can I ask for your opinion on our extension ideas?

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

We are trying to create some storage and a kitchen diner in quite a small house with a very awkwardly shaped garden! A couple of builders who have come to have a look have all suggested a floor plan similar to this....

But it's difficult to envisage and I'm not sure the space is the big kitchen diner I was coveting!

Any advice or suggestions?

Once we've decided what we want we're going to get architects drawings.

The garden is a triangle to the back, a triangle to the side, and a large piece of land to the side / at the front that is separate, so the space cat accommodate a conventional back / wraparound extension... It has to be in pretty much that footprint.

Rather than moving the wall between the kitchen and dining room, what about removing it entirely. If you can squeeze a toilet under the stairs, you can then have a corridor leading to a utility (behind the kitchen) and a play room, as well as keeping a bit of the garage for storage.

If you can't squeeze the utility under the stairs, you could have a smaller utility and a toilet next to the kitchen.

I'm a huge fan of L-shaped rooms - much more spacious feeling than rectangles of the same square footage. They give the impression of 2 rooms, but each seems much bigger than if the space were divided into those 2 rooms.

Or just do what you've drawn there, but don't build the wall to make a separate play room and have the kitchen diner more open plan to a play room area round the corner (if you'd prefer the kids to be in the same room as you).

Like pp's have said about no wall separating the play room - then in the big l-shaped room have the playroom area round at the side do you can ignore the mess more easily, and have all the space across the back as your big kitchen-diner.

That's what puts will have to be like when we do the same-I'm all for keeping two reception rooms separate but we've considered foldaway doors for the (playroom) wall so that we could open it all out and have the party of all parties!

Replace the playroom wall with large sliding doors - gives you the best of both worlds.
Not sure I see the point of the 3ft wide storage, I would put it in the utility.
Can you include the cut out chunk in the corner or is that impossible ? That would make is seem bigger I think (more than the extra square footage).

The sliding playroom doors are a great idea!

We can't use that chunk unfortunately, unless we want our garden/s to be completely separate? It's really an awkward shaped plot we're in...

I did consider making them separate and having one for 'adults' with BBQ / table / nice furniture / pots etc... And the other one with the trampoline and toys, but my mum put me off by saying I'd have to carry the lawnmower etc through the house....

I like it. L shaped rooms are space efficient and feel nice usually.

Sliding doors to the playroom would be nice if the kids are young / for parties.

What do you want the storage for? Makes sense like PP said to have a larger utility with floor to feeling cupboards for tidy storage.

I don't think I like the shape of the kitchen diner. It might be better if the top right wall was at an angle parallel to the garden boundary, or maybe turn the current kitchen and dining room into a kitchen diner and use the side extension for playroom, wc, utility space.

The kids are young, 2 & 5...

The garage storage is because we have to have a garage front as its a halls adjoining house... But literally just big enough for the bins?

Garage space is just weird. Would you get permission to extend out over the building line at the front?

I'm not sure about the shape of the kitchen diner- I can't envisage how it would be laid out.

Have you had an architect around to look at it? You'll probably need lots of rsj's and possibly pillars to support the upper floors.

Gosh I'd remove the wall between kitchen and dining room. Then add a utility, playroom and garage in that order along the side.

Could you make the adult garden all terrace with just raised beds / pots in. I suppose it depends how big it is, and when it gets the sun etc, but a nice peaceful area to chill out of an evening or eat family meals would be lovely. While your children are so small I guess you still want to be out watching them while they play, but believe me, they don't have to get much bigger before you crave somewhere quiet to sit away from the water pistols / football / nerf guns and general mayhem!

You can do artificial grass with/without shock pads in the kids garden (if you make it separate) & won't have to do any lawn mowing there. Does that help?

Why not put the loo in the utility room and then regain the WC space for the kitchen?

I would just do what Attia said, and swap the kitchen and playroom. Then your kitchen diner would be across the back of the house. Ok so I know you would have to walk through he playroom to get to the utility room, but surely that's only an issue if you want the dishwasher in there

I agree that the kitchen diner across the back of the house with the playroom round the corner is a better solution than having the kitchen round the corner. You could even save money by leaving the kitchen in the middle as presumably there'd be less need to move plumbing etc.

About the lawnmower. Bit pricey but what about a robotic lawn mower? Went to sweden last month and they are so popular there and the gardens looked great. Great thing is they blitz the grass cuttings to tiny mulch and dispose it evenly on your garden to feed the grass. You just leave them out in the garden. Think they are solar powered. Cheapest i saw was 500 in the sale. You wouldnt have to bring it through the house just leave it out there.

You wouldnt have to bring it through the house just leave it out there.
But then you would need two, one for each section. Sounds good tho!

Can you put the playroom part in the bottom right before the utility? Could put a loo in there too for the kids. Then all across the back and a little down on the right side is the kitchen diner.

Can the loo be in the utility room if it's off the kitchen? This might be entirely wrong but my mum said something about needing two doors between toilet and kitchen?

You could put a door in the utility to make the toilet a separate room. Like a kind of ensuite utility.

Put the loo inside the utility - so bring the utility/kitchen wall another foot or two into the kitchen. Door into that. Small w.c inside that with a door. Remainder of space for white goods.