My dad built our huge rumpus room. He passed away unexpectedly at 39 leaving mum and us two kids. His army mates came and finished it. The built in cupboard doors were "army built" and so heavy we could barely open them to get our toys out. We had a train set that folded up on to the wall and a peg board and window seats. It was a lovely space with polished floor boards and we spent all but the cold winter months in there and even then crammed around with the electric radiator. Very few neighbours had a rumpus room so we were a bit special. Lovely memories.

Lovely room, large art on wall, gorgeous chair by the window and lots of texture in cushions and throws.

Hi Mad S - I like many of the ideas above! There will be in fact many things you could do to introduce a more open plan feel to the kitchen/living/dining, and so I would invest in some architectural or interior design advice to provide a masterplan for you so you can stage improvements as you can afford them. For example, it's always ideal to know where north is when making changes, and changes to open up the kitchen and introduce an island bench will vastly improve the feel of the open space, however you may want to add a walk-in pantry given you have the floor space available (only if you want one though). The gas fire would be in the wrong spot when opening up the space, however there is no reason to throw it away - you could move it to a centrally along the same line, or even along the main external living wall. I would keep that small portion of wall parallel to the front door (or extend it slightly/ replace with screen or joinery) to provide the discreet screening you need for a front door, and I would also move the rumpus door down this end so that you have a closed corner to the 'dining' space - so people don't have to walk through all the time and freeing up your options for furniture arrangements. You could even at a later stage aim to upgrade the doors along the living room external wall to the outdoor entertaining area for better indoor-outdoor connection, especially if this was north and you move the fireplace to be in front of full-height glazing. Good Luck!

Hi, I would mount your tv on the wall, you could add a bit of drama by painting that wall a darker colour, floating shelves, led lighting will give the room a real theatre atmosphere , congratulations on your new house, exciting times.