Where would you put the lounge & dining areas in this extension?

[MonChoufleur123]

Please see attached picture! Area A and the utility /WC are currently being built, then they will knock through from area B. The kitchen is already in situ and can't be changed.
Husband wants lounge to go in area A so you can talk to people on the sofa while cooking and sit looking out at the garden, with the dining table & chairs in area B.
I want the lounge in area B as I think noise from the kitchen & utility room would be annoying while watching TV, people will be walking in & out to the toilet / utility room and it would be nice to have chairs arranged around the fire. Plus easier to pass food over to the dining table from the kitchen if it's in area A.
Your thoughts please! Plus anything else we should take into consideration with this layout or an open plan kitchen /dîner /lounge in general? Thank you!

I think living room in B, the fireplace is a better focal point for a living room. And dining room in A. If it’s the other way around the dining area would be twice as big as the living area which seems a bit weird.

Also this is probably not what you want to hear but my house is open plan kitchen, living room and dining room and I hate it and am looking forward to moving to a house with separated rooms. It’s cold, noisy and difficult to decorate.

Thanks @TuftyMarmoset - we are lucky that we have a front room as well which I think we'll use a lot in winter as it has a wood burning stove and is small and cosy!

A dining table, B lounge.

A dining table, B living room no question

A dining table, B sitting room (not lounge! Please!)

A dining, B lounge. As per your preference...

The fact that you have another sitting room makes me want to agree with your dh. When my children were little we had the dining table in the kitchen then a snug for them to watch tv etc. When the youngest was about 9 we switched them and I love it!
We sit in the kitchen on the sofas all the time and take our meals in the dining room. Often, we clear the table snd load the dishwasher then the teens naturally stay with us.

We also have another sitting room. (Or lounge- call it what you want! Ours is weirdly the ‘end room’!!)

A is dining, B is lounge. have comfy dining chairs and people can sit in at the dining table between meals anyway. my kids spend most of their time there, with laptops for schoolwork / minecraft or with craft & jigsaws.

Initially I thought you were right, then I read your update about a second lounge/sitting room. With that in mind I think he's probably right-ish. I'd make the space attached to the kitchen into a far less formal seating area with only a small TV so the focus was on cooking/chatting and I'd also have a record player and stuff so I could listen to vinyl while cooking/chilling.

Then you'd have a really lovely, big dining space, which actually looks big enough to have a couple of comfy chairs each side of the fireplace anyway, so a win-win.

Either way it looks a fab extension and it will be lovely to have such a great space to enjoy and I hope you do really enjoy it! Maybe keep it flexible, doesn't have to always be A for this and B for that as PPs have found.

I can see good reasons dor having sofas in area A bit with the double doors opening into the garden I can't see where they would go? So I would go for dining here.

*but either the double doors

• but with. Grr fat fingers!

A dining table, B lounge.

Try the sofa in the kitchen and swap of it doesn't work? We have a sofa in our kitchen and I love it because people sir and chat and cook at the same time which is really nice

Lounge in area B. A couple of chairs or sitting at the table is sufficient to be sociable in the kitchen.

I'd hope you have some doors in there somewhere, as well, no shut off from the kitchen or upstairs, without.

But, if you already have a separate lounge, nice big table in B.

You could put a smallish armchair top left of A so hubby can sit and look at garden / chat but mainly have that as dining area - and then B is main sitting area.

You could also consider a door (such as a pocket sliding door into a recess for a low profile - or a pair of partially glazed French doors or Crittall doors) between A and B so you can cut off between the two rooms when you wanted to avoid noise / kitchen smells in B - but would be able to have them open most of time as shown.

Thanks for all the feedback! Really useful comments... I can see advantages of both now...
Our front room looks out onto a busy main road that is fairly noisy in the day but quietens down at night so it's nice to use in the evening and v cosy in winter with the log burner on. We're envisioning that as a toy-free zone where we can relax once the kids are in bed. We have 2 under fives so really looking forward to having a space where I can cook & clear up while being able to see them then launch all the toys into the cupboard under the stairs once extension is done. We don't have people round to dinner much atm but I guess we might when they're a bit older and we're less knackered!!

Could you fit in something like this so it's a bit comfier for sitting?

www.furniturevillage.co.uk/central-park-dining-table-left-hand-facing-corner-bench-and-standard-bench-multi-saver-set/CENPFSET3-001.html?istCompanyId=32a7a394-6440-4007-a75f-7a392507ff63&istFeedId=5bb8bce3-d094-4c41-8359-a452a69a72e3&istItemId=itxatllqt&istBid=t&landing=true&_$ja=tsid:%7ccid:8637507513%7cagid:84187101542%7ctid:pla-919098176783%7ccrid:406749074341%7cnw:u%7crnd:45270778965274301%7cdvc:m%7cadp:%7cloc:9046874&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=8637507513&cq_con=84187101542&cq_term=&cq_med=&cq_plac=&cq_net=u&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAiAnO2MBhApEiwA8q0HYQYtP96Ix-3Uqgj068RsLZ32eeyhacU5PaOtMe1WVZ6EEBkZTBoN1BoCbk0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or are you having seating at your island? In which case will you use a separate table or would you be better with a sofa and lift up coffee table type set up?

I think the front room is definitely the cosy space but do the back to suit how you live and not because you think you should have formal dining space

That table and chairs is lovely @Calmdown14 thank you for the suggestion - might be a good compromise. I don't think we'll have room for bar stools at the kitchen island unfortunately would just be trying to cram too many things in. Need to leave space for toys & dog baskets !!

Perhaps use the kitchen as sitting/play area while the children are young - chairs/sofa and toy boxes, with easy access to run in and out of the garden. Leaves room B as a clutter free zone for eating and easy to entertain in.