Dining or living area by the garden?

[iwantabreakfastpantry]

We have a square-ish area at the back of the house. The kitchen will take up almost half, going along the left, from front to back.

The right-side of the square will be divided into living & dining area - which would you put by the garden?

Assuming you can put doors where you want for quick access to the dining area then I’d put living room at the back. Which is a bit backwards compared to most houses but it’s how my MiL house is and she likes sitting looking at the garden and less road noise so works well.

Various factors to consider

• Will you be watching tv in the living area, if so then it may be better at the back

• Do you use your dining table all the time, or is it more likely you will use eg a breakfast bar daily. and the dining table is only for occasions/entertaining. If the latter then perhaps the table at the back

• will you have a garden dining area, if not then put the table near the garden so you can open up in summer

• Dining table/seating is higher than sofas, so if you have table at the back you can still see the garden from it as you can see past the sofa, but not vice versa

Would depend entirely on how you use the areas. Which are you in for the most time during daylight/when you would be enjoying the garden?

Dining

We're thinking of doing the same as we have a dining room/conservatory at the back which we are going to hopefully turn into an extension.
I would like a living area with bifold doors that open onto the garden. I think it would be lovely to sit on the sofa and open the doors onto the garden in the spring/summer. Also in the warmer evenings when it's maybe a tad cold to sit outside.

We put dining area looking at garden, I like sitting eating lunch looking at the garden, having people round and eating there too, it’s a light bright space. Can have a cup of tea or use it to wfh too.

We might switch it round in time and put a sofa in there and smaller breakfast bar….

Extension only been finished a few weeks so want to see how it works in summer.

Is the sitting area going to have a TV?
The layout and door positions of our room meant that there was only one place for TV and that determined that sitting was nearer the garden.
As someone pointed out, we have low profile sofas that don't block view of garden from dining area

Think it probably depends how you plan to use your house and garden. With youngish children I would put living area by the garden so you can watch them in the garden. With teens probably dining area by the garden especially if close to kitchen so they can hang out there with mates while you disappear to living area. No children at home I would probably put living area by garden so you can chill out and watch the wildlife.

Thanks all - it’s tricky to decide.
Children are 9y and 12y.

The natural layout of the kitchen (due to door positions) means that the island/peninsula is towards the garden end, which naturally lends to the dining table being there.
However, as we will have seating at the island, it would mean the dining table is not used that often so it could be a waste of garden views.

However, if the living area is near the business end of the kitchen then will it be too noisy with the dishwasher/sink?
Will it be too bright for the tv as most of the light will come from that end albeit north/north-westish facing?

Can you do a diagram?

I don't think I would assume that all eating will happen at the island?

If the layout is such that the dining area and living area will be open plan with the kitchen, I would probably put the dining room at the garden end - especially if it will have doors that open out into the garden? But that's because for me, being able to e.g. have food in the dining room (inside, out the sun) while dining outside, and being able to sit and eat breakfast etc looking at the garden would be more valuable to me.

If I had little ones I might prefer a sitting area so I could still see them easily while they played and I cooked. But then I would need to account for the fact that sofas near the cooker etc might absorb food smells...

Sorry, didn't see the children's ages in there.

Definitely need a diagram please.

If you’re going to have a tv in the living area I’d put the dining table near the garden.

If you put the dining table in the darker part it will likely never get used. Whereas people will use the sofa/tv wherever it is.

Depends on which way the window /outside doors face too - if the sun will be pouring in all day it's not so easy to see a tv screen - but that doesn't matter if you only use the space in the evening , unless it's west facing of course.

Another request for a diagram!

This is off the internet but is pretty close to the layout we want.
Arrow = current door
Under the stairs = loo
Red box = current short passageway into living area, which we are using for coats, bags etc. Door on the living room side is blocked off with furniture.

Dining room is currently a leaky, cold lean-to conservatory, which we want to knock down and make into a proper room.

Back of the house is north facing but not overlooked on either side or at the end.

We will have a shortened utility on the side - we won’t extend all the way to our front door (where they have the boot room), as it will block the light into the hallway from side window.

I think I would have yours the way you propose in that diagram - you'd still be able to see the kids, they can work at the dining table for homework if the island is full of cooking, and in the summer it will be lovely to open the doors for breakfast etc.

In this diagram you’d be sitting with your back to the garden, I think as I’d sit more than I’d eat I’d like to see the garden. Although it would be ideal if you could make it so flexible that you can swop things round whenever the notion takes you.

Thanks all.
We maybe able to fit the table perpendicular to the back wall so garden views can be seen by all, although those facing the right wall will have a very limited view.

Downside to heaving the seating area at the back is the dishwasher/sink, which will most likely be under the window, will be nearby and noisy.

Another thing we are pondering, money dependent, is having an opaque or glazed door between the south facing front room and the back.
The doors will give the rooms a flexible function and if glazed, it’ll help with light into the back rooms.
If we do that, it would make sense to have the dining room in the middle of the two living areas.

A nice problem to have but an expensive mistake to make!

I think what we will do is try various combos with our current furniture, once the build is done before committing to a layout

I wouldn’t make any of the back space a gurney seating area. Sitting with backs to the garden is fairly awful in my view. No pleasure at all. I would make the front room the sitting room and accept the seating at the back is in the working area of the house. Because it is! I would have sofas looking out over the garden. Dining doesn’t matter if you have dining at the kitchen island. Children can do homework there too. Or they could relax on the sofas. Change it around if it doesn’t work.

We have a similar layout. We currently have the living area to the rear and dining table by bifolds. We use the table when eating as a family. We did buy sofas which will fit by bifolds so we can be flexible with the layout. In the summer when not using our log burner at the rear we may move the sofas to look out on the garden. We won't have the TV though as fitted to the rear wall.

I'd have the kitchen area at the back. Swap the kitchen and sofa area round. Keep the table where it is and put in bigger bifolds so that the sofa looks out into the garden too.

I was going to say similar to @notangelinajolie - we have a similar square kitchen/diner/living room and we have the kitchen in a U shape in the middle of the house and a living area and dining area side by side next to the garden. I know a few others who have a similar layout and it seems to work well.

Thanks - good for though!

@CrumpledCrumpet - do you have a plan that you would be happy to share so I can visualise?