Kitchen/Diner

[Littlepig8834]

We are moving to a new house and are thinking about knocking through to create a kitchen/diner. We were thinking of extending too, but we may not be able to afford this with the other work that needs doing.

Do you think the space would be big enough for a kitchen/diner? Kitchen is currently 3mx2.44m and dining room would be 3.82mx3.4m

Pic attached of current floor plan. We're also thinking of reinstating the wall to give us a separate living room.

Any thought/help will be gratefully received, this is the first time we have done anything like this!

Sounds lovely! Looking at the plans, I would remove the two doors into the kitchen (from hall and outside?) so you have all 3 walls for a u shape kitchen, then put a door a new door going off the hallway into the existing living room/new dining space.

Something like this (green =New door, red = blocked up walls)

Why do you need the square space by the new door into the dining area? I would rather have a door into the kitchen for shopping or you will have to take it into the dining area first. Make the kitchen bigger by incorporating the section of the hall that seems superfluous.

You have lots of the kitchen facing walls. When you open it out, try and get a kitchen that looks over the garden. Use an island to make extra storage.

I knew asking on here would give me ideas! Good idea for using space from the hallway, I hadn't thought of that!

Near identical to our layout. We are having a French folding door between the diner and the lounge so we could have it open plan or closed.

Our house is ever so slightly bigger and I am attaching my drawing of the kitchen layout we are having. We are making the window between the two runs of cabinets quite low.

I am also attaching a photo of our last house which also had the same layout and was about half the size of this one and smaller than your one, open plan worked there as well.

I did this in my previous house - made the lounge more square and used the large back area to have a kitchen/diner with an island and bifold doors..

I'd reinstate the wall between the dining/lounge.

I'd block the door from the kitchen/hall - yes you get a "square" but it would look fab with a huge mirror on it to bounce light through the hall.

I would add door to the "lounge" and make that the kitchen as it's the larger space (also as a pp said you don't want to traipse through the diner to get your shopping to your kitchen).

If you do this you could put a lovely island unit between the new kitchen/diner with the side facing the diner being used to store tableware, meaning the smaller dining space can still fit a good sized table.

Sorry for the crappy drawing

Can I ask what's under the stairs? Is that a downstairs toilet/storage cupboard?

The grey space in the kitchen is a pantry, the orange space is what was the coal storage and the grey space in the hall is under stair storage. We were thinking of knocking the pantry through to the coal storage and making that a utility space and also moving the back door to this area.

Why not bring the orange space in too?

You could grab some of the hall too

I'd probably prioritise a downstairs toilet over a utility - especially if you make the larger lounge the kitchen with room for appliances. If built in you don't really even see them.

Is the orange bit a coal store? We are bringing ours in to make an under stairs cupboard. If not for the open plan lounge at the front of the house we were going to put the kitchen on the left as well. Had a CAD drawing done, attached. Then decided we don't want to separate the lounge nad we don't want to have kitchen off the lounge so it is staying where it is. Cheaper option to move the kitchen if services can be rerouted overground under the decking outside if you have or plan to have decking.

And from another angle. The white door is to the lounge and the dark one to the garden.

Oh I just saw you did it was the coal storage. I'd have a downstairs loo over a utility too. We are also blocking off our side door as when we open plan the kitchen it will be enough to just have the patio. If you could remove the chimney breast there that would give you quite a bit of extra space.

What about internal pocket doors (they slide open and ‘hide’ in the wall cavity) separating the old lounge and dining room. You could open up for the big party days (Christmas etc...) and keep them separate on the others.

Have a nosy on internet images for washer/dryers stored under the stairs, also shoe and coat storage drawers. Would leave more space in the coal/utility room.

watching this as i posted a similar thread the other week and so many good idea.

My builder wanted to block up the hall door into the kitchen but I am adamant I want this kept. I know it means less wall space but I do not want to traipse through the rest of the house with the shopping....

If you have a kitchen/dining area, you don’t have to keep the kitchen in the former kitchen space. You can steal from the dining area. I have seen good crockery and glass storage in the dining area. If you have a solid wall between the lounge and dining room, make effective use of this for storage.

I would ditch the back door in that position and have French windows or folding which access the garden from the rear wall. This means you could have a full run of units where the door currently is and put an island between the kitchen and the dining area. Double width would also give loads of storage on the dining side.

I would put a wall between dining and lounge. Put kitchen in dining, with island. Dining area in current kitchen and have back of house completely open with bifolding doors. Serious wow factor. Steel could be expensive though....

Thank you all for the ideas, we did t think about blocking off the back door but are definitely thinking about doing that now. Also, thinking of the downstairs loo, hoping we should be able to get the washing machine in the main kitchen. And I really want a dishwasher so trying to fit one of them in too!!

I would try to get the washing machine and dryer out of the kitchen / diner. Is there space for a “loo-tility” understairs / old coal cupboard? If not prioritise downstairs loo - maybe room upstairs for stacked machines?

Also as PP says - have the whole of the back wall of the house glass - not bifolds - they chop up the view - but maybe half is 1 big fixed pane and one big slider. Have dining in old kitchen and then fit big U shaped kitchen in room marked “lounge” - units around all walls except garden end. Would have a peninsula / breakfast bar rather than an island to dining room as not sure that there is enough space.