Extension - bigger kitchen or separate living 'playroom' for dc?

[Trickymoments]

Our house consists downstairs of a small kitchen, downstairs toilet &
large square living room. Our dining table is in the living room and there is still alot of space in the room although it is used by our family of 4 so has toys, xboxes, office/work stuff, laptop, printer etc in it as well as usual living room furniture. Even though it's a big room it's cluttered & I feel like we're all trapped in big box!

I would love a bit more room to split things up a bit. We can't afford to move so are thinking about extending. I can't make up my mind what it is we need/want. Separate living area to make into dc's room for xbox toys etc & also have office stuff or a larger kitchen come dining area so as to move dining table out of living room.

Has anyone else had a similar situation and what did you do? I don't even know how much either option would add to the value of the house or how which would be the cheaper option to do.

[readingrainbow]

Personally, I would extend the kitchen into a kitchen diner, because I hate dragging food and plates through from one room to the next. Tiny kitchens drive me crazy as well. If you took the table out, could you partition the living room a bit with a screen or shelf?

The other possibility is creating a room off the kitchen that can be used for dining or as a study, giving you flexibility as the years go by.

[Cel982]

Big kitchen-diner, definitely. Move the dining table in there, free up half the living room and create a play area using something like these to partition the room. A decent kitchen will really improve your quality of life. And it's what most families are looking for when they house-hunt, as well, if the resale potential is important to you.