Kitchen extension and layout help

[nickjb]

We are planning on building a kitchen extension. I keep going round in circles with the layout so I would appreciate some help.

We currently have a small kitchen and a good sized dining room. I would like to build off the dining room to make a kitchen diner and turn the current kitchen into laundry and downstairs toilet.

I have tried a couple of layouts that have pros and cons.
I quite like option 1 with a 4m kitchen extension. It gives us a proper back door into the laundry room, good for coming in dirty. The kitchen layout is easy to move around and has decent surfaces.This will require planning permission so I have tried a 3m near full width extension which I can do under PD. This seems to spread the kitchen out a bit and loses some surfaces. I could put an additional proper back door in instead of the window or keep the window and add an L shaped kitchen counter.

Any thoughts on these ideas or any other ideas? Any big issues I might be missing?

Plan showing Existing/4m/3m options

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• nickjb
• 2 Mar 2011
• 1

Rear view of house

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• nickjb
• 2 Mar 2011
• 1

 

[Deluks]

I like the 4m.

Laundry (utility) looks too big for just laundry, could you squeeze the loo into that space as well. Then use the proposed loo as a larder area, chest freezer etc.

 

[nickjb]

I like the 4m.

That's still my favourite, too. I hope the planners feel the same way I've read the council guidelines and it could go either way. I'll be having a word soon

Laundry needs to be fairly big as its where the bikes are going too. I might move the RH wall left a foot or so to make a slightly bigger hallway as it'll help the understairs cloakroom and its only a stud.

 

[buildermarkh]

Hi,

I would hate to throw any kind of a spanner into the works at this point, but I have had a play with the 3m extension layout, the design below is one very similar to the one we are doing currently for a customer of ours. What i have done is to increase the gap in the dividing wall between your kitchen and dining room, doing this would mean your structural engineer re-calculating the size of beams used to support the above wall.
I have put tall larder style kitchen units down one side of the room to incorporate the oven fridge/freezer and also the jut out from the dividing wall. The island could include the hob, seating and plenty of worktop/prep area.
I have moved the position of the french doors to place your sink under the window and giving you a nicer view out of your french doors when dining.

I hope this is of some help or gives you some inspiration to make your final decision, I would surgest not to scrimp on anything which you will use every day as any up front saving will no doubt be a regret at some point.

Good luck.

Kitchen Ddesignn

• buildermarkh
• 3 Mar 2011
• 1

 

[sxhall]

I like the three metre personally. Only thing with both is that you have a great view out of the back of the house and no way of sitting there and looking out. My suggestion would be thus....

Site the loo under the stairs - if possible
Take the extension full width across at three metres
Site the kitchen in the half where the loo is currently on the plans
Have great family room/diner, with breakfast bar and a sociable hob position as well

This would give some purpose at least to the large opening as you can sit there and look out, also takes away the kitchen becoming a corridor

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• sxhall
• 3 Mar 2011
• 1

Just my suggestion though

Steven

 

[APC]

Hi NickJB. It's been a while since your original post and I thought I'd drop you a line to find out if you made a decision?
I'm going through the same dilema myself. Some questions for you;
Any concerns about getting enough light into what was the dining room?
Did you consider putting the kitchen in the old dining room, and dining table in the new extension?
I like BuilderMarkh's plan except personally I need more dining space, and also somewhere for a large-ish work station for the kids. SXhall's plan provides this space, but at the cost of a less impressive kitchen. Also I worry about that back room becoming too dark and uninviting.
Finally, cost. Any idea what you expect?
What are your latest thoughts?
Rgds.

 

[nickjb]

After several changes of mind we've got a plan we're happy with. We've applied for planning permission for a 3.6m extension, nearly full width. We had a few wants which has coloured our choices. We've gone for something that we feel suits us and the way we live.

We plan to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so wanted that to be next to the garden. I'd say having the kitchen inside the house and the dining area in the new extension is a more 'normal' layout (especially for families) but I suspect we will spend most of the time in the kitchen area. It will also open out onto new decking. We wanted a large laundry room and to not be messing around too much with structural steel so that has set the general layout.

Natural light in the new dining space will be a bit of an issue but we are adding a roof light to help and I don't see it as too big a deal for the way we will use the space.

Not sure about costs yet, just starting to speak to builders. I plan to do a fair bit of DIY and get the family involved to keep costs down

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• nickjb
• 23 May 2011
• 1

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• nickjb
• 23 May 2011
• 2