Which floor plan? Photos included.

[Honkeywonkeydonkey]

Please help me decide which floor plan for my mid terraced Victorian house. Apologies for the rubbish drawings.
Option 1 is current lay out and would be significantly cheaper however we don’t have a dining kitchen (just small breakfast bar).
Option 2 would be significantly more expensive to put french doors in and would also mean ripping out the original fireplace and alcove which I would find quite sad (sacrilegious to remove lovely original features!). But a utility would be nice and give us a dining kitchen.

We don’t want to knock through as that means blocking the kitchen door which means the hall would be too dark and we want separate spaces. Can’t afford to extend either.

Where is the fireplace?

Where the kitchens units would be in option 2 (right hand wall). The kitchen units couldn’t go anywhere else sadly.

Why don't you want to knock through the wall between DR and kitchen? Could be kept separate with double doors?

Where are the stairs, is this the whole ground floor?

I would keep the kitchen where it is, and put double pocket doors/ glass doors into the dining room so you can keep your original features there

I have done several renovations and a good working family kitchen doesn't have to be huge, it just needs to be well planned.

In your dining room you could fit storage for china, and extra kitchen equipment that you don't use too often.

We wouldn’t do this or knock through because losing the wall means we not only lose separate space but we lose some kitchen as we lose the wall and the ceiling heights are different. So it would be option 1 or 2 only I’m afraid.

We have a front lounge.

Can you knock through without blocking the kitchen door? Not possible to reel from the drawing. Or include some glass or something to let light through? I would probably trade light in a hallway for better living space.

Good point. The current kitchen isn’t tiny either.

No. I know open plan is popular but we don’t want to knock through. I love how light my hallway is, I love seeing the garden as soon as I walk in the front door. It would be option 1 or 2.

Then I'd think about your family set up and which layout will work best on a daily basis.

Do you have children? In that case I'd go for option 2 as family life tends to revolve around the kitchen.

Keep the kitchen where it is. Close off the door from kitchen to garden and use that for kitchen units. Put sn archway between kitchen and dining room and French doors from dining room into the garden. (I appreciate this may not be in budget - but I think that's what I would do with that layout if I could)

Yes we have children and we work from home.

Where is the door to the DR in pic1?

Sorry it’s where it is in option 1.

Yes - how do you currently get into dining room, and can you get directly from dining room to kitchen at the moment or is it via the hall? (It’s a bit confusing with only part of the floor plan)

Sorry it’s confusing. Access to both are from the hallway. Lounge is at front of house, next to dining room. Typical terraced layout.

do you mean in option 2?

I agree with above - you can have lots more storage in the dining room in option 1, for plates, glasses, less used equipment (bread maker food mixer etc). This is obv easier to manage if there’s direct movement between the two rooms but as the doorways are adjacent it might be doable easily enough with good planning.

I’ve included the downstairs layout

Thanks.

Thanks but it is option 1 or 2 for us and I’m interested between those options. We don’t want to knock through.

If it’s only between 1 or 2, I’d go for option 2 as I’d want the kitchen to have a big table in it. Plus you’ll also then have a play room and utility.

Option 2, but retain the chimney breast and put your cooker in it? Admittedly you won’t have an original fireplace anymore, but it will be cheaper than knocking it out, as that’s likely to be structural and expensive. You could have a lovely mantel over the cooker instead.

Alternatively, if losing your fireplace is a deal breaker, I would stick with option one, but put in a second dining room doorway or opening to the kitchen so you can use both rooms together more effectively. No need to lose the existing door to the hall if you don’t want to.

It really depends on how you live as a family. We tend to congregate in the kitchen so a larger, more sociable space would be preferable, hence favouring option 2.