Kitchen access, yay or nay

[Tobuyornot99]

Thinking of ways to redesign a kitchen (11' x 8') that has 3 doors in it. One is through to diner, one to utility and one to hallway. Plan is to knock through kitchen diner, and block up door to hallway making more usable space. Is not having kitchen access form the hall a huge PITA though? Lugging shopping through living room etc? Will it put any potential future buyers off? Wisdom of MN appreciated.

Unless there is an easy alternative route from where you park to the kitchen, don't do it. Consider a pocket door, having the door open into the hallway instead of the kitchen and using some of the dining room wall space for part of the kitchen before you block up the door to the hall. Or even moving the opening if there is that option and it gives you a large area of kitchen wall to play with.

100% agree with wowfudge. Going through 2 additionnal rooms to access the kitchen is not reasonable if there is a possible alternative.

It will drive you mad and turn your sitting room into a thoroughfare.

Don't do it!

OK thanks! Should have mentioned really that an option would be to bring the shopping through the back (which the drive gives easy access to), still a no?

So many doors in such a small kitchen!

I don't think it's a big issue. Lots of Victorian terraces don't have access from the hall to the kitchen. And if you've got easy access from the back and drive then I would say go for it.

Looking at that layout I would just knock kitchen into sitting room so you have a large day room kitchen/diner. Separate lounge and separate diner.

What they have termed as a sitting room will be knocked through to become a kitchen diner. The room they have termed dining room will be a play room and the living room will be used as a living room. Hope that makes sense!

How much flexibility do you have to move the kitchen area? I think the best layout would be to block the door between the sitting room and living room. Then when you knock through you could use the sitting room end for the kitchen (maybe an L shaped kitchen) and the kitchen end as the dining room. That way you don't need to block the door from the hallway. It would cost more to move the drainage and plumbing, but if that's feasible it might give you a much better layout.

Anotherminime you are a bit of a genius! Depending on costs that could be viable. Or even if I keep the kitchen where it is and have a run of units against the now closed off door for crockery and all the kitchen cap I've accumulated that doesn't get used

MiniMe that sounds like a very good idea.

Block up wall between sitting and living rooms. Kitchen as is, but where the units on the wall to be knocked down are consider a peninsular unit, or replace with an island unit if space.

When I saw the plan, I thought the same as minime. Make the living room separate, accessed only from the hall.

I was also going to suggest loosing the door to the sitting room and keeping the hallway door.

Glad I could help good luck with it!