Extend or refurbish - what to prioritise?

[moomiemoo]

The new house we're buying is short on space compared to what we have now and needs a new kitchen and bathroom. We're not sure we're going to have the money to do everything straight away and DH and I are disagreeing about what to start with.

I really want to extend the kitchen/diner to add a playroom so it's one nice big space where I can see all three DD's (eldest is 4 1/2) play. The smallish front room would then be a grown up sitting room and office for DH when he's working from home. We wouldn't have the money to do the kitchen straight away but I think I could make it look/work much better as I'm the only one who seems to use it anyway [hsmile]

DH would rather refit the bathroom and kitchen, replace flooring and redecorate to our taste. I think we'll be able to take our time and do this in little bits and do some of it ourselves.

What would you do?

We have exactly the same dilemma, I would go for the kitchen extension if you can afford it as it would make your live easier. Bathrooms I presume you can live in. Why don't you get quotes for the work and see which one you can afford. If we can't do the kitchen extension we will do the rest of the house and do the kitchen in 2/3 years time when we know we will get a lump sum.

Definitely the kitchen extension if you can - where can your kids play if your DH is working from home?

Refurbishment is messy so I'd go towards creating space first even if its to allow you room to move out of one room to refurbish it.

If monies tight I'd wait on nice flooring till they're just a bit bigger, that way you can enjoy the redecorating and building with out having to be too careful about dragging stuff through the house and the odd splash/ spill of paint.

We had a similar dilemma, but as the extension would have really stretched things money wise, we've gone for new kitchen and bathroom, and decorate house, new carpets etc. The only thing we are doing building wise is knocking in to the dining room to make a kitchen diner.
I am thinking that eventually we'll move instead of building an extension...not sure I can face the mess and disruption. But if I were you, i think I'd go for extending. Space is everything with kids, isn't it!

Thanks. I knew I was right but it's good to have other opinions.

There's really nothing that we can't live with. Everything's been very cheaply done so magnolia on all the Walls and horrible cheap, but newish, carpets. I think we should trash it all whIle DDs are so little and then slowly do one room at a time.

Extend first definitely ... then you'll have more space to retreat to when you're doing work in the existing bits of the house.

Extend 1st definately if you can. You then have space to move as you work through the house. You also don't want to make a room all nice just to have a workman or a child walk muddy boots through from the inevitable muddy garden / building site. Plus, dust gets EVERY WHERE. I can't believe how much work has been done in our bathroom as well even though the bathroom had nothing to do with the extension, for us it was all to do with pipes and heating to the extension and the bathroom being the place to get to the central heating from. You would be gutted if you did your bathroom up and then they go and stick ugly pipes there or worse still drill holes in it.