Extension layout help

[figgyroo]

We would like a more open plan kitchen/dining/living plus utility so we are considering an extension but really struggling to picture how to configure the space.

I have attached a current plan of the house - the dining part of the kitchen is an extension with a pitched roof, skylight and patio doors.

We are considering extending the sitting room out to meet the line of the extension and knocking through to the existing extension. It is likely that the wall separating sitting room and kitchen will stay as it contains a chimney breast (and a lovely open fire). Will we be allowed to do this as it is a semi and we are attached on that side, so will be building up to the boundary?

We were thinking about turning the existing kitchen into a utility, the existing dining into the kitchen, keeping the sitting room as the living space and putting the dining table in the extension. Problems with this I think are I want an island and I don't think there will be sufficient room given the extension wall we'd be knocking through is only about 2.8m in length. I also think the utility room would be too big then and not sure where a fridge would go etc.

I was thinking we could have the kitchen in the current sitting room but not sure on the practicalities of this given there will be no outside wall (we are attached on the left hand side of the plan). It also means that the fireplace will look a bit strange being in the kitchen so likely we will have to remove.

Any helpful suggestions would be very gratefully received. TIA.

[SwedishEdith]

Is there scope for an external door from the bit you plan to have as the utility?

[SwedishEdith]

I'd just make the whole back of the house the kitchen diner but include some of current kitchen. Kind of turn it all 90 degrees. You'd need to box off a utility area so you're not walking through it to get to the kitchen.

[MrsMoastyToasty]

Do you have any scope to extend on the right hand side of the house?

[figgyroo]

Thanks. Yes we could put a door to the side from the utility.

There is approx. 3m from the right hand side of the house to the boundary fence so we could extend there. The reason we were thinking of extending next to the existing extension is there is a patio there but it never gets used at the garden is north facing and it never gets the sun so it's a waste of space (and the garden is very small).

[SwedishEdith]

I'd look on similar houses on Rightmove and see what others have done. Always get some good (and bad!) ideas that way.

[SwedishEdith]

I found one that extended to the right that might work. You could still extend your sitting rooms as well (if you have the funds, of course). But it will make your current sitting room gloomier.

[Dishwashersaurous]

Probably also worth fitting in a down toilet

[figgyroo]

Thanks SwedishEdith, I quite like the look of that one.

We have got a downstairs loo under the stairs, it's just not on the plan.

[Lesley1980]

Our house is the same layout as yours & these are some ideas I've been looking at.

[figgyroo]

Thanks Lesley1980 that's really helpful.

[SweetGrapes]

We have just done similar. We put the utility in the side extension (to the right). It has doors both out back to garden and out front so still gives through access. Ours was only 1.5 m wide so sqeezed but still got a run of washer, drier, boiler, mega flow and open shelves and tons of hangers including a victorian hanger (busy lizzy? Lazy daisy? The pulley one from the roof. It also has 3 veluxes in the roof. It's awesome - i love it!
The cloakroom is part under the stairs - squeezed to the right side of your current kitchen.
Then there's a door into the kitchen diner - L shape.

[SweetGrapes]

Oh... and we put a lean too against the new build part on the right as the side ectension isn't wraparound.

[Lesley1980]

Go on Pinterest for lots of ideas

[Kokusai]

@Lesley1980 I love that layout!

[figgyroo]

Thanks @lesley1980, I hadn't thought of looking on Pinterest

[namechangedtoday15]

We have just done this on a similar house. We already had a downstairs loo under the stairs, accessed from the hall, so have left it there. The utility is behind it, as with the layout Lesley has posted, with a pocket door into the kitchen. All the rest of the back of the house is one big room (we've levelled off the back of the house). Its a bit wider than yours, I think its 7.5m internally width ways. If you can afford it, its worth going out at the side (we couldn't afford it) as it gives you an option for a study maybe - would have liked that.

You are allowed to build out more or less up to your boundary, I think we left 20cm between our house and the house we're joined to, if you're going single storey. If you're going double storey, you normally have to leave at least 2m (so it becomes part single part double storey)

[figgyroo]

Thanks everyone, you've given us loads of ideas. I guess we need to get someone round to tell us what we can do/what will work best in the space we've got and to give us an idea of cost. Do we need an architect or a builder to do this?