Will you help me plan a hypothetical extension (please)?

[FlopMadeMeDoIt]

Waiting to complete on house purchase in Jan, we know we want to extend the kitchen. The last few days we have been noodling over a couple of options. I would appreciate any thoughts or insights from those that have done similar on which might work better.

Current layout is typical 1930s semi detached, 2 reception rooms and small kitchen. We were originally thinking we might go out to the side, but now we're considering whether extending to the back might be better.

Attached pics show current layout, Options A (extend to side) and B (extend to back). There is a garage set to the back of the house in the garden. We were originally thinking we might knock it down but now thinking we might keep it, render the outside to make it less ugly and use it as a shed / storage (we will never use it as a proper garage for keeping car in). We definitely want to keep the 2 separate reception rooms rather than knocking kitchen diner type thing.

Option A feels like it is making use of 'dead space' out to the side of the house and won't require us to switch the reception rooms round. It also won't eat into the garden, however the garden is pretty big so we can stand to lose some for extending.

Option B might give us a more useful kitchen family space at the back and feels like a more logical flow? We would switch the reception rooms so the dining is off the kitchen, but the dining wouldn't get much natural light being in the middle with no windows. Though we could have doors with glass to let light in.

I think both have their merits. Obviously we need to factor cost in once we move and are able to get quotes.

So if anyone is able to decipher my not to scale sketches and would care to comments, please do so

Could you incorporate the garage into the kitchen, glaze a side wall looking into the garden?

You don't say what the family space would be used for in option A?

I prefer option b, as option a seems to looking at the garage. what type of roof are you planning as option b could be very dark without Felix Windows

So the house has a narrow long drive leading to the garage at present? And in option A you’d be building across this drive, to the property line with your neighbour? Is this another semi-detached house? How much of a gap would you be leaving? I’m just thinking of objections from them... party wall agreements...

It's probably really outing but this is what we did to our 1930s semi with exact same layout. I think you have more room in your side return if you can drive down it so I think it would work well with yours. So the utility with a loo in it is reached by going under the stairs. There's a skylight so it gets light in from the ceiling. The garage could work well as a playroom if you have young children or a second living area for older children (we don't have a garage). Study is so useful and it has been brilliant this past year as you can imagine. I think the only thing you'd need to think of is light getting into the kitchen, if you are able to have clerestory windows or Velux you'll get the light in though. We have one small Velux window and it would have been nicer to have a bigger one.

Is the entrance to your garage accessed from the front of the house or the back ?

Plan A is there a window in the dining room if not it will be very dark.

Plan B works better but is it blocking access to the garage ?

Oops got the A and Bs the wrong way round.

B, and it's the most common layout I've seen and for good reason. We'll be doing the same when we can release some equity ... for now living with a tiny half renovated kitchen, dreaming of more apace

@OneEpisode yes that's correct. I've looked on local council website and others on the road have applied to do the same and had it approved but you're right this is something we'd need to consider.

We had a similar property and did this. It was brilliant.

@fuzzymoon yes A would block the existing access to the garage. We were thinking we'd put a door on the side instead so it can be accessed and used as storage / shed, if we went with A.

Also re B, there isn't a window in the middle room so yes we're concerned it might be dark. We thought using glass doors or something might allow some light in.

@MrsJamin @Baxdream thanks so much for sharing your layouts. We both work from home at the moment and I guess this will continue for a while so home office space is worth considering!

Plan B I would remove the wall between kitchen and dining room so the light could travel. Turn it into a kitchen diner family room. That would also keep the garage which would retain more value than turning it into a shed.

We just had bifolds across the back. Ours was west facing and was a really bright room. We didn't have any veluxes as it was a double storey extension

Does A remove side access to garden? I wouldn't extend all the way to the boundary.

@TwelveDogsOfChristmas yes it would.

These comments have been really helpful, I'm now definitely leaning towards something like B and keeping our side / garage access.