Turn beautiful second reception room into mediocre kitchen / diner?

[OrangeCrushes]

We have a great house, but the current kitchen and dining space is really lacking. We are considering converting our beautiful but little-used second reception into a kitchen / diner and making the current kitchen into a kitchen mess overflow/utility (we already have a laundry room).

The issue is that the space is very narrow and we don't want to go through the expense or hassle of an extension or much structural work. The best we could do would probably be a large room with units on two walls and the dining table in the opposite corner.

Really welcome any opinions or advice!!

Diagrams / examples forthcoming!

I think you could make a really nice kitchen diner in that space OP. It would be similar dimensions to my kitchen (slightly shorter but slightly wider) and it works well for me. We have units down either side (mainly on one side and then a short run on the other, where you might be able to have an island as you've got that bit of extra width) and a round extendable dining table at one end.

New idea, slightly refined from last version

Re your last plan OP

What sort of a floor do you have to your current kitchen.
You’ll need to get a soil pipe to the outside to connect up to extg drainage from the WC and it needs to lay to a fall.
( you could use a Maserator WC if that’s an issue although it’s not necessarily the solution).
You also need to vent the sewage pipe and have extract ventilation to the outside for the WC.
The laundry room will also need an extractor

I think the pantry won’t be nice. Whereas if you made the current kitchen into a pantry (or even what I think is called a Butlers kitchen?) it could be a beautiful space.

plus personally the toilet in the position you are proposing- unventilated in the middle of the house- is crazy!

@DrPrunesqualer thanks!

I was assuming that we will rip up the current kitchen floor and that pipes for the toilet may need to be boxed in but could go through to the current utility, where there are loads of exposed pipes I think including for waste. Maybe this is wrong?

My friend has a new WC under her stairs and there are no obvious signs that it has external ventilation. How does ventilation work in these types of scenarios?

Toilets need to be vented to the outside. If your friend hasn’t done that she hasn’t complied with building regs
Heres a basic image with this one the WC is on the outside wall. With yours an extractor would need to chase to the outside.
Your WC is quite far from the outside and other existing WC ( ie it gives me an idea of current location of services ) Sewage needs to drain out at a fall and a plumber would need to calculate whether that could work. The pipes cannot run horizontally.

Why not put it in the laundry room or backing on to the laundry room at least you have existing soil pipes to connect up to
That’s one extra expense you don’t have to worry about then

@DrPrunesqualer there is literally no way it can go in the laundry room.

It would be really great if we could have a door from the hallway (for a naice cloakroom) into this w/c rather than accessing it from the utility, hence the desire to place it there.

Edit: and there was a doorway there which we closed but could unclose, placed centrally on that wall

I suspect when you get quotes in… you will decide to put it in the laundry room! Why spend £££ on all that work to move a toilet into the house?! Spend it on your kitchen instead!

There is literally no way to put the toilet in the laundry room. This is explained above. It is never ever ever going to happen because a toilet does not fit for many, many reasons.

I’m sure a builder would be able to advise how to fit one in. Or charge you 5k to dig up floor and move it!

So you can’t put the WC along the wall where the extg cooker is ( with the WC and cistern on the left ) and enter from the hall through the window which I’m guessing used to be a doorway. ?

Just saw this. I'm sure my friend complied with regs, just not sure how!

I instinctively assumed that closer to exterior would be better, but this does look more complicated than I had imagined. It's amazing how difficult all this planning is 🙀

Maybe we could do this...but I am hoping to use the rest of this tiny room for practical things that I don't want in my naice cloakroom, including a laundry sink and cat boxes

No.

It needs the fall for sewage
If it’s too long a run you either
have poo backing up in the pipe as it won’t drain
or
you raise the toilet on a plinth to get the fall. Which is horrible
The pipe work also needs venting.

Sometimes some things just can’t work

Whats the invert level on the underground sewage pipes OP ( have a look by lifting the manhole ) If it’s low enough you could waste several thousands digging it all up to connect before the invert.
Depends how much you want to waste on plastic pipes you’ll never see. I’d rather spend it on better fittings I can tbh

@DrPrunesqualer honestly, this is why I was originally just planning to leave the toilet where it is and convert the existing kitchen into a pantry (to be accessed via the reinstated doorway). Sounds like too much expensive faff to shift these things around.

Totally agree. I don’t think OP realises the work involved in moving the toilet. It will cost thousands. She says she wants to avoid structural work. So why on earth move a toilet?! I would spend that budget on my new kitchen. And employing an architect for proper plans!

Others suggested making the current toilet room into a pantry. I was considering the option 🤷‍♀️

Closer to an existing drainage run is better. Assuming the extg ground floor toilet is near the run ie near the garden passage then keep it near that

But would you want to keep food in a cheap lean to? I certainly wouldn’t!!

Then you’d have a 3.5m long pantry
Do you need it that big

I was getting excited because it would be such a good (theoretical) use of this long, narrow space! But yes, it's a bit damp and weird. It's not quite a lean-to, unlike the utility, but it's not great.

Honestly, yes. Especially given the limitations of the planned kitchen.

Agree !!