please share plans of the rest of the house with dimensions and a photo looking back towards the stairs

Some dimensions would help. Do you have spare tiles for floor if the tiles don’t go under wall and bench being removed? Or are you reflooring?

I agree with your plans. Other thoughts:

-Do you often all sit at the bench together? If not daily, could it be reduced more? There's another table that a larger group could sit at.

-Could the bench be brought closer towards to doorway, giving the kitchen needed centimetres? I realise that would cause the end stool to be too close to the back door, but it seems like your dining area is spacious compared to the vital kitchen area.

-Could you move your laundry elsewhere? Is your wine cellar REALLY important? It seems a waste of good real estate. Make that into the laundry! Then the kitchen could be greatly extended and the bench greatly reduced. Kitchens are THE most used space - usually everyone wants to be in there at the same time!!

Thanks everyone for questions and suggestions

this is the whole floor plan @oklouise

This a pic of the other direction of the kitchen, towards the stairs

we will be reflooring after ripping out the kitchen @Kate

@E.M. Busenshut

- i had also considered turning the island completely into an island (not a peninsula) and then bringing it forward but wonder whether it blocks the other walkway towards the laundry?

-Could you move your laundry elsewhere? that was my idea initially too!! to use the wine cellar space but then it turns into a three room reno instead of 1 room?

i didnt know what to do with that window bench if we decided to detach the island

If you've got the budget available to knock out the bricked in pantry than go for it - it will definitely modernise the layout, and there are plenty of options for pantry storage.

However, as Kate mentioned above, how much of a reno is this? are you removing the existing flooring? open to moving electrical or plumbing as these things may limit your renovation layout, however, they also can blow your budget quite quickly. Regardless below is a really rough floor layout based off your picture, and the 3D is a possible layout (there is a lot of space to work with).

In saying that, if you kept the bricked pantry and removing the flooring isn't an option, than putting new kitchen cabinetry in and deepening up the island top overhang will bring this space to a more modern look.

@Emily Fokkema so nice to be able to see the layout like this! thank you !

we will be doing flooring, kitchen and electrical work .. so will also need patching and painting. we are open to pulling down the pantry wall, but as far as redoing the laundry to get more kitchen stage, probably not feasible at this stage .

im thinking of keeping the sink where it is and moving fridge, stove/oven, and dishwasher. my partner is an electrician so the electrical changes will be okay.

Without all dimensions, I make the following rough suggestion. I would try to get rid of all the angles in your kitchen by not using them, Open up the wall into the laundry, Sink and cooktop are both on the long back wall, you could add a small sink to one end of the island. The fridge could also go on the back wall or placed into the smaller black marked space.If you closed off the entrance into the wine cellar to the other side next to the powder room the laundry/ WIP could be widen and even include the old bar

Dimensions make everything much easier

@Steffy P Yes i can imagine undertaking a 3 room reno might be a bit much. The other thing to note is the less trades you need to outsource the lower your cost will be usually (e.g. needing to move all the laundry plumbing to suit); not against doing that at all, it just comes down to time, dollars and value to you really - as in, is this a forever home where you see the value in putting in that much time. I've edited a couple of the sketches and given some more views anyway :o)

@siriuskey great ideas. i forgot to mention the bar has been removed and just open space. i like your concept of not utilising the corners at all and moving the sink to the back wall. im finding it hard to visualise the laundry. would that be closed or all open walls?

@Emily Fokkema thank you! thats awesome. yes it is a forever home, however we purchased just recently with the intention of doing a low cost kitchen refresh and have now decided to rip it out plus add engineered hardwood floors.. so its kind of blowing out

Could also change entry to cellar and use the hall space to extend laundry

my suggestion has a separate island and swopping the sink and dishwasher could allow for a curved or angled end cabinet (to echo the curved wall at the entry?) ..consider 1050 x 1050 corner base cabinets that are much easier access than 900 x 900 cnr base cabinets and most of the rest of the base cabinets including the island could be wide drawers, ideal for pantry storage and the hidden corner could be for bench top appliance with or without doors and consider extra storage under the stairs that could allow for a future laundry reno to increase bench space

Totally agree Kate as previously suggested ""If you closed off the entrance into the wine cellar to the other side next to the powder room the laundry/ WIP could be widen and even include the old bar"

Steffy Dimensions of the laundry, Plus the length of the kitchen wall up to the laundry would help, I thought I saw the the bar had been removed in your photo, houses of this period always had a bar, as we did and removed as well, different times

@siriuskey @Kate yes the flipped entrance is interesting. also like the idea of the doorway from outside entering into the kitchen.. although its quite narrow currently.. could be opportunity to widen and turn into a butlers pantry? i definitely need to to measure up.

@oklouise i quite like the idea of the sink in that alternative spot. it means i could turn the bench space to the left into a serving window as the bbq is located nearby and theres a benchtop on the outside of the window.

with more detailed measurements we can produce a more accurate plan for the extra spaces in the design is so worthwhile even if you don't plan to renovate beyond the kitchen atm it will give you a better plan for the next stage

I must say I prefer the island concepts to a peninsula.

can you show what the Bar area now looks like from the kitchen, I can see by the photo that the staircase is open

@siriuskey

from all the great suggestions here.. im starting to toy with the idea of killing the wine cellar and turning it into the laundry. and using the laundry space as a butlers pantry .. the opening needing to be somewhere along the back kitchen wall to provide easy access to the butlers pantry .. and then leaving (most of) the walls where they are ??

@siriuskey its really similar to your concept

I’d move the new laundry door and extend pantry

Great idea, do you have the dimensions for both these rooms and what material are the walls built with

Where is your clothes line

If you're going all the way and knocking out / building new walls, you always have the option of a dual purpose Scullery/Laundry (I have a couple clients doing this with their new builds), and building a fridge/pantry recess into the kitchen area, and then having an external cavity slider for the laundry/scullery.

See some sketches below - all the best with all these great suggestions!

And this as suggested

This second shows different possibilities for different doors/opening. The first if the sloping wall between the new laundry and pantry is wide enough I would like to see that open as shown in the second plan. I have added a desk at the Bay window end of the kitchen

The island is 3m long with a trash cabinet on the R/H end facing the sink. And as previously dimensions would help to ensure it all works

Not being a fan of corner cabinets I try to avoid them

@Kate thats a good idea, to utilise the space all the way to the to the wall!

@siriuskey my clothesline is on the blind side of the house, nearby to the current laundry door. id love to see a closer look of the two proposed floor plans- they are a touch blurry. the 3d looks amazing! ps i found the original plans with measurements, as you can see, a lot of changes have been made to the laundry area . the walls are plaster board.

thank you @Emily Fokkema for these drawings, helps so much to visualise the space. i like the kitchen lauout and the idea of the room off the kitchen! (i think in australia a butlers pantry is equivalent to scullery) im not a big fan of combining laundry though, i like the laundry to be a closed dedicated room.

@siriuskey

Interesting to see the previous floorplan, but what we need is the width and depth of the current laundry and Wine Cellar.

A couple of 3D versions of what I suggest, please understand that my CAD program was produced in 1997 hence thee old style furniture appliances etc, mind you it's still an excellent program which is no longer produced.

I had considered having the fridge on the return wall but! if it was done within the current kitchen floorplan it would reduce the length of a lovely big island. Then guessing the size of the laundry, Taking space from the current laundry to fit the fridge on the return wall would leave nothing for a good Pantry without moving walls.

So trying to work with current walls and doors and windows and still having separate WIP and Laundry, I suggest the following, when you enter the house from the side door you will be in the Pantry, if you turn left you would be in the Laundry Mudroom, The fridge could be slid across into the WIP but this would require removing the window. Configuration of the Pantry cabinets to be decided by you, but it could be great for appliances, making tea and toast in the morning and dropping shopping (select the drawings to enlarge)

@siriuskey love how youve used the existing walls and generally a great use of the space. really liking the wall (with the artwork) as the current layout with multiple doorways in that area just doesnt flow very well. also liking the idea of a mudroom, i hadnt considered one before but feel this could be made to be not only functional but a bit of a feature area with floor to ceiling cabinetry. with this idea in mind, i almost feel like the previous idea you had with the mudroom/laundry side by side (without the enclosed laundry) could also work well if the floor to ceiling caninetry is the first thing you see when you turn left from the door. but of course, like you said, thats all configurable

I feel opening the wall as you have, near the back window (next to the fridge) will bring more light into the kitchen area too.

thank you so much. it has a great feel to it

the best design yet siruskey, well done

Hi again - I like your island change idea and there's some great ideas from architects! Especially that one that combines pantry? or butler's pantry (scullery) with laundry. Understand your issue with bigger and bigger reno & cost. But if you can swing it at all (DYI cupboards, splashbacks? floors?), improving the efficiency and workability of the kitchen will not only help decrease daily stress on you and the family, it will also help if you ever sell. I'd put my money into moving a wall/changing doorways/peninsula bench into island and maybe do the other parts as you save more. All the BEST!

I am ever so grateful for all the input and suggestions. thank you all ❤️❤️

@siriuskey this is brilliant thank you so much! my partner and I are both sold on this layout!! :-)

so glad i reached out and gathered all this awesome knowledge.. far better than what i had started with!!!

We all look forward to seeing your newly renovated spaces