can you help me change this floor plan to get a large kitchen with island?

newhomebuild

I’ve placed an offer on this house and I’m thinking about renovating this house to get the kitchen/dining space with island I always wanted. 

I was thinking I would split the reception room and tear down the kitchen walls, replace the conservatory with a proper extension to build a large kitchen/dining with an island space. 

I think I’d then make a smaller reception space? 

Also I was thinking of converting the garages to rooms. The building is advertised as “linked detached”. Do you think I’ll be able to do this without planning permissions or will I need to get permission from my neighbours since the garage touches their house wall? 

Any ideas how you would do the floor plan? I’d appreciate any input!

just to clarify it’s * not* a new build (contrary to my username). 

Doozergirl

Us this the original floorplan of the house or has it already had openings made? 

newhomebuild

Doozergirl said:

Us this the original floorplan of the house or has it already had openings made? 

Hey! This is the original floor plan (as the house is now). Thanks again for helping me 

knightstyle

Depends on services, can they easily be moved?  If it were me I would look at placing the kitchen at the front of the house, remove the walls round the existing kitchen and have a lovely open plan living/dining area opening onto the conservatory.

d0nkeyk0ng

Depending on the house itself (sometimes there are things more obvious when you look around a house), I would:
- divide the reception in half; front can be lounge/living room
- join the back half of the reception with the existing kitchen
- that would give you a decent sized kitchen with island that can feature a breakfast bar or attached dining or split level island. 

ka7e

Dividing the reception room will leave you with quite a poky space with a chunk being used as a corridor to the kitchen. If finances allow, I would have a wrap-around extension incorporating the rear garage and the conservatory footprints. It would involve some serious steels to replace external walls, though.

newhomebuild

Thank you all! My thought would be like the following - I reckon this will be the cheapest option? I thought I’d create a hallway and then split the reception into two. Lounge at front and kitchen/dining space at back with an island. 

Doozergirl

It's a pretty fashionable layout and it will work.  We've not long finished a layout just like that, using some of the garage as a utility.  I haven't taken any photos of it, but the kitchen runs top to bottom down one side with a huge island in
front.  Low level cabinets to the original back wall, and a full wall of high level units between there and the new back wall.  

There's no clue in this floorplan as to what holds anything up and it's far from any floorplan I've seen, which makes me think that it may have been knocked about already. 

Either building walls up for your separate reception where they used to be, or as continuations of the existing walls you want to remove, will help support the future layout. 

The conservatory foundations are almost certainly inadequate to build an extension off, so you should use the garage wall as a wall to your extension and build the other out in line with the main house so that you have a regular shape.  

newhomebuild

Thank you @Doozergirl! I’m glad this house would work!! I hope I get my offer accepted! Do you think there would be any issues with the house being linked detached? The garage touches the next house. Would I need to get their permission to convert it?

Doozergirl

No, you wouldn't need the neighbours permission to convert it.  

There's a possibility that the front garage might need planning permission to be converted IF permitted development rights had been taken from the house - if the parking space is needed to fulfil a quota. 

It doesn't look like you'd particularly want to convert it though.  

GDB2222

This looks like pretty chunky work. Do you have a budget for it?