Help with space planning I'm stuck!

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi everyone,

I'm really stuck with how to layout my new extension.

Basically the current layout, is the lounge at the front of the house is 4 meters by 4.5 meters wide, and the kitchen 3 metre long by 4.5 metres. So it's not a huge house. I'm putting on an extension at the back of the house to add additional 4 meters. So now the kitchen/living area will be approx 7 meters.

However I'm really unsure how to do the new layout. I'd like a sofa area at the end facing the garden, with a tv. A decent size kitchen and a utility room. In terms of dining, I have a lovely Scandinavian style table which I'd love to keep but I'm not sure if there is room. I could have a breakfast bar, but I feel that's a bit limited with dining.

I'm really not sure what to do! A friend today said to turn the front room into my dining room as it'll turn into dead space. But I'm still not sure if I like that idea either. Help!

Attached is the current architect plans, he said there isn't room for a table.

Anyone? 🤷‍♀️

If your table is essential, for dining, entertaining, doing homework on etc, then it seems it has to go somewhere else. Although a room that is just a dining room I feel is a waste.

Or make do with a breakfast bar or a pull down table, extendable table?

Oh I hadn't thought of a pull down table before, I'll have a look 👍 thank you!

I agree a room for just a table is a huge waste and I do like our cosy lounge. So I'll forget about that idea. I just need to come up with a proper dining solution.

you should definitely have a proper dining table - in our house, that is the centre of the house (not the sofa).

So that means either the existing sitting room should become a dining room with a decent table (space for 6) plus some cupboards for plates / craft things / laptops / whatever. And then the new room near the garden can be a proper sitting room with comfy chairs but no food table. If you do that, you will always eat in the dining room & make good use of the space.

Or swap the two around so the front room stays as the formal sitting room and the back room near the garden is a dining room. But I'd probably do the first option.

Thanks 😊

I've actually done some measuring this evening to see how it would all fit, and I can get it all in.

Any of the attached plans should theoretically work. If I go with plan 1, putting sofa, table and utility room on the right hand side it would leave approx 2 meters between everything and that is with chairs fully out.

Have you thought about moving the kitchen to one end? You could utilise the wall space and therefore reduce the size of the island

I have, but I'd like a wall mounted tv there. I can see myself basically living in this end of the house 😂 but I have a 7 year old so her toys etc will be at the front of the house. I'm still very open to different ideas at this stage. I don't want to keep annoying my poor architect with my different plans. So far what he has produced I'm not happy with, so I thought I'd go away and try and find a solution myself!

I don't think you have enough walls.

I'd reinstate at least part of the wall between the front room and the kitchen, otherwise you have hardly anywhere to put furniture. What's the point of two sitting areas with no division. If you have kids you'll want to watch different telly at some point.

I have a similar layout although we have a hall so separate front lounge.

I have a u shaped kitchen (marked in blue). I kept everything under counter to maximize space and the table is at the opposite side with a built in bench. I have a long but thin scandi style table and built in bench seat.

In the back room I have a sofa on one side and on the other a run of units the whole length with a wooden worktop so it looks like a massive dresser with the TV above. In here I hid the washing machine, a second fridge and two under counter freezers and a couple of narrow cupboards for storage) (meaning a lot was kept out of the kitchen but it just looks like cupboards).
You mentioned a utility but where is it on the plans?

Obviously it depends how you live. Ours is to suit family life. It's a family table but not really where you'd entertain

If you are a young couple that like having parties I'd say your friend is right and the obvious place for the table is the front room

Forgot the plan

Thanks! We are small family, me and my little girl, but we are very sociable and family and friends over all the time.

I've decided I don't like the idea of a dining room in the current lounge. Seems very odd!

I'd like to go with plan 2 however the utility room would be a windowless room. I'm not sure what I would do with airing the room if I've got a clothes dryer in there?

Can it have an extractor fan? Is it on an outside wall?

Have you measured out what the utility takes up in footprint and how useable that is?

We took ours out. It ruined the light and made the layout awkward. It would have been more worth it if you didn't whack your arse on the wall every time you bent down to put on the washer!

Did you say it's only 4.5m wide? It seems quite tight. You need to do your drawings on graph paper to scale

Is there space to have the dining table under the TV, if it's going to be wall mounted? That's assuming you would be most likely to watch TV from the sofa than the dining table.

I think I'm going to go with this plan, I've spoken to my architect to ask him to put the drawings together.

Especially I'm going to take away the wall on the right hand side (it's only a stud wall) and put the utility room there. So it'll eat into part of the dead space in current lounge. I've taken down the dimensions of my friends utility room and basing it on that.

Fingers crossed it'll work!

I think putting a utility room there will really ruin the flow if you are going open plan! Is there room for washer / dryer under your stairs? Or maybe stacked in the kitchen area behind a sliding door same style as kitchen units?

Re the table: I think you should definitely have a dining table for entertaining / homework etc. Is there any reason why you need another sofa and TV in your new extension? Could you make do with a smaller TV you can watch whilst using kitchen and perhaps a nice armchair and put the table in that space?!

Just wanted to add something about not having enough space for a dining table....Have you thought about having a built in bench seat along the wall that's in the current living room? It's a really space saving way of having a dining table as you don't need the space to walk around one side and the table will be pushed right up to it. Also if it's built in you can have storage under the seats for toys etc. We had one built in our last kitchen diner and got a bespoke, very comfy but washable seat cushion made for it, as a family we did everything there.

Why do you actually need a utility room??
can’t you just have a washing machine built into a slightly larger kitchen area? You could have a line dryer mounted in the upstairs bathroom/ hallway for when you can’t hang clothes outside

Little miss I'm starting to think this might be a better idea. Though I do want the clothes dryer in a closed smaller room. The washing machine can go into the main kitchen area.

I don't have the room to put the washing elsewhere in the house, and I hate having it out on display.

It's an absolute must for me in the new design that I hide it away 🤣

It can really easily be built into a cupboard, will cost a lot less than building a proper room( that will probably be too small to use really easily)

Look on Pinterest for built in washing machine ideas, there’s loads

We have a large cupboard in the kitchen which houses washer, dryer, boiler. It has big shelves for washing powder etc and an additional cupboard above. So not a utility room as such, more of a utility cupboard, but it works great.

It sits at the side of the oven tower, which runs into the kitchen units, so there is no lump of a cupboard sticking out.

Is this something that could work for you?

Are you meaning a tumble dryer or a clothes airer?
I'd assumed you meant tumble dryer until your latest post - you could just have that within the kitchen like you would a washing machine - Google stacked washer/dryer.

But your new post makes me think you're planning a little utility for a clothes horse/airer - I think that is an AWFUL idea. Your washing will take days to dry and then stink.

You absolutely can't put your clothes to dry in an unventilated cupboard, especially one with no source of heat.

You'd be better finding something that can go over your bannister.

Do you have a garden? Our compromise on getting rid of the utility room (which was too small to be useful and ruined the space) was to have a half size tumble dryer on a shelf in the shed. It works really well. We peg our year round but handy for finishing things off.

Agree with everyone else that clever built in/hidden makes far more sense. You haven't marked on your plan where the door to utility would be but that's more dead space

I have exactly the same space and layout but the area near the entrance door does not have any light (garage conversion).
I am a single mother with one DD.
The space most lived with your DD will be the kitchen and not the sofa, I would put the sofa area on the side of the entrance and have that one only with telly. I would choose to have the table in the middle with a built in seat to take less space. Kitchen in the end with a little isle where two people can have coffee.
Laundry under the stairs ( where I also have the tiniest of cloakrooms).
In an open space the problem is really that you need to visually divide the areas, I did this with an IKEA floor to ceiling open bookcase
But I agree with you, Laundry os annoying and with the cost of electricity raising youay want a laundry room.

What about putting your laundry room upstairs? Then it's completely out of the way - any space up there?!

There's no room upstairs for a laundry room unfortunately.

However I think I've come up with a plan that works. See attached. Plus I've found a utility area that should work in my space.

Essentially I'm going to move the current wall on the right hand side slightly back and in front of it will go the utility area. Basically the clothes dryer with a window and radiator inside. The other side I'd like things like my iron to go in it and possible the washing machine if it's not too wide. Otherwise I can incorporate the washing machine in my kitchen design on the left hand side.

Under the stairs I'll put additional storage and a small sink and toilet.

I'll make the wall on the left hand side shorter, to give everything a more open plan feel.

For us, I definitely want a sofa by the kitchen. I'm very much an outdoorsy person. It's been a dream of mine to sit facing the garden so this is something I won't budge on. I want it to be a chilled family entertaining space.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the front room. I'll probably just leave it as it is, and see how we 'live' once the extension has been done and we start living in the new space.