Ideas for an extension (avoiding a glass box)

[remodelornot]

We’re in a Victorian terrace and trying to work out what to do with the back of the house.

We currently have a narrow kitchen with a side return (about 2m wide, 9m long). There’s also a public manhole in the side return (the green rectangle) which complicates things a bit.

We’re considering a side return extension but I’m really not keen on the standard “full glass box at the back”. Or if this is what everyone wants then please tell me too.

What I’d like in an ideal world:

• good light (not just from the very back and skylight)
• a kitchen/dining space that doesn’t feel like a big box

Has anyone done something a bit different with a similar layout? Especially interested in anything that avoids that long, straight, one-room feel.

Would love to see floorplans if you have them or hear what worked well for you or what you’d do differently if starting again.

My neighbour did a side return but also chopped up her middle room, gave half of it to the kitchen which makes that a big square room. Then the other half is a boot room and shower. Works really well. I suspect it cost quite a lot. But we all love going over!

If it's a terrace assuming it's got a first floor you won't be able to get decent light to the reception room unless you knock out the back wall of it and extend it a couple of metres and put a couple of skylights in. By the time you've done that you've spent a fortune but got a much more usable reception room which could be your kitchen, then you won't need something gigantic at the back as it will be reception/dining room.
The worry would be to keep the reception room as is and then it would just be a room you have to walk past to get to the nice part of the house.
The other option is to increase the front reception room into the beck one and make the back one into a utility/down stairs toilet etc. That would work better if the front is south facing to get the light into the bigger front room.
Even if the inspection cover can't be moved for technical reasons you can still step the extension in at one side, there's something to be said for a bit of interest, and it actually lets more light in at different times of the day if you have an outrigger.

that’s such a great idea to create a boot and shower room is of course great! Regarding cost.. yep once it’s done it needs furnishing, Costs need to be looked at.

I love your suggestion @johnd2 and i made a drawing (attached) is that what you meant?

There‘s an internal window at the bottom right between kitchen and back room (if we extend then the back room now has no windows). We may have to open up wall between front and back room for more light.

Would love any feedback for anyone seeing this new idea

weve got a big glass box…go with you instincts and do something cosier. We couldn’t decide between sitting space and eating space and tried to go for both. It would have been better to have picked one! So now we have a hybrid not quite right for either situation…

@Gardenquestion22 I assume you have sitting on one side and eating on other side of your big extension room? Have you thought about zoning it with a rug or similar?

Thing is, most extensions are built to maximise indoor floor space so there must be something to it?

It's a big long box with kitchen at the 'dark end' (it's not dark) and we've got a view out to the garden with a sofa where it's nice to have a sit and a view. but we've also got a table where we sit and eat and it expands for guests - but once expanded it's all hard to get round because of the sofa - so essentially it gets a bit cramped. It works fine for us...

Neighbours just went for zoning it as a sitting area, with a smaller extension, and it honestly looks better - less bowling alley and more cosy.

sounds you have created a space that can do everything @Gardenquestion22 its really important to be able to sit and look out. May I ask what the dimensions of your extended room are? Because one of our ideas also creates a long box of 9x3 metres (30x10‘)