Aibu to ask advice regarding my kitchen upgrade?

[Feelingconfused2020]

I will be called unreasonable for using aibu when I should use the home improvements section but I need advice and I know this gets traffic. We currently have a small kitchen that we've decided to replace. We are looking into options and one is to knock down the wall between our kitchen and utility room to make a slightly bigger kitchen with a table or breakfast bar. We would then put a utility area on the back of our garage. This would cost about £12-14k.

Our second option is just to keep the current kitchen and utility separate as they are. This would cost about £8-10k.

We want to have the best kitchen for us now but also add value so that we can move on in 2 or 3 years.

So please could you give me your opinions. Who thinks that it's worth the extra to knock through? It would create a bigger kitchen but we'd lose a utility room and obviously it's 2-4k more expensive.

Maybe there's someone with expertise who can advise. I've attached a pic.

For the extra 2-4K I would move the utility! Makes it’s more sellable and you still have to live in the house for 2 years plus. Spread over the 2 years that’s approx £88-£140 per month.

If it was 10K difference I would say don’t do it but for the sake of 2-4K I would make the house more liveable, plus what if your circumstances changes and you ended up living their longer, would it annoy you if you didn’t do it?

Thanks. You have a good point about whether it would annoy me! It would I've always hated the fact that we can't sit as a family in the kitchen.

Do you not think having a utility room adds value though?

Bigger kitchen and new utility room, without a doubt!

Would that not make the utility really annoying to use if you have to go through the garage to see if the washing has finished?

@PattyPan I don't know if it would be really annoying. The garage is just next door.to where the utility is now anyway. I am more worried about whether others would see it as losing a room

I think people are attracted by a kitchen where you can sit down, especially if they have a family with children. In a way, knocking through almost adds a room, as you can still have the utility in the garage but gain a ‘dining room’ part to your kitchen.

Do you have a dining room? Where do you eat now? We don’t have room for a dining table in our kitchen and didn’t in the house where I grew up but in both of those there’s a dining room next to the kitchen so you don’t need it. If you don’t have anywhere to eat at the moment then definitely it would add value to the house to put it into the kitchen but otherwise I don’t think it does.

We have a lounge diner not next to the kitchen.

As someone with small children I like to be in the same room when they eat and sometimes im still cooking or need to pop grab something. I would pick that over a utility room esp if you can make one in the garage.

Plus then the space where your dinning table is currently could be a play room, so I see it more as gaining a room

Kitchen to eat in. Always.
My laundry is in the garage. Not a problem, you get used to it!

Thanks everyone. It really helps to hear other perspectives when you're making a decision doesnt it?

In my completely personal opinion if I were to choose between the two I’d pick a kitchen-diner. May be I’m swayed as we’ve never had a separate utility so I’m used to it? But we have an open kitchen & dining room and it is so sociable and just nice.
Even with a breakfast bar would be nice, somewhere you can chat and eat.

Thanks, I need personal opinions because I'm gonna be selling it in a few years I hope ( would like another bedroom.eventually) and want to know what would make people more/less likely to buy. We don't have enough storage in our kitchen so loads of stuff is kept on surfaces which stresses me out too so this would help with that as the washing machine and dryer would be replace by storage!! I'm so sad to be excited by storage