Kitchen layout ideas - anyone fancy a REAL challenge?

[crazyhouserevamp]

Do we need an architect/a kitchen designer/a good builder or a psychiatrist? I have no idea what to say to kitchen designers. I am not sure they will believe me how bonkers the room is.

We're not in a massive rush. Lived with it for 17 years already but it is really starting to grate on me know and not looking forward to another cold winter in there

No idea why we bought it but here we are 17 years later with good schools and transport links and all the amenities we could ask for but a truly nightmare kitchen. Moving isn't a realistic option. Over the 17 years we have sorted the rest of the house but the idea of doing the kitchen and getting it wrong and wasting loads of money terrrifies me. As well as all the disruption.

This will read like an exam for design students. But I promise it is real. Our house is an old end terrace (no foundations as such) with a 100% north facing kitchen.

We've done a few things.
At some stage (before us) the owners put on a small extension across the back of the house. They knocked out the back wall. Leaving a very dark original sitting room more or less enclosed. The extension can't be any larger due to a mains drain running across the back of the house. The kitchen is now about 40metres square but as with old houses nothing is square. The picture attached shows that the room tapers towards the back of the house.

We have since knocked the original wall between the original kitchen and sitting room to open all 3 sections up properly. As a result we lost most of our heat sources. So we put in a log burner in the chimney breast (probably a mistake). In winter the kitchen is freezing unless it is lit. We levelled up the floors and put down cheap vinyl as a temporary measure.

We've booked a few kitchen design appointments for the next few weeks. I'm hoping they will suggest things but I think they will want me to have some ideas.

The little utility room needs to stay but I want to get the washing machine/tumble dryer and boiler out of there to put in a shower. There is no room upstairs for one. I don't mind them being noisy in the kitchen

We need heat - I am willing to take out the log burner. But I don't really fancy a range cooker in that space and I have a feeling that will be suggested.

We don't want to lose any light. We would like to put Veluxes in the extension (single storey) but there is a beam across the back which will steal some of the light we gain from them.

I think we need to keep the 2 doors into the space or else the hall will look weird.

We realise we need some building work done before we get the kitchen installed but I need to know where the kitchen will be going so that I can book a builder.

That’s great - I’m sure you’ll get suggestions you hadn’t though of

Good luck OP. And remember if he’s not listening/ suggest ing the ridiculous then you may need to find someone else.

Is that extension single storey, OP? Would a lantern window in the roof or skylights bring more light in?

We happily lived with an underwhelming kitchen for about as long as you. I'm guessing the extension went up in the early 80's/late 70's. It took a baby (and a chunk of redundancy money) to persuade us to change it. We'd originally planned to just fiddle about with kitchen layout and ended up tearing it down, excavating to put u/floor heating and proper foundations in.... The builders pulled it down in a day with mostly brute strength. I guess my point is, do fix the building first if you want it to be warmer.

I am in a terrace of 20, and I think 1/2 have extensions a bit like yours. Of those, about half have kept the kitchen in the middle of the house (either open plan or with glass doors to the front room) with a dining room/family room at the back.

🙏

single storey was build just before we bought in 2005 - we've seen the paperwork. We took out the middle wall in 2008 - we have the building regs for that.
Skylights will help a bit but the beam will block some of the light gain

I said on the phone I don't want to spend too much. it will always been a north facing end of terrace in Swansea - will never be worth much more than it currently is. I don't see it as "investing" in it at all I want to live in it more comfortably. I doubt we would even get back what we have already spent on it - wall ties, new roof, new windows and door (not in kitchen), rerendering outside , dampproofing etc

Then make sure you do it do you really enjoy living in it. There’s no price on loving your home!

I’ve sent you the link to the designer. Honestly she was great. I’m not sure an architect would have been any better.

Here’s some photos of her mock up and then the reality after the build.

The middle photo is before the glass splashback was installed

Your kitchen looks really lovely. I hope the op will feel inspired. Your skylight looks awesome, did she design that too?

What do you want to gain that you don't have now? Start a list.

I have a similar terrace. We had the strange dark middle room which would have been the original kitchen before extension.

I put the kitchen back in the middle. Easier to light with good undercounter lights etc. Made sure got acrylic faced to bounce light around.

I then used end room (with new pitched roof and skylight) as a sitting room. It gets great afternoon sun and is much nicer to sit in than the middle ever was

Realise this will mean moving your woodburner so more complicated. But you could have a lovely shape kitchen then with a range and maybe some kind of peninsula.

We also had a utility carving up the space. I took that out and hid all the appliances (built in) under a wooden worktop running the length. You have a downstairs loo so again, more difficult but is it really in the best position where it is?

I'd stand in your space and really think about what you want to do where and work from that

Love stuff like this. We renovate houses for a living and not so long ago built an extension over a main drain. (4yrs ago?) It was complicated with the involvement from the water board etc but is possible. We had to get Build over Sewer permission from them then bridge over the sewer. (We used a block and beam floor which worked really well as kept the levels lower). In that situation it was well worth the effort.

Appreciate your situation is different and may not be possible practically, (also you may not want to!) but just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks everyone. Keep the ideas coming. The architect is coming next week. I’m feeling a bit more confident we can achieve something nice

Wessex Water (my local co) are currently charging £325 for a "build over" application.
Don't rule it out.

I think she has already been recommended, but I would urge you to get in contact with Karen @ OnePlanHouzz. We had a similarly difficult layout issue which needed completely re-jigging and she came up with a really good design and ideas that we had never thought of. One year post building work and we are so happy with the finished product! One of her design ideas was to create a utility cupboard hidden behind a set of sliding doors which fitted washing machine, dryer (side by side) & boiler, with worktop over and one of the ceiling hung drying racks. I had wanted a utility room to keep it separate but sadly we didn’t have the space and this was a fantastic compromise. Everyone who visits loves our finished space! Her design input is well worth her fee. Good luck!

Sorry - I should also add that our space also needed structural walls taking out and studs put in different places so this is within the scope of her work. We did need to get a structural engineer to do the steel calcs after her design was complete and it was signed off by building control

Knocking out the chimney will give you loads more flexibility. I'm not a fan of range cookers jammed in between walls anyway. then you would have a big, clear space to lay out a good kitchen, a worktable island (not for perching) and a bit of seating(2 options shown) and your table near the garden. Sometimes investing in getting the structure right makes everything else cheaper.

Use all the tricks to lighten up the middle - rooflights, daylight LEDs, light colours, mirrors etc.

Here is another option that I think it fairly simple

build a wall to cut off an L-shape around the top-left corner of the room. you can probably keep the old fireplace if needed. Put the WC in the lower left of this space (near the existing plumbing) and the shower in the top left (red S). Then the washing machine & dryer in the top-right (WM). As suggested above, make the hall door here into a fake door and have a real wall. This L-shaped space will give you the loo / shower / utility room that you need plus some storage space etc.

then in the rest of the space, you maximise the light for your kitchen. so you can have a nice round table to eat at (T), one big run of worksurface with sink (blue S), hob (H) and fridge (F). plus an island (I) with seating that looks out to the garden.

Another option might be to ditch the island and have a giant fridge-Freezer against the wall of the WC, looking into the kitchen.

you may also be able to do electric underfloor heating which takes up much less space than water pipes.

here is version 2 with no island. i've given a bit more space to the bathroom which lets you shift the washing machine along to be near the shower (red S) and then there is room for a great big pantry (P) as well.

This is exactly what I would do too

Personally I would make the space work first. Then think through your kitchen layout.

I would knock through the living room into the old sitting room, that will bring in some light. Get rid of the 2 doors and bit of wall into the sitting room, RSJ may be necessary. If you can remove the loo and put it under the stairs then I would. Don’t know what WM/TD means - is that the utility? I’d get rid of that too. Then you’d have much more space to work with.

If the chimney breast isn’t loadbearing it would be worth taking it out. If not it can be hacked into and your stove located there.

You should be able to build over a mains drain, you just need a bridge and the correct permissions.

Thanks TD/WM means washing machine/tumble drier. I have considered the toilet under the stairs but I have seen no many really grotty ones that it puts me off. What we have now is not right I know that 100% but I want to get it right.

The room is actually very big already but just bonkers

I am coming to realise we may be able to take out chimney and perhaps go out a bit further (over drains) for shower etc.

I'll report back

Treat yourself to a couple of episodes of Your Home Made Perfect on iPlayer to appreciate the benefits of an architect when trying to solve tricky problems like yours.

I've only just discovered it myself so havent watched them all, but Series 1 Ep 4 involves a Victorian Terrace rear extension and a £40k budget.

Definitely don't rule out building over the sewer - we had the same with a public sewer running across the back, had to dogleg around the manhole and put in a new rodding eye further back but we did get approval.