Kitchen diner very dark. How do i allow more light in?

[YourBlueBeaker]

Hi everyone
I am in a bit of a dilemma here.

I have a bought a house where the Kitchen Diner is very dark. Attached some images below however the pictures attached make the place seem a lot brighter than it actually is. The kitchen seems to be dark because of the conservatory attached to the kitchen extension and its polycarbonate roof. I have installed a sky light in the kitchen extension however it hasn't helped much.

I was thinking of removing the conservatory but was worried it will devalue the property.

The conservatory itself needs a need roof, some new double glazing and the french doors repairing, so quite a big investment and not sure if doing all that work would be worth it for the house value in the end.

Anyone had a similar situation and managed to sort it. Or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated it.

I would lose the conservatory. To be honest when I was house hunting I immediately dismissed any house with one. I would also look into replacing those small high up windows with bigger ones as that would seem a natural place to bring in light.

What aspect is it? Do you need the conservatory? I’d be tempted to embrace the fact it’s dark and rely on investing in great lighting at different levels. We have a really dingey 7mx3m north facing living room, it’s so much better now I’ve just accepted it almost always needs the lighting on in there - I have lamps, nice overhead and fairy lights

We removed a conservatory in a previous property. I hate them. No idea if it made a difference to the sale price when we moved on, I didn't lose any money. In current property we kept it as we need the space for storage.
I think I've in prior state could devalue a property.
My neighbour has one and loves hers, spend most of her time in there.

Large mirrors can help.

Get rid of the conservatory. Build an extension out the back to increase the size of your kitchen.

Literally no point spending any money on the conservatory. They are not a selling point to virtually anyone. You might as well burn money.

Do you actually like the conservatory? Would you use it? We just used the one at our old house for drying clothes. It was a wasted space

Why are you worrying about devaluing the property unless you are planning on moving again so soon? If anything a conservatory in need of repairs will devalue your property more than removing it,

How long are you planning on staying there OP?

I agree with @LindaDawn why are you worrying about devaluing a property? Are you going to flip it?

The grubby walls aren't helping?

I'd go for a nice low light feature over the dining table and make the most of the cosiness. Layer your lighting so have table lamps / wall lamps / fairy lights depending on your taste. Make sure it's warm white never cold! Agree with pp just lean into the darkness by making the room cosy.

Swap the kitchen into the darker dining area, remove the conservatory and then you can put big sliding doors out into the garden where the current kitchen is and use that area for a dining table.

What is the orientation of the house? Can you get any more light in by putting windows at the side, if the sun passes that way?

Can you add a sun tunnel? Depends on your layout upstairs obviously, but they can make a real difference.

Only get rid of conservatory if its of no use or you, or pets!

If you're likely to replace kitchen at some point, consider white/cream units.

One thing I'd advise not to do is piant the room yellow Our living room with added extension was almond white, we repainted yellow thinking it'd brighten it up which certainly hasn't worked

Ditch the conservatory, especially as it needs work. Paint the kitchen a warm dark colour and add mood lighting. Add a couple of reflective splasbaxks. Maybe a mirror.

I have exactly the same layout an issue!

I will be taking down the conservatory but in the meantime, I have lighting and more lighting which has made all the difference to how it feels.

I know what you mean - one of our houses had a conservatory next to the dining room which made the dining room dark. Our conservatory also needed work doing to it as was poorly constructed with a leaky roof.

I would get your conservatory removed rather than spend lots of money on it. Not many people seem to like them these days anyway as expensive to heat in winter or else icy cold.

Agree with the above, get rid of conservatory, move kitchen to darker area, move dining table to light area and if possible add patio doors

I wouldn't invest money into a conservatory that is making one of the main rooms in the house dark.

I wouldn't buy a house with a conservatory so it wouldn't devalue the property for me.

Bring the functional part of the kitchen into the darker area of the bigger room and put sliding doors out into the garden when their window is. Get rid of conservatory.
have dining table overlooking garden.

How much are you willing to spend? If the layout is now fixed, I’d go with lighting solution, or maybe possible/practical to put a larger window in the hall?
Personally I’d keep the conservatory for pets, clothes drying, kids, bike repair, summer bbq washout shelter, etc etc.

Yeah would like to do that long term, not sure I have enough money currently.

I dont actually mind the conservatory, its ok in the spring but probably wont use it long term. Thanks for the suggestions.

At the moment, I dont think have enough money to put a solid roof on it, i heard its around 6-8k.

Wanted to put a larger window in the hall however the other side of it is the neighbours garden but thanks for the suggestions.

Will investigate, thanks for the suggestion

I think its north facing, in the morning the sun comes through the kitchen first. And to the right of the conservatory from the kitchen, its neighbour gardens unfortunately so not sure I can put windows there but thanks for the suggestions.

I think at least 5-10 years. Unfortunately I bought the house during the peak of house prices and have already spent alot of money that i'm not sure im going to get back. Not looking for a flip but hopefully not a loss either.

Unfortunately I bought at the peak of house prices and have spent quite alot of money of it already.