Split level extension - Ideas needed

[MH0084]

Hi,
I moved to this Edwardian garden flat last year. Previous owners extended the kitchen about 20 years ago and its now in need of a refresh. However, I'm struggling with the split level. Kitchen is on top. Dining area on the bottom, but kitchen is currently too small and I wondering if I could with things around or raise the entire floor and bring the steps to the patio (albeit this may not fit in my budget...).
I also have an integrated living room as I needed an extra bedroom and have converted the front room into a bedroom and office space was opened up to the side. So now, I have some sort of L-shaped area to work with... Not ideal, but that's what I could afford.
Photos appreciated!

Sorry, I've read your OP and few times and trying to work out what you mean? Do you have photos or a floor plan?
So its an open kitchen/diner, but with stairs in between and on different levels?
Or is the kitchen above and over the top of the diner?

Indeed. I should have added the floor plan!
(not in scale)

Thanks for the plan OP.
What is the floor height difference between the kitchen and diner?
Does the ceiling height, also match the drop in floor height or is the ceiling the same height throughout?
What level is the living room on? Kitchen or diner level?
Is bath 2 and bedroom 3 the same level as the diner?

We recently renovated a derelict property. Downstairs, we had various levels, but at most there was a 30cm difference. We had the ceiling height to level/raise the floors to all be the same.
Upstairs, we have steps into 2 of the bedrooms, because the roof sloped that way. I did ask about making the flooring all 1 level, but in those rooms, the head height wasn't enough.

Yes. the only part of the flat that is lower level is the dining area. We have 3 steps down. That’s roughly 40cm. The ceiling height is roughly the same throughout the house.
The challenge raising the level is the cost of replacing the 3-panel bi-folding patio doors but is indeed a possibility. The hight of the ceiling would enable that.

Ahh I see. If the bifolds are still in good condition, they might be able to be moved higher if the flooring moves higher. You may not need to buy new ones.

Not bifolds, but we removed double sliding doors and my MIL had then installed on her garden room.

I think I'd knock down the wall between the kitchen and living room and extend the kitchen into that new space a bit to make that the kitchen diner. The the living room would be at the back where your dining room currently is. Depending on the sizes though.
Depending on where the door to the bathroom 2 is I might also be tempted to knock down the wall between bed three and the hallway and have the door into bed three facing your front door, level with the bathroom wall which would make that room much larger. I assume there's a door to the garden at the end of the hallway and that's why the hallway extends the length of the flat? Do you use that door much when youve got bi-folds?

Thank you for all the suggestions!
Unfortunately the bi folding doors are floor to ceiling and will not be possible to move them higher. Maybe just a few inches.

The wall between the kitchen and living room is a tricky one to remove. It’s structural and there’s the soil pipe coming down from the neighbours’ upstairs flat through that wall. I’ve asked them if I could move it and they completed ignored my question. I guess that’s a no. I also don’t know if it would be worth the cost. But I would love to do that really.

For bedroom 3, yes, we have been considering moving the door to face the hallway. there’s a small storage cupboard on the end of the hallway (it faces the neighbours’ garden, so no door for me) and we may use it as the wardrobe for bedroom 3! The bathroom next to it has a sliding pocket door, so no issues there.

I would get an architect to come and help - for less than a grand they can give you a really clever solution.

But fundamentally I'd be looking at reconfiguring some of the rooms. We're currently looking to move our kitchen to the current dining room, it just requires a bit of external plumbing moves along the same wall, but it'll create a much more useable space.

Here's my thinking.