Teeny tiny kitchen - knock through?

[southbailey]

So, I have read to death all the kitchen threads I have come across - so much learnt!!!

I completed on my post divorce house on Friday and am starting to get all the things done that need doing before we can move in (the main thing that made me decide to stay in current rental is the fact that full rewire is needed).

From the start I knew I needed a new kitchen as the house was priced to take this into account and the existing kitchen is old, basic and pretty grim.

I went round the house with my builder the other day and one of his first suggestions was knocking through into the dining room. I had considered this but was not sure if is was feasible for me but it seems it is. He suggested closing off the existing kitchen door from the hall but I don't think I want to. Am i missing something? The plan was to use an alcove in the hall to create a larder because of the small kitchen, and were this to be the case, with a blocked off door, it would mean walking all the way round (through lounge/ diner) for everything i need.

I def do not want one entirely open-all-the-time space, as i am living with that at the moment and it drives us all up the wall at times when one of us is watching the tv, the other on the computer, and maybe me in the kitchen. so much clashing noise etc. So I am thinking I will have some sort of (sliding? bifold?) doors installed between lounge and dining room, which means that living room can be almost it's own room. Keeping the hall to kitchen door means that the kitchen and diner are accessible without using the living room as a corridor every time, plus it is possible to use both end separately eg when i have friends over but the kids want the tv....

Am i making any sense? Do I need to add diagrams?

Essentially I am interested in advice on a) tiny kitchens, b) knocking through (prob with a peninsula /half wall along part of the knocked through all), and the issue the the hall door...

My, I am confused, hope someone understands.... Thanks!

Diagrams would help I think. If it's not a very big space then the problem with keeping doors can be that it really limits your kitchen layout and the ability to get a good long run of units/worktop. I've seen many kitchens with 2 or 3 doors and they end up kind of looking chopped up! Can you do a quick diagram (and indicate where he was planning the larder) as it'll be easier to make suggestions that way

I'd agree if you do a larder it should be easily accessible from kitchen.

This is the current floor plan.... hope it works

I would be tempted to reinstate the wall between the living room and dining room and knock the kitchen into the dining room, retaining the kitchen door for access into th kitchen/diner.

Plan sort of works - it's very small, but I can just about see what's what.
I'd definitely keep the door to the kitchen from the hall....think about coming in with your shopping...do you really want to traipse through the living and dining areas?
It think it's a good idea to be able to shut off the living room.
Depending on how much of the wall can be knocked out, I'd consider expanding the kitchen part of the kitchen/diner, not just keeping it in what was the kitchen iyswim. Then you might not need the pantry in the hall and could use that as shoe/coat storage?

gosh that is tiny oops.

hope this with vv bad indicator or larder area is better

I like soupdragon's idea of putting up wall between the large sitting room/dining room then knocking through the kitchen to create a larger kitchen diner.

Yes, shopping is exactly one of my issues. and getting to the door if the doorbell rings, all sorts of little things that add up to inconvenience if regular!

One of my other little problems is my dining furniture needs to fit lol. It was my mum and dad's before they downsized and i want to keep it.

Definitely close up living room by reinstating wall, poss with double doors if you want the option to open up sometimes. Then knock through kitchen to create kitchen- diner.

Totally close up the sitting room, and have a kitchen-diner

Put glass door between kitchen and dining room. Knock kitchen through. Move kitchen door forward towards front door so larder would be in kitchen?

Sorry I meant glass doors between dining room and lounge !!

Sorry I meant glass doors between dining room and lounge !!

Nooooooooooo don't do this. Worst of both worlds. It isn't open plan, nor is it nice and cosy and separate for sound/light and it makes furniture placement harder!

We have it. It's not noisy, glass is opaque, no probs with furniture placement.

I would definitely reinstate the wall between the lounge and dining room and then knock through and make a large kitchen dining room.

I have doors between my living and dining room. I never open them and I hate them.

I'd probably go a slightly different route...

serbskas plan looks good. I think that's what I'd do. I've always preferred kitchen diners to lounge diners. I like a cosy, seperate lounge! Open plan is a night mare for noise. I don't think I'd have doors between lounge and diner as it limits furniture placement.

I'd also go for glass doors (probably opaque) as a good compromise in a smallish space. Sliding ones if possible to minimise any issues with furniture placement

ooh so many thoughts already. Thank you.

One of the builder's ideas already was the stack the washing machine and dryer in the place where the previous ppl had their fridge, ie to the right of the existing hall door. that seems a good start as I had not even considered that and was aware that in such a small place, 2 units worth of floor space is so valuable, so only using one is worth heaps!

Moving the kitchen door forward a bit - interesting. wonder how easy that is. Still need to be able to access under the stairs but in that layout it is possible.

Re glass doors. Is it really the worst of both worlds? Argh

My sisters house had a similar layout, she removed the kitchen wall into the dining rm like in my photo, so so much better, its a fab entertaining space.

@phillipa12 - what is the space around the kitchen outline in the after pic? does the dining room part kind of wrap around?

Def reinstate wall between living room and dining room, then knock through from kitchen to dining room.

Our old house was a similar layout but different period. Our dining area was where your bay was, so food had to be carried from the tiny kitchen through the living area to the table. It drove me mad.

Oh and I would have a solid wall not doors, to keep kitchen smells and noise at bay. It helps with furniture placement to.

I like Statistically's plan and you could even have a small island in the space between the two rooms for additional storage etc. or a peninsula.

It's very similar in layout to our house and we did knock through - and although open plan is a bit marmite on here... I find it much better how it is now. We don't have a peninsula (with the size of our house it would be more of a small rock), but I do basically have the dining table located where you're talking about having one.

It improved the light and feeling of space within the house no end. If we want to close it back up we could fairly easily put double doors or a bifold between the lounge and dining room as the archway is still there but open - but for now I like it the way it is (but I do have small kids still who want to see what I'm up to and vice versa rather than teenagers who'd rather pretend parents only exist when they want money or a lift somewhere).