Should I remove kitchen walls?

[JaffacakeJanine]

Me and DP are thinking about removing the walls to our kitchen in our ground floor flat (converted 1920s house). The wall is non-load bearing so won't be a huge issue on that end. The flat itself is quite poky (around 55sqm) and dark so I'm hoping it may help it feel a tad more light and spacious. We are a bit concerned it may be a fire safety issue, however. Right now there isn't a door in the doorway, just a doorframe. I've attached a screenshot with the wall in red to give some context (and also the size of the flat!)

Should we do it? Could it put off potential buyers in future / be flagged in a survey?

This made me think of one of the flats linked in another thread this week (the one about the £1.2m flat in London that isn't selling, but it was another flat someone linked to). I remember it had a kitchen without walls, in a not dissimilar way to what you're suggesting.

Here - www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124507916#/?channel=RES_BUY

In this example it feels quite open and sociable. Not so open to living furniture that you get the smells everywhere, but open enough that it feels like the heart of the house.

In your example, it might not be as nice for the person in the end bedroom though, as they might feel closer to the kitchen if it's not walled.

What do you think of this example?

That is a good point with the end bedroom, right now we use it as a study so I suppose we aren't thinking about it in that way! Washing machine noise could be disturbing for a potential seller. We do intend to sell in 5-10 years time so food for thought.

I'm in two minds with the other flat you sent, in that sometimes it can be quite noisy with pans clashing around and a washing machine when you are trying to watch TV or relax! But it would be amazing to chat while you cook and it would feel fabulously open.

I think it could probably look a bit odd as it's sandwiched between a bathroom and a bedroom, and would end up looking like a big alcove with some kitchen cabinets in.
It would flow better if it was next to the reception rooms.

What’s your budget? Knock down the wall between the bedroom and lounge and make a big open space kitchen-dining-living, have the previous kitchen as a study?

Yea I agree with @Weefreetiffany. I'd move kitchen to the bedroom off livingroom and open that up (probably load bearing so would need a steel beam and permission from freeholder). It does make the ex kitchen now bedroom a small one, but fine if just an office/spare room.

Like this, remove the redundant corridor and have a door to the bedrooms and bathroom.

Alas our budget will not stretch that far, as much as I dream (very into Your Home Made Perfect where all the walls come down 😍)

We are trying to keep total renos for the whole flat around 25k, we need to do plastering, floors, kitchen, bathroom, garden etc. So I think generally needing to stick to that floorplan. The reason I mentioned that wall as it isn't load bearing, so it's relatively cheap to get down. I agree it's a bit clumsy with the bathroom in that position, I bet there used to be an outhouse in the original building and that was a big kitchen once upon a time! It's mainly trying to make the best of a bit of a bad situation annoyingly.

Another consideration I had was the space is small and awkward to fit a kitchen into, and having the walls removed may give us a tinyy bit of breathing room. But I'm getting the impression most folks wouldn't enjoy the wall down, so it might be we have to spend a bit more on a fitted kitchen to get it nice and snug.

I agree with making the bedroom next to the sitting room into the kitchen. This shouldn’t be too hard as you have water on the other side of the wall. I wouldn’t knock any walls down, I think the trend for open plan is turning. Personally I like to shut the door on the kitchen and sit down without staring at a load of used pans.
Currently it seems a bit awkward to carry food along the corridor? If you move the kitchen, you have a more clearly defined living/ sleeping space division.

Would you be able to use the front room as a bedroom and open up the kitchen and back bedroom into the main kitchen/ dining / living space?