Help me redesign ground floor!

[runningLou]

Really confusing myself going round in circles about how to use our planned single-storey rear extension to redesign ground floor. Please see image and apologies for crappiness I did this myself in MS Word.
I would like the extension to give us more flexible space. Ideally we need to find somewhere for a study area and playroom on the ground floor. I don't know whether to use extension as seating area (back sitting room) and playroom, and to incorporate study into dining room, or to have toys etc in dining room (this is current set up) and a study in the extension, or a kitchen-diner, and study/playroom.
Basically this is messing with my head.
My priorities are to have a seating area not too far from kitchen, to create a study space, and to have somewhere to eat in the kitchen (could be breakfast bar). We currently have small table and bench in kitchen and only use dining table when family come over.

[mupperoon]

I am in the same boat re confusion about layout!

In your case I would use the extension as a family space (sofa, nice toy storage so it can be a playroom). If you had a galley kitchen with a peninsula run of base cabinets, you could have bar stool seating on the extension side of the peninsula. I'd then make a study area in the dining room, perhaps using the wall which divides from the living room and putting the table near the window.

What's the size of the existing kitchen?

[runningLou]

Thanks mupperoon, great ideas. I like the idea of a peninsula with breakfast bar. I can also see a study in the dining room as this has varnished timber boards and a fire place. There are French windows to back of the dining room though (sorry forgot to include those on my plan!!) which mean you couldn't put a desk in front of them ... I am debating getting those French doors replaced by a window with desk under, and having double doors in extension instead ...
But then again if the study was in the end part of the dining room, the dining table wouldn't end up opposite knock-through to kitchen ...
Existing kitchen is approx. 4.5 x 2.5 metres. With extension it would come to 4.5 x 5.4 ish.
I we go for kitchen and seating area, as you suggest, I would plan to use 3-3.5m of the space for a galley kitchen, with the extra space for seating and toy storage.

[whatsthatcomingoverthehill]

How are you planning to use the study? i.e. when children are around or not?

[runningLou]

It would be a space for anyone who needed a writing surface - e.g. for homework, crafting, general use etc. For the kids as well. Plan to use the same area to store everyone's craft bits - paper, pens, kids' colouring, as well as my fabric stash and sewing machine ...
However we currently have a lovely old bureau in the front living room that has stationery bits in it (though I don't sit at it as there's no desk chair in there, only a sofa), so not sure how to combine everything?
Basically I would like everything used for similar purposes in the same place, if possible - I know it may well not be!

[whatsthatcomingoverthehill]

I think you could get something sorted!

Where you have a 'new knock through' how big an opening are you planning? I would make the back of the house all as open plan as possible. Then have a dining area, play area, etc. I think having separate tables to eat at are a waste of space personally, though a breakfast bar with a couple of stools would be good.

[runningLou]

The knock-through would be about 150cm wide, I think. I really like the idea of the back of the house being open plan! But as it's an L shape and currently divided up into a few different rooms, I just can't visualise how the different areas would fit together!

[Jibberjabberjooo]

Why not go across the whole of the back? We did that and now we have a large dining/kitchen/toy area.

[Jibberjabberjooo]

Oh and why not knock into one space rather than still creating doors and put some big opening doors into the garden.

[almostthirty]

Could you not extend all the way across the back of the house? This would give you more space and you could easily create different zones.

[BrieAndChilli]

I would knock the kitchen through into the extension an make a big kitchen diner.
I would then make the existing dining room I to a study/play area. The wall along the living room side could be shelves and storage and desks. Then took to play etc maybe with a small sofa near back window/doors.

[marshmallowpies]

We did an extension across the entire back of house creating an L shaped 'family room' - kitchen & dining room and sitting area overlooking the garden. Original front room is now the 'grown ups' living room and really only used for TV in the evenings. But I could see it being used as the teenage 'den' in future while the grown ups are in the back room.

Front room hardly gets used during the day so, based on current usage, we could create a study area in that room and whoever worked there wouldn't get disturbed much during the day.

I wish we'd had room to put in a bigger utility room but happy with the layout apart from that. As we have an open plan kitchen/diner we didn't put in a breakfast bar - don't miss the separate dining room we used to have at all.

[bojorojo]

I would have the whole of the back open plan. Kitchen and dining. Lots and lots of built in storsge so everything gets shut away when not in use. Keep the lounge for the TV. Small rooms just look cluttered but having open sapce makes everywhere look bigger. Just get wall to ceiling storage - with doors. Quiet working could be done in the lounge.

In a relatively small house I think it is a bit of luxury to have a study area. Most people use a diningtable or labtop inthe lounge. I am typing this on a workstation in my large open plan hall! We decided we didn't want to be shut away from coffee when we are working so the kitchen is nearby! That is open plan with the lounge, which also has a formal tsble and chairs positioned so we get views of the garden. We just use whatever zone we want. However, the kitchen gts the best light. That is where I spend most time ad I refused to have a dingy one with no natural light. I would use the extension for the kitchen.

[bojorojo]

I meant floor to ceiling storage.

[runningLou]

Sorry maybe my amateurish plan was confusing! We are definitely having the existing kitchen and extension as one big room, approx. 4.5 x 5.5m. Just not sure whether to have this as big kitchen diner with central table, or kitchen at one end and another area at the other ... As utility opens off the top end I feel like that should really be connected to the kitchen, so maybe kitchen there and then base cabinet peninsular dividing space from seating/playroom.
Then current dining room would be diner with study area. I know this is a luxury in a small house as someone commented but we are overloaded with craft stuff and stationery that needs a home! Maybe if this was in with diner then it could just be in storage units and the dining table could double up as a desk?
I also love the idea of a big kitchen diner in the new kitchen and extension, probably with a central table, but I also really, really want comfy seating near the kitchen as that is where I live when I'm at home (literally never enter lounge unless we have people over) and I'd love to be able to have a cuppa in a nice chair rather than hard wooden bench as I am now to type this!!

[ftm123]

I would have your kitchen and extension as the kitchen diner. I would have the current dining room as the living room, with folding doors to the kitchen because I am obsessed with flexible open plan . I would put a quiet study area in the current living room (I.e. a small desk in the corner), assuming you need the bike storage. I would try and also keep the current living room as a formal reception I.e. a tidy place to plonk guests while the living room next to the kitchen doubles as a playroom and so is never really tidy. However reading your last post it doesn't sound like what I would do would work for you, as the study area is to be more family oriented arts and crafts than working from home or study. In this case I would do as you suggested and combine with the dining space.

[ftm123]

I would consider not accessing the utility via the kitchen, so you can utilise the extra wall space. I would consider a mainly L shaped kitchen opening both to the living and dining areas. You may need a pennisula or other addition to get the cupboard/worktop space.

[runningLou]

I'm developing a similar obsession with flexible open plan ftm! Starting to wish I could get rid of all walls downstairs (not an option!) but we'll definitely put folding doors in new knock-through to kitchen, as you said.
Unfortunately accessing utility from hallway isn't possible without major structural change due to position of stairs and the fact that utility is actually in a small side extension built by previous owner with soil pipe in the former external wall separating utility and hallway ...
Am wondering though about having dining area in existing kitchen and new kitchen in extension to get more natural light in there? But is it weird to have utility and downstairs loo off the dining room??

[Cuppaand2biscuits]

We had an extension across the back of the house. We knocked out the kitchen wall and had an L shaped living space added on. The kitchen stayed in the existing kitchen and placed dining table and sofa in the extension. It works so well. We have a big chest of drawers next to table that house all grown up paperwork and kids craft bits. I will add though that it would be rare for any of us to need quiet space for paperwork.