they were lobbed onto the back of a house without becoming part of it. Generally, I would advise locating a new living, dining space and kitchen in the extension to the rear, and opening that room to the back garden through floor-to-ceiling glazing and doors. This will allow the natural daylight to flood the space and, importantly, provide you with a visual connection to the garden. When adding an extension to the back, though, you must remember that it will create a“middle area”, which is generally dark. My suggestion here is to put a lavatory or utility room, or both, into this space—these are two rooms that don’t need lots of light but can be valuable in your home. Another option would be to light the middle area by incorporating a roof window into the new extension, which will help to direct light into the darker spaces. The type of roof window to be installed will depend on the roof it is to be inserted into. For example, is it flat or pitched roof? We tend to use flat roofs as, unlike pitched roofs, they don’t break the eye line from your first-floor rear windows. Before you build an extension, though, you must ask if your house really needs it. Another option is to forgo the extension and any demolition and brighten up the existing rooms. There are clever tricks to transform a dark space. First, the use of lighter paint colours can help to create a brighter feel to the space and would be the least expensive way to approach the problem, although the end result will be limited. Avoid dark bulky furniture. You would be amazed at how much visual weight it adds to your space. For example, if you have a dark dresser, try swapping it with a lighter-toned table that has legs so that you can see the floor. Third,well-placed mirrors can visually expand a room and reflect light, making any space feel bigger and brighter. The dark feel of a house is often intensified by clutter. If you want a bright room, you should consider embracing minimalism. Good luck with your new home, and have fun in whatever you decide to do. Mark Davies is co-director of Arc Design; www.arcdesign.ie

We are adding a rear single story extension to our semi detached 3 bed house, the rear of the house is south facing so lots of natural light, our current design is for a pitched roof with Velux in the roof and triangular windows on the back wall. Has anyone encountered blinding shafts of light through these upper windows? At the moment we notice in autumn / winter / early spring when the sun is lower we have to put the blinds down at the back of the house. The blinds for triangular windows I find ugly and dust magnets, but our architect thinks I am mad to remove them from the plans Many thanks for all advice

Hiya, I agree about the extra bits on the back. I would remove them including the dining room bay but retain the existing external kitchen wall and square it off with the dining room, knocking through to make a kitchen diner. I'll paste my drawing in below. - the dimensions made me think you could create a loo and even fit a shower in the kitchen space but looking again at the photos make me doubt the shower idea! - retaining the kitchen windows and back door would reduce costs - the new downstairs loo area could have a sliding door that remained open when not in use so that the light from that window reached further in - you could fit a roof light above the utility space to draw more light into the remaining kitchen area - it would be tempting to fit bi-fold doors to the new dining room opening but I would research 1930s patio doors in case you could find some more in keeping with the rest of the house - with the same goal in mind, could bricks be reused for the new section of wall required to square off the utility area and dining room? You'd need advice on the dining and kitchen doors area, e.g, a pillar might be required (which could be built into the kitchen design?) so I've just left them as is. I hope this is helpful.