This looks like a house with huge potential. Good luck with your offer/purchase.

One simple change would be to block up access to the kitchen from the hall and knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room (plus the dated conservatory)

I would definitely recommend working with a designer/concept planner/architect if you buy it to really make the most out of the space in a way that suits you best

Thank you Jen and Jonathan. Hadn’t considered either and the floor plan is really useful to help visualise as I always struggle with this.

Another thought, how about if I relocated kitchen to living room, keeping double doors into dining room. Would then turn existing kitchen and dining room by knocking through into a living room so would get good view of garden. Would this work?

If having the living room at the back is your priority there will be loads of ways to do this, hopefully some that don't involve moving too much plumbing!

Alternative

Hi there , where is the house I think you will need to consider the cost involved in Building work and structural survey before you get too excited . I would be happy to work with you if you can send me more details

Thank you for all your comments. Yes I agree I will need to cost out the moving of plumbing and get a structural engineer. I am in uk (south).

Jonathan thank you for the drawing. On reflection, I think I would prefer to keep the utility room and downstairs toilet where they are. The utility room gives access to the garden and driveway and is good for muddy returns home and the downstairs toilet has a floor standing boiler.

It is probably just the living, dining, kitchen and conservatory rooms we would adjust / swap about.

Consider the remaining lifespan of the boiler as it would be a pity to plan your whole house around its position and it to need replacing a couple of years down the line and you then find out it could have been moved.
If your utility room also moves there is no reason why it can’t have a personal door to the side

True Jonathan good point to consider. Your drawings are really useful. Is there an app or programme I can access to mock up what it would look like if we did move kitchen to current living room.

Lindsey there is a basement under these rooms. I don’t know if the subfloor is wood or concrete (built about 20 years ago) Gather this can make a big difference in cost of relocating kitchen with drainage etc

Hi, like Lindsay mentioned budget is a consideration. You will also need to think about what you want and need from your home other than just the kitchen. For example, you have mentioned that you don't need a separate dining room, or want a particularly large open plan space, but given your family how many reception rooms and what type of rooms such as playroom, study, snug, formal lounge etc. would you ideally need. How much storage would you require in the kitchen? Do you love cooking, if so do you often have a lot of people over and like socialising when you cook? These are all things to consider, so that the space works brilliantly for you. Jonathan, I like the way you think a little out the box.

Restructuring a home is not cheap, but if you get it right, it would definitely be worth it in the long run. A designer/ concept planner etc. will help you achieve what you are after and help you avoid costly mistakes; however, I would strongly recommend somebody who is able to visit you on site as opposed to working with somebody remotely. When you are ready, I think that Houzz will be able to help you with this though their project enquiry form.

The best of luck to you!

I know the house should suit the way you live but also consider how long you intend to stay there as it would appear a large majority of people want the kitchen at the back of the house. I must admit it's rare that the living room is used during the day in our house even at weekends. If you use the garden for socialising, dining too I'd also think about traipsing food and drink through, plus if you have young children you may want to keep an eye on them and typically this seems to happen whilst you're in the kitchen. Something like Jonathan's ideas give you additional seating over the garden anyway. If you do decide to buy perhaps live in it a while though to see how you actually use the space?

Thanks for all comments. My children are teenagers so spend lots of time in their rooms! Currently we all get together in lounge to watch movies and eat together in kitchen at the dining table. As we currently don’t have a separate dining room this is not something we think will use day to day.

The house has a large basement with small windows so no view. This has a small kitchen and so will be used as a lounge for loud movies, football matches, pool table and entertaining.

If you have the extra living space in the basement, I think Jonathan's second design would be perfect :)

Thanks Jen