Open plan kitchen diner/sitting area - would you keep a separate dining room?

[CarafeOfTheFinestWine]

We've got two options.

1. knock through dining room, snug, old conservatory and small kitchen. We'd still have a separate sitting room. This would be cheaper.

2. Make old conservatory, snug and small kitchen into a kitchen diner sitting space with an extension into the garden and retain the separate dining room and sitting room.

I think I like the idea of a dining area separate from the kitchen. I'm not sure I want people I'm cooking for to see it all - it's nice at the moment where we are that or family/just us we've got a table in the kitchen. But for more formal, the whole family - Christmas etc we can usher everyone into the dining room away from last minute chaos of whichever one of us is cooking.

Both options sound good. Even with option 1 you can just change the furniture so the separate room is not a sitting room but a dining room.

I've attached a plan of it as it is now.

How big would the space be for conservatory, kitchen and snug together?

It looks big enough to be a kitchen/dining/family space on its own if you plan it well...

Snug 12'10", conservatory 11'2", kitchen 11'6" x 8'2"

I'd like a utility and downstairs loo too so I think it might be a bit tight without an extension.

The walls of the kitchen ate about 2 foot thick!

Current kitchen to be utility and loo. Conservatory, dining room and snug to be one big living, dining kitchen area. If your kitchen is planned including dining area you will never use your dining room. Voice of experience!!!

You could have utility in existing kitchen & toilet if not 1 already & kitchen/dinner in the conservatory & snug, you can have a makeshift partition between the existing dinning & snug to make it a flexible space or even an extra room/office if need be.

If it’s just for Xmas etc I probably wouldn’t bother, however my grandma had a kitchen diner and separate diner and we always had dinner in there, whereas breakfasts and lunches were in the more informal mixed area.

I think the most important thing is the separate living area - wouldn’t want to try and relax whilst dishwasher beeping/someone washing up/cooking curry.

A folding partition is the best idea, keeps it flexible.

I like the partition idea or doors. I do wonder how much in reality we would use a separate dining room and we wouldn't need any more sitting rooms.

When the DC have homework sprawled all over the kitchen table you may well do