Hi Belinda, thanks for letting me know about your daylight. That is really interesting - so the pool and garden - and a living and dining area - are to the east and south of the house, due to the orientation of the block no doubt, and the bedrooms are blocking off all the north light! I am guessing this means the house gets a lot of light from these windows in the morning until midday, when the sun swings past the bedrooms/bath/laundry which block afternoon sun unless these doors are open. Further, the kitchen is hemmed in on all 3 sides and really just faces due east - good because this is where the garden and pool are, but with little view to the south dining and living area, which presumably are used as more formal spaces. The good news is I don't think you would get much benefit from relocating the kitchen - I think it is in the best spot, kitchens are much better at being internal 'hubs' and linking to living areas - it is these living areas that we want to connect directly with outside. I do however have something else for you to think about longer term as a masterplan....and I am guessing here because I am not sure of the shape of your garden.....however next time your en-suite is due for a major renovation, you could relocate the main bed, w.i.r and ensuite across to the current south-facing living room and dining (or study). By doing this, you can create a complete open-plan east end to the house, and all living / dining areas would have direct garden and patio access and more importantly much more sunlight. The north-east corner would be part of this open-plan space and would need a new large window on the north wall. You could extend this wall slightly if funds permitted but this wouldn't be essential. There are both smaller and larger masterplan alternatives; for example a smaller option (for the masterplan) not involving any plumbing, is to swap bed 2 and 3 with the south living room/study area (blocking off the hallway area) and open up the north wall of the kitchen to look into this new formal north-facing living room - this could be quite fun and definitely would add more light to the house. However in the meantime good luck with the kitchen renovation, and look for images that show suspended overhead cabinets as a way of dealing with the raking ceiling!

Well I think the first thing is to position the fridge away from the oven so you don't have heat battling cold. fridges are less efficient that way. getting rid of the corner pantry is a great start! you can just stretch the kitchen a little further along the wall so there is pantry space between the fridge and stove. Maybe the sink under the window?

I am thinking from a different way. Build a new extension with lots of windows to let the northern sun into your home. The external wall of original home would be structural, I have noted in red, where structural posts can be installed and at the same time adding some interest to your island. Keep the front lounge as a separate space. The kitchen I have shown wraps around with cupboards in the former dining room. If you do not require a bigger kitchen, then Maybe the dining room can be a study area still accessed through the kitchen. In both instances, your new island can be where your current sink area is. You have not mentioned a budget, so anything is possible.

Ps. My island in my current small kitchen is on lockable castors. It was made by the cabinet maker at the same time as the kitchen. On three sides the panels go to the floor and you can’t tell it moves. The front with drawers has no kick board so you have access to the castors. I don’t move it a lot but it was handy when the kids were little - I moved it totally out of the kitchen and put in a small table. Occasionally I move it over a bit if both kids are cooking at once.