Hi,
What would the name of the person be who I could get in to give me an idea/plan of how to use the space I have when remodeling. We have put on an extention - it was suppose to be my kitchen but now thinking about putting it to use as a Living Room so now have to rethink how we can use the rooms we have e.g knock down walls etc.
Any ideas would be great
Jo
The correct time to have involved a building professional was before you extended.
Pre-viewing extensions using competent designers allows you to better understand the potential of the space - before you build it.
The benefits of doign it this was can include; -
- position of services done once
- benefit of new form of construction
- maximise benefits of orientation, glazing and shading
- consider services upgrade for whole house when doign extension.
I'm not needling you by saying this - that's not my intention at all.
People spend a lot of time and money doing extensions and they can cause huge disruption to family life.
Careful consideration of all the options before building starts helps maximise returns, minimise outlay for what you get, and helps achieve the most for your hard earned EUros.
I've had to take this preliminary exercise to the point of staking out the positions of new walls in the garden by erecting 1200mm x 2400 mm ply sheets and ridge poles to give a better feel for the design to clients who have difficulty reading drawings.
Its a lot cheaper doing these mock-ups than building in real life.
Mockign up allows the client to say "Oh if only we'd made this 500mm deeper" or "if only we'd put in a rooflight" - BEFORE the work is carried out.
I've been on jopbs where clients end up re-doing built work and believe me, its not cheap.
Your main issue with the kitchen is that while its a service space [it serves all the rooms and can also be a parlour] its also a high amenity space for many home-makers, male or female. Its often on the rear or front external wall to avail of the benefit of having ambient light for food preparation or washing up while keeping a direct eye on young children playing outside.
One way to deal with this issue is to steal some amenity from the space you're now considering having nearer the light by allowing the space to be open plan.
Many high end homes rely on a large kitchen/dining/lounge to the rear for their WOW factor.
It creates quite a functional space for a medium sized family and frees up the old front reception rooms for a study or homework room.
HTH
ONQ.
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