Advice on Kitchen Alterations for First Time Buyer Re-generate an old or tired space and give it a fresh breath of life. Click here for answers, information and tips

[trelello]

Hi,

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this question, I'm new to the forum.

I have just had an offer accepted on a house (I'm a first time buyer, so I'm new to all of this). The place is bigger than I had thought I could get for my money and I'm very excited about the prospect of moving in and getting it the way I want it to be. One driver for the low price, I would suspect, is the unconventional/not-overly-competent way in which the house has been extended at the back. As the attached floor plan shows, the back room on the ground floor was previously a small dining room parallel to the kitchen, but has now been extended into a much larger L-shaped living room. Doing so has led to the kitchen, which originally looked out over the garden, being incorporated into this space. This is all well and good, but, although what had been an outside wall has been plastered over so that it looks like it belongs in the new living room, the original kitchen window has been retained, meaning that there is now a double glazed window looking out into the lounge (see photo), which I could live with if I had to, but would like to sort out if I could.

I don't know much about design or building, so I'm not sure what is possible or desirable in this situation. On the one hand, if possible, it might be nice to take out the interior kitchen walls altogether, although I worry that would make the room seem a bit cavernous and would be interested in any suggestions as to how best to think about having the space set up. On the other, maybe that isn't structurally feasible, in which case, does any one have any suggestions for how the kitchen could be set up? I'd also be interested in any thoughts people might have as to how much this sort of thing might cost (the house is in Coventry).

Apologies again if this is in the wrong place - if it is, perhaps someone could suggest another site I could post it to.

Thanks a lot,

Stephen

[welsh brickie]

The best advice, in my opinion, is to call an architect, he will draw a set of plans with calculations of beams you will need to install, to have it open plan.
A builder can then give you a price for the work based on the plans drawn.
You will need building control to pass the work anyway.

[lets have a look]

If it were my house I would take out the kitchen window and fill the gap with a stud partitioning but I don't rate big kitchens,for me a kitchen is for cooking in,then shut the door when done,

If I lived in your house I would convert the garage, lounge and cloakroom into a self contained bedsit and rent it out for £200 a month to my daughter and boyfriend,who are paying £500 a month for a similar sized one.

[michaelbailey]

turn your kitchen into a utility / mud room reconfigure the units and replace the door and window with patio or bifold doors