AIBU to add serving hatches between kitchen, utility and dining room?

[OrangeCrushes]

It's a floorplan question!

I want to turn my current kitchen into a utility room and the current second reception into a kitchen. The problem is the dining room would be far from the kitchen and we will often need to take things from the new utility to go into the kitchen.

AIBU to add one or more serving hatches to the floorplan - between kitchen and utility and utility and dining room, respectively?

Marked up floorplan attached as well as a serving hatch idea

Someone in the past raised the front reception floor and removed the door! There is now an internal window there.

We have fit a surprising number of people in the dining room, but it's a bit cramped!

FWIW

I used to live in a house that shape. Everyone who altered the rooms combined the back two rooms into a large kitchen/diner.
Having lived in a house with kitchen separate from dining room, it was a complete pain to carry everything through.

This is a very interesting idea 🤔

The loo is so narrow that I'm not sure whether a door could go there. But maybe it could work.

Have you considered having the kitchen in the reception room that is adjacent to the dining room, then using what is currently the second reception room as the main reception room, adjacent to the conservatory?

What is the arch? What I'm seeing from the plan is a scenario where the kitchen can only be entered at the end of the hallway from the current second reception. Is that right?

This is a nice idea but not practicable for various reasons.

Yes or from the Utility room. The 'arch' is a supporting steel lintel to support the load bearing wall.

No idea if you could get a door into the utility room but you could move the toilet slightly.

Your kitchen would be a kitchen diner. If you only need the table every couple of months, you could have an extending one or even one that folds away.

You really need an architect and a sensible budget.

I don't understand what you're trying to achieve with the hatches as it sounds more of a nuisance passing something through a hatch, going around into the next room to get it and pass through the next hatch.

I'd probably leave the layout sort of as is now but open up the current kitchen, hallway and reception room, adding a wall and door behind the stairs as the hallway there is dead space.

If you leave the dining room with a door in from the hallway as is you'd have the option of a standalone room or a through room from the kitchen.

With the toilet and utility, I'd leave them where they are but flip the space so you've got a bigger utility and smaller toilet. I'd close the current opening from the dining room to utility, and have a door from the new kitchen space into it. I'd then make the only entrance for the toilet via the utility. That way you wouldn't have your toilet directly off your kitchen or dining area.
In the future if you replace your conservatory with an extension you've got everything already logically pinned to the kitchen and you could then have your dining room in the extension and use the current dining room as a snug.

Do you actually need a shower downstairs?

This looks like an interesting idea - for the door - maybe use double doors or bifold or a pocket door for space saving?

'arch' (image to follow)

'arch' with image this time

aargh!

We already took the shower out and now the washing machine and dryer are there. There is now a fridge in the room that is labeled as utility on this floorplan.

tries again

Oh yes, I understand. So this would be the opening to the part of the new kitchen that is currently the entire old kitchen.

That's right.

Sorry but I’m another thinking the best use of the space is to incorporate the current kitchen into the back room you plan to make your kitchen, this would give you space to put a table in there, then keep the current door to the dining room in place. (As well as the current kitchen floor space, you’d get the bit of corridor currently leading to the kitchen and back room, put a door where the corridor currently starts at the corner of the kitchen)

as you’ve put washer and dryer in your downstairs bathroom, the current utility could just be a storage space. Could you have the loo door come off the utility room, and seal up the one into the back room/new kitchen space? Would give you two doors between loo and kitchen)

I’d make the kitchen a kitchen, or knock through the utility room if you need a bigger kitchen.

I just saw this video on Instagram and thought of you! There's a trolley built into the cabinets that you can pull out to serve dinner!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXLOl2mjS9b/?igsh=bjN2bWdiZHhoODE4

That would be too much hard work for OP.

No joke, this house is located less than 25 miles from where I grew up. I've seen this video before - so cool.

Tbh I have had something of a mental breakdown and I am thinking it would be a good idea to get this project done before I think of going back to work. Then at least I have an excuse: "I took time off to oversee some work in my home and support my child."

That's a good idea but no lifting trolleys from cupboards and pushing whole dinner party fare down corridors,

Would it be possible to just get a professional in to work through the best design for you? Obviously that is an extra cost but if it stops you making expensive and disastrous mistakes it might be worth it.

We had our kitchen remodelled a few years ago. We didn't try to draw up any plans ourselves, we just put together a spec - must haves, nice to haves, restrictions, likes and dislikes etc. We have a separate utility and made it clear we would be open to knocking through to include it if that worked better.

Went to two kitchen design places for suggestions and quotes and they did a better job than we could have. Obviously went with our favourite (which incidentally wasn't the cheapest but was the design we liked best.)