How much space needed for an open plan kitchen/diner/sitting room?

ellie27

We have not moved into our new house yet....

The kitchen is a galley style kitchen with a separate dining room ( a doorway joins them)

Our thoughts are of eventually finding out about the possibility of knocking through the wall to create an open plan kitchen/diner (and sitting area if possible, but not essential as there is a separate large lounge)

How much space is needed for an open plan kitchen/diner? We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 toddlers.

The measurements are around 4.25 m x 6.7 m of rectangular space. Is this enough? Would it be a bit crushed. We dont really want to put on an extension but if it would be needed then we probably would.

Thanks!

[Deleted User]

It sounds like a fairly large space but only you can decide if it will do as you have ideas as to what you want to fit in the area. However it sounds like it could be an expensive project if you plan to knock down a wall, and refit the kitchen as well as buying the house. Unless you have good DIY and bargain shopping skills of course. If the wall you want to knock down is a supporting wall, you'll need to put in an RSJ.

I'd advise you to plan it out on squared paper. Problem is, a lot of things are in your imagination right now as you don't own the house yet.

There are also things you can compromise on if needed (space wise).

ellie27

deannatrois wrote: »

It sounds like a fairly large space but only you can decide if it will do as you have ideas as to what you want to fit in the area. However it sounds like it could be an expensive project if you plan to knock down a wall, and refit the kitchen as well as buying the house. Unless you have good DIY and bargain shopping skills of course. If the wall you want to knock down is a supporting wall, you'll need to put in an RSJ.

I'd advise you to plan it out on squared paper. Problem is, a lot of things are in your imagination right now as you don't own the house yet.

There are also things you can compromise on if needed (space wise).

Thanks, oh yes its is all in my imagination, dreaming away getting carried away with myself! Cant wait to move in!

The wall is a supporting wall I would say, even more it is the original exterior wall as the galley kitchen was put in as an extension!

We got the house for around £20k less than what we were planning to go up to for it, so we do have some spare cash.

The current kitchen units and appliances appear to be in really good condition (appear to be but we will find out soon enough!) and we do really like them. Not sure if kitchen units can be simply taken down and repositioned? We would of course have to get a new worktop.

Scale_Rule

A trick I tell people to imagine an empty space is this. Next time you are at the supermarket find a few empty spaces. Each one is 2.4m x 4.8m. (Others may be 2.5 x 5.0 if the developer has any sense) This makes it easy to judge what you are dealing with and appreciate the space marked out for you.
I'd say you were dealing with a nice sized kitchen diner with and island rather than a lounge/kitchen/diner.

elvenlomadia

We're planning to do a kitchen/diner in our new house (waiting to exchange atm) which is a similar size to yours - 5.2 x 4.2m approx. (the kitchen is 1m shorter than the dining room so slightly L-shaped). Whilst the space isn't going to be enormous, it's definitely a better use of space for us than separate rooms as the kitchen looks VERY pokey at the min!

phoebe1989seb

We are actually moving the kitchen to a reception room in our new house (moved in last December) as the current kitchen is too small for our lifestyle at 3.5 x 3.3m.

Due to the layout - period house, very quirky - we're not opening the old kitchen up into the new room as a staircase and hallway bisects the two spaces. The new kitchen will be 5.5 x 5.5m and will have room for an island with seating and a sofa. Adjoining this room on the other side is a small dining room, but we don't want to remove the dividing wall as it will affect the character of the house

I'm insisting on fitting the sofa into the new kitchen - for our dogs, lol - as we were spoiled by having a 12 x 6m *living* kitchen at our last house.....a space which in all honesty was too large

Hoploz

It sounds a good size but depending on the size of the house over all I think a conservatory could be an idea. My old house has open plan kitchen dining and living space, it was about 25' by 12' for the large kitchen and living area, with an L shape as well of 14' by 7' where the table went. This was pretty big, plenty of space for the three areas but in a rectangle you might struggle to fit the three zones in comfortably in a line IYSWIM.

Definitely keep the separate lounge as well. Perfect for shutting the door getting cosy in the evening.

And also, consider hearing arrangements. In a large open plan area under floor heating is invaluable, ESP as you can't normally fit radiators in the kitchen section.

ellie27

Hoploz wrote: »

It sounds a good size but depending on the size of the house over all I think a conservatory could be an idea. My old house has open plan kitchen dining and living space, it was about 25' by 12' for the large kitchen and living area, with an L shape as well of 14' by 7' where the table went. This was pretty big, plenty of space for the three areas but in a rectangle you might struggle to fit the three zones in comfortably in a line IYSWIM.

Definitely keep the separate lounge as well. Perfect for shutting the door getting cosy in the evening.

And also, consider hearing arrangements. In a large open plan area under floor heating is invaluable, ESP as you can't normally fit radiators in the kitchen section.

Its a 5 bed house or 4 bed and 2 lounges, lounges 16ft x 15ft and 13ft x 13 ft, as well as having the dining room and kitchen (which I would like to knock together)

There is already a small conservatory but I dont really like conservatories.

Regarding heating, had not considered underfloor heating at all. The dining room already has 2 radiators, neither on the wall that we are considering knocking down.

This is all 'oh, this would be good' as we are not yet living there and I guess we just see how it goes/what works etc.
Thanks

sew_what

Ours is a bit smaller than your size but we have room for an extending table and could fit a sofa but have a desk instead.

ellie27

sew_what wrote: »

Ours is a bit smaller than your size but we have room for an extending table and could fit a sofa but have a desk instead.

Looking to have some full length doors out onto the garden along the back wall so cannot really have the 2 walls with units on.

sew_what

Don't be afraid to think outside the box - the kitchen used to be on the left of the space and the bay window with patio doors and fireplace were in the dining room. We stripped back to brick so had to do a full re-wire and the plumbing all went under the floor.
The supporting pillars for the steel went into the back of the cupboards and provided space for a build out for the heating and water pipes (we'd put the boiler in the bathroom upstairs previously)
It's worth having a play with one of the room design software programmes to get a feel for what you can fit in the space (I used the ikea one, although the kitchen wasn't from there!)