Through lounge or Kitchen Diner dilemma,please advice......

[GatheringRequirements]

Hello MN'ers

We got keys for the house we purchased yesterday, it has a tiny kitchen so hubby suggests we remove the wall between kitchen and dining room.
But I thought removing a wall between lounge and dining room and will give a through lounge and so kids can play and we can still watch tv whilst keeping an eye on them.Also we checked with the builders and they said wall between lounge and diner is load bearing so they have to put RSJ's etc and will cost a lot of money where as wall between kitchen and dining is not load bearing so will easily come off.Here is the link to the floor plan www.sandradavidson.com/property-details/24885677/essexbarkingsideardwell-avenue/floorplans
any suggestions ,pros and cons of having them would really help us make a decision on which wall to remove.

[silverfingersandtoes]

I'd be inclined to remove the wall between kitchen and lounge and putting an archway or glazed double doors between the lounge and living room.

[lessonsintightropes]

I think removing the wall between the kitchen and 'lounge' will give you a lovely big kitchen diner. You can then see how the living space works and if needed knock through between the two bigger living spaces in time.

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

We're about to buy a house that sounds similar (not sure how similar as your link only takes me to front page of your estate agent) and our plan is to knock through kitchen and dining room and use that as 'family area' then keep the living room as a quiet, more grown up space. The kitchen diner will also open onto garden so I'll be able to watch kids from that room too.

[GatheringRequirements]

sounds like kitchen diner is the way to go, I'm attaching the floor plans below

[ThatWasNice]

I would go for the kitchen lounge option.

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

Looking at those plans is definitely go kitchen/diner, but you know how you'd use the space.

[GatheringRequirements]

Thank you all ,keep them coming . Hubby is winning....(oh no!!!!)

[RelocatorRelocator]

Kitchen diner every time for me.

[JimmyCorkhill]

Kitchen diner.

I have a lounge diner with young DC and it's HORRIBLE. Keep all the mess in the kitchen. i think lounge diners should be against the law. DON"T DO IT!

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I swapped from a kitchen diner to a lounge diner. I preferred the kitchen diner by a country mile. I really miss it.

[PancakesAndMapleSyrup]

Kitchen diner, much much more practical.

[RandomMess]

Kitchen diner all the way, means that you still have 2 seperate reception rooms - you and your mates can hog the dining table and natter whilst hubby and/or kids are in the lounge. This becomes increasingly valuable as the dc get older.

I would NEVER choose to have a lounge diner tbh.

[MisForMumNotMaid]

I've gone half way and had a very large opening between kitchen and dining room with a big worksurface through the opening accessible from both sides, cupboards below on both sides and shelves above with all the dishes on again accessible from both sides.

It means i can shut the door, like in the last fifteen minutes of getting the roast diner out the oven etc and still keep an eye on the DC.

When we have people over (rarely) we can shut the mess semi away as not all the kitchen worksurfaces or cooker top are clearly visible from the dining room.

[MisForMumNotMaid]

This is what we did as our half way measure.

[MothershipG]

Through lounges are very passé, don't ya know?

I'd say knocking the dining room through to the kitchen is worth the extra expense of an RSJ, but then I would because that's what we did with an identical layout. Our NDN liked it so much she's getting hers done now. It also makes more sense if you subsequently want to extend out the back.

[Pancakeflipper]

We have a large kitchen/diner and it is wonderful. Best decision we made when knocking our house walls apart.
RandomMess is very right about having 2 reception areas.

I have a huge comfy chair in the dining area and often sit there with a soothing drink and biccie whilst the kids rage war in the lounge.

I only sit in the lounge at weekends.

[icklekid]

We specifically looked for house with kitchen diner not lounge diner! I think of lounge diners as one big but not very usable space where as kitchen diners more sociable and practical. We may extend out back of kitchen diner in future to add sofa/chill out space and still have separate living room. Could this be a long term option?

[burnishedsilver]

Any chance you could introduce yourself to the neighbours and perhaps get their experiences? It really helps if you can see it already done.

[MillyMollyMama]

I think your kitchen is small and cut off from the rest of the house. I would extend it into the adjacent lounge area.

[Littleoaktree]

Definitely a kitchen diner, much more practical.

[MummytoMog]

We originally had that layout with the lounge diner. It was ok. Not great and the tiny kitchen was a nightmare. We've extended across the back and the side so now our downstairs is a massive L shaped kitchen diner lounge playroom with a utility and a sort of hallway/cloak room in the middle of the L. If I was doing something in your house I'd put in the RSJ too.

[foreverforaging]

Kitchen diner definitely

[noddyholder]

If you don't want to knock down walls move kitchen into back room with sliding doors and turn existing small kitchen into utility/ office. I sometimes do this in refurbs

[minipie]

kitchen diner, no question. we have a through lounge and have actually divided it with a massive baby gate to keep all the kids stuff at one end. Not a good look!

Alternatively if your garden is large enough, you could put an extension on the back across the width of the house - this would give you a dining space off the kitchen and also connect the kitchen with the current lounge. this might even be cheaper than knocking the wall down RSJ etc, especially if it means you don't need to replace the kitchen.

[Sandthorn]

Definitely kitchen diner. Sorry, but I think through lounges are almost never a good idea: there's no escape from the mess and noise, and they massively inhibit furniture layouts.