Kitchen design help

[TeddyBeans]

I've seen a few of these threads now and the ideas that get thrown up are pretty awesome. So DP and I are buying our first property together. The kitchen is DP's first target for updating but we're struggling with the layout.

Must haves:

Dishwasher, washing machine and sink all under the window
Oven to stay where it is
As much counter space as possible

There's a gas meter in the far corner under the window (near the oven) which would need to be accessible. We're planning on using the utility as a dining room. It has a large built in cupboard that we're considering using to house a fridge freezer or as a larder cupboard.

Help!

Floor plans for good measure

The obvious thing to do is knock out the two built in cupboards and remove the wall between the kitchen and utility completely to make it one room.

Assuming that is the old back wall of the house knocking through might not be too easy.
Simpler things: could the built in cupboard in the kitchen be taken out? Give longer wall space.
The worktop space the other side of the sink feels overly large as it is pretty useless. At the very least would swap the draining board to the opposite side.
Could the cooker go on the short wall opposite the sink? Hard to tell how long it is. Find back to back easier than fighting over a corner if someone is cooking and it gives you a great clear run of worktop.
Consider where your microwave might go and factor in wall mounted one to keep worksurface clear

Sorry should have made clear it's a flat and the 'utility room' is an enclosed balcony so can't go knocking down walls. The built in in the kitchen houses the boiler so not sure we can do much about that one either.

We were considering turning the sink so the drainer is on the other side. Do ovens come with quite long cables? We don't want to be spending loads on moving electrics if we don't have to

Removing what was an external wall is not difficult - it'll probably need a steel but it's not a huge job nor is it as expensive as you might think. We did it in our house. A structural engineer did the calculations and building control had to oversee and sign off on it. The flexibility of not having to work around pillars or part walls is well worth it.

You might also want to look into getting the gas meter moved to the outside wall.

Even then it won't be a huge room, however with careful planning it could work very well. Look at putting a normal sized door from the hall into the kitchen as the large opening as it is will hamper the design and layout.

Is it a flat or a bungalow?

So basically, swap the cooker for the fridge then it gives you the whole back wall for (where cooker hood current is) for top units and keeps more of the width to make it feel more open.
Put an upright fridge freezer where the tall cupboard is either in it or knock it all out if possible

Scrap most of that then. Get a kitchen designer to look at it for you. It's worth sorting out things like electrics, pipework etc when you're doing a project like this because they're not as disruptive when you've already got an empty shell and often not as expensive as you might think.

if the utility used to be the balcony, does it have proper insulated walls & double glazed windows? If so, then I agree with PP that you could open it up fully for one big room.

Or if not, you either need to make it a real room with insulation etc, or it needs to stay as a utility. I don't think you can have an unheated dining room.

Or, if you can remove the boiler cupboard (boiler could possibly just go in a top cupboard) you might just be able to do a u shape and put a couple of half depth cupboards and bar stools underneath as it does sound like the potential dining room could be very cold

I'd keep it simple. Leave your oven/hob where it is. Put an upright fridge/freezer by the door, fill in that glass brick bit. Shoogle your sink over to the right and change the drainer to the left. Dishwasher under the drainer, washing machine next to dishwasher. Remove the door to the dining room and remove the cupboard.

P. S. I didn't mean the fridge should stick out into the entry to the kitchen. It should match up with the edge!

The fact that the opening from the hall to the kitchen is twice the size of a standard doorway is impacting on the usable wall space for the kitchen. I'd put a stud wall up and get a door.

The balcony has a PVC wall and double glazed windows. We're going to extend the power out there so we can have an electric radiator.

I'm not sure if we can remove the cupboard. It would need looking at by a structural engineer and the managing agent of the block to agree but I won't rule it out completely.

The doorway into the kitchen isn't larger than a normal door. It's just made to look that way on the floorplan for some reason 🤷‍♀️

Thanks for the ideas everyone! Some food for thought here