posh lean-to instead of side return extension??

[Plonker16]

We are in limbo unable to make decisions about our victorian terrace house in north-west london which really needs a bit of an upgrade. Of course I desperately want a proper side return infill complete with new kitchen, improved utility area and so on, but realistically that will be 100k plus because of various knock-on effects. (Does that sound a lot to you? People round here pay at least that, more like 150k!)

The problems are :
Barely any utility space, or storage space for garden equipment, tents and camping stuff, paint pots, DIY tools, cat litter etc etc... yes we have a lot of it. I also need overflow kitchen space, really.
the back reception is underused as we eat in the kitchen, but can only fit 6 in there so with parties of more we use the larger table in back reception, but that feels wierd. It's pretty dark in there too- opens up to front reception which is nice.

So I began to campaign to the Other Half for a fancy shed-cum-garden house at the bottom of the 15m long garden. The back of the garden needs attention anyway, since a rotten pergola is falling down and so is the back wall.
BUT I can't find what I want off the peg, (one third shed and two thirds garden room, 3mDepth x 5 m width) and bespoke is over 25k.
Not completely convinced it's the right solution either. So the DP suggested a lean to shed in the side return. Given that this area is getting posher by the minute and people don't want sheds, they want snazzy open spaces, I am not sold on that at all.
HOWEVER I did think up another solution - which I am PRESUMING would be cheaper because you wouldn't have to knock down the kitchen wall or move out for 5 months - which is to build a posh insulated glass conservatory-like roof over the side return (north-facing) and tile it with beautiful tiles, ideally move the washing machine into it, and build lovely organised shelving for all the shed contents - accessed through an already existing door from the kitchen, plus another door onto the garden...
Obviously we should speak to an architect (another thing I have to fight through with the Other Half) for ideas etc but
a) do you know anyone who's done this
b) any idea if it will be significantly cheaper than a proper side return infill-snazzy-kitchen malarkey (which, I add, still doesnt solve the shed-stuff storage problem!)

Thanks if you are reading this far!!!
any advice?

So you want a conservatory?

if that's what it's called - a conservatory would imply somewhere nice to sit though, and this is a utility room / glorified shed. The space is 1.5 m wide by 5 or 6 m long.

This episode from channel 4 is about 10 years old, but she does roughly what you describe. If you were to have a conservatory in your side return I'd definitely open it up to the kitchen like she does and have it for dining. Could you carve out a utility room/cupboard anywhere else in the house?

www.channel4.com/programmes/room-for-improvement/on-demand/36506-004

Another option would be knocking through into your existing dining room and making a bigger kitchen that way, then you could have a bank of utility cupboards and storage.

If you plan to sell in the future I do think you need to be careful about doing work that would put off buyers, which I think a lean to conservatory utility room would- a shed would be better imho.

We did this and th did it himself. He put up the conservatory then knocked through from the kitchen so it's one big space. It did end up being chilly in the winter so he insullated one wall and then plasterboarded over it so it looks more like a conventional room now just with a conservatory front and roof which lets lots of light in. It works well for us and cost around £5 k all in.

Please ignore the mess but this is what it looks like.

Have you had a full side return extension priced? 100k sounds like a lot. I'm not in London but Home Counties so not a million miles away, we recently had ours done for £40k. That was just the cost of the build as we didn't upgrade the kitchen, and we didn't get a utility space either, but we had two supporting walls removed so it involved a fair bit of structural work.

I wouldn't botch it like that. A side return that's 7-9m2 is not going to cost anywhere near 100k. You could get quotes and do a nicer kitchen, change the ground floor layout to suit your lifestyle better. And storage could be had in a decent quality shed at the bottom of the garden which would be ideal for the items you want to store. Even if you get a super shed and builders to put it in for you, a top job wouldn't be more than 1-2k. If you DIY it, then less than 500 pounds should cover the shed.

Hi Madge. Would you mind sharing the contact details of your builder? I know prices are going up but I'm getting quoted over £100k.

north london with limited access to the site in terraced houses could easily be £100K

can you post a floor plan?

Zombie thread. That £100k is looking like a bargain now…

I didn’t spot the dates at first either and I was wondering what on earth everyone was talking about with such ridiculously low figures!!

Wonder if we’ll look back at 2023 in ten years time and think that the current prices are a bargain too?!