Hi Lauren, be careful not to necessarily write off an extension thinking it will be more expensive than doing something within existing footprint.......depends on what your goals are, and also what your site is/how much space you have to play with......sometimes it's actually/arguably better return on investment to extend, but it of course has to be balanced up against the work involved with the existing.....you can still spend arguably a lot (more) reshuffling within the same footprint......Start with your goals ie what are you endeavouring to achieve, set a budget, and work from there. Design to a purpose for what you need....it's not what other people think, its about your home so the starting point is clarifying what you want and need. You're thinking about a long term, growing family - consider zoning and separation function requirements. It may in fact be a better investment for the future to minimise work on existing, consider a simple extension to the side to accommodate an open kitchen/dining/living that way and retain existing living for a 2nd living zone for kids....arguably better value injection.....but oklouise has some valid suggestions/ideas, but ultimately it will come down to clarifying your needs and how much you want to spend in order to make the best design decisions moving forward...good luck :) PD

Looking at the design suggested above I have a couple of concerns with the kitchen and bathroom. Both look cramped. I suggest removing the separate shower in the bathroom and moving up the vanity and toilet. A shower over the bath is not ideal, but will give you more space, which I suspect may be essential in a bathroom with no windows. I would also suggest a skylight or solar tube to bring in natural light. This could change the whole feel of the room. With regards to the kitchen, I would lose the end cabinets as they will be awkward to use and I firmly believe that corner cabinets are a blight in any kitchen. A galley kitchen would be easier to use. Also, maybe move the sink and dishwasher to the other wall and reduce the depth of the bench along the wall with the family room, to give more space between the cabinetry. I know this will leave you with less cabinet space in the kitchen, but if you keep benchtop to a minimum on the wall with the stove and sink, you may be able to fit in enough wall cabinets to compensate, especially as you will be taking them to the end wall. Also, a nice buffet/hutch in the new dining space could provide overflow space for little used items as well as crockery and cutlery. I would suggest drawers below bench height instead of cabinets. They are much easier to access and hold more than cabinets.

Wow, that's a very tricky layout! I love OKlouise's change to the laundry and kitchen! I can see why the TV won't work though. I don't think there's any perfect solution here. What about some open shelving, housing the TV, coming out adjacent to the garage door - this will block an unsightly door way and create a bit more of a nook for the living room. As a slight adaptation of OkL's plan could you put the TV on an angle behind the front door and move the furniture around to suit, perhaps? And another idea - getting the TV off the floor and onto the wall would help enhance the feeling of space - you could keep existing furniture arrangement and invest in a bracket that swivels the TV out from the 'garage door' wall, it'll be closer for viewing, then you can push it back flat against the wall when not in use. Best of luck! :)

I love what you have done with your renovation. I am very partial to large open plan living spaces. My only suggestion to this room would be to have 3 couches instead of one couch and a single chair. Situate one facing the tv and two on either side facing each other. This will define your space, encourage guests or family to talk and give a cosier feel to that area. The down side to large open spaces as mentioned by others are cooking smells, noise, heating and cooling costs. If the homes large windows are north facing with large eaves or shading for summer, the walls, floors and ceiling are well insulated and you have a well sealed home.This will dramatically improve the feel and comfort of this lovely home with out having high energy costs. I really hope your enjoying your new space.