pls help me re-imagine this ground floor (floor plan attached)!

[sappak]

I've been lurking in these parts for ages while waiting to sell our house (took us 9 months-- 65 viewings and have learned so much, so first off, thanks to everyone for your stories and wisdom.

We're now finally getting ready to move and the new house has a ground floor that keeps me awake at night...We're going to renovate- the kitchen is from 1995 - but the question is whether or not to do a small rear extension, given the garden size, and how to configure the new space. It's your standard mid terrace, London.

Kitchen in the front of the house? Galley kitchen in the middle and dining area in the front? Open everything up?

The garden is south facing, but as a garden it isn't that important to us (kids are pre-teen and teen and not fussed, and we have black thumbs). There will a reception room on the first floor, so the ground floor we're thinking of a space for kitchen and lounge/tv watching, entrance hallway for storage for shoes and coats (an obsession of mine, admittedly, as current house has neither) and maybe a downstairs loo? This last seems important to lots of people, and it's definitely something I'd appreciate, too!

What would you think of doing to this space with a budget of approx 75K?

I think I would try to keep the kitchen in the middle area (maybe with a separate utility) then extend out at the back to have a second living area. Sort of like this but on a smaller scale. Depending where you are I think this might be achievable on your budget as at least the kitchen and utility will be in a similar area.

If it were me I'd go for a spacious kitchen across the back with doors onto the garden with a table in it. Small TV/snug at the front and a toilet/utility and coat/shoe cupboard in the middle.

The garden is too small to extend in to - I'd want at least a space to put table and chairs for al fresco meals. As you have reception on first floor, I'd move kitchen to middle and dining overlooking garden, and front as tv room (no point having TV in the lightest room, and presumably you mostly watch TV at night). I'd be curious how much you use you first floor reception other than for entertaining though. Loo under stairs and put utility on first floor.

I meant to say knock all the walls at the back down, so only TV room at front is enclosed. This will also be good when your kids are older and want a place to hang out away from you, who will finally be enjoying your upstairs space!

I feel I've seen a few of these on Your Home Made Perfect. Are there two doors I to the kitchen diner? Can you get rid of the kitchen one? And do you need the living room doors to the dining area? Not having these would give you more wall space for sofas etc.

Do you need the corridor down the side of the kitchen diner? I'd go with something similar to Crazy's design. Below was my attempt to show that. I dont think the garden is big enough to extend into.

Toilet in the cupboard under the stairs may be a good use of space.

@PeonyTime

Do you need the corridor down the side of the kitchen diner? I'd go with something similar to Crazy's design. Below was my attempt to show that. I dont think the garden is big enough to extend into.

I wouldn’t put utility/WC in middle as the noise will spoil the calm living room. Is back wall by stairs an option?

I would put the loo under the stairs, create a large ceiling to floor utility cupboard next to it (same doors as kitchen units) , get rid of the corridor and open the back room up, build a 2m extension with roof lights and have the back as kitchen/family room, possible french windows. I would keep a separate sitting room- a space for peace and quiet.

Thanks, everyone! I'm a pretty non-visual person, and these are just the kind of ideas I need see the space in new ways.

All of the houses in this street have the same problem with the ground floor- some have gone with the reception on the first floor solution, but a lot of people have dug out basements. We can't afford that - I'm not sure I'd survive the chaos either, frankly.

The reception on the first floor idea seems like something that might work for us as separate family space - would be partly a library (we have masses of books), lots of comfortable, squishy sofas, so kind of a lounge space (I think Australians call it a 'pajama room'). I'm guessing if we'd mostly entertain in the kitchen diner space anyway. We could put the TV upstairs, too, I guess, though I was thinking it would be great to have a space in the house without one.

The floor plan doesn't show stairs down to a cellar which are directly under the stairwell, meaning we can't put a loo in there, nor much in the way of storage- the space is (very cramped) head space for the stair well going down, ifyswim.

For those of you saying no extension, is that because it's just not worth it money-wise for a small extension- like 1.5 or 2m? Or because such a small resulting garden would totally put you off?