How could we improve access to this garden?

[Thepinkcricket]

We are buying an Edwardian semi, 3 stories (kitchen, dining room and lounge on ground floor) and a basement (not currently converted to living space, used for storage).

The problem is the garden is between the basement and ground floor levels. Ie there are steps up from the basement or down from the kitchen. We really want French doors with flat(ish) access to a dining area in the garden (we have small children) to make the most of the smallish garden. Happy to then have steps up or down to a lawned area.

We might convert the basement to a big kitchen diner, which would solve the problem as we could dig out a patio area, then have steps up to the lawn. But a (much) cheaper option is to knock through the current kitchen diner, change the back window to French doors - but can't work out how we could then access the garden from the doors? A raised deck is an option but we would want to try and keep the light (and access) to the basement.

I have trawled the internet but can't find any solutions or pictures - but surely a lot of Edwardian/Victorian properties have this split level? I've added some pictures - anyone have any ideas or some useful websites I could try to find some inspiration?

There is a picture of the back of the house below. The windows on the right hand side would be kitchen/diner windows. You can just about see the basement windows behind the table and chairs.

Thank you!

What about a raised deck with built in skylights? walk on rooflights

If you dug out the area infront of the basement you could create a covered cosy seating area under the deck, a sort of garden room.

If you want to add a fun element from the deck you could create several exits one being steps the other being a slide into the garden.

Best way would be to extend basement, dig out the garden a bit so that you can walk directly from basement to a patio area and then have steps or slope up to the main garden. On top of the extension, you could have a flat roof and have that as a terrace from the raised ground floor with separate stairs, at the size leading down to the garden. It wouldn't be cheap though.

If you don't want to do that, then I thing a wrought iron balcony across the raised ground floor with french windows out onto it and then steps down onto the garden. If you could have the floor of the balcony made from that metal sort of mesh (there's probably a name for it but I don't know what) so that light passes through to the basement, that would be better.

Are you sure you want your kitchen at the bottom of the house? Of course in olden days that would have been the case but then the servants would have been running up and down the stairs for you.

Why not consider using the basement as a cinema room or billiards room (as well as storage) then if you build your deck, the loss of light to the basement will be irrelevant.

We would prefer the kitchen on the ground floor I think, we just wanted to protect some of the light to make it more pleasant.
These are great ideas thank you, hadn't thought about digging out the garden AND still doing the deck, and like the balcony idea too.

Sorry protect some of the light to the basement that should have said.