Looking for a Sarah Beeny type character for advice :-)

[spot]

We're intending to extend our 3 bed, 1 bathroom, Victorian (detached) cottage and have 2 options:
1. A mild workover to the existing single storey kitchen extension giving us an impressive kitchen /diner, toilet and bigger utility room.
2. The 'nuclear' option, knocking down the existing extension and tacking on a two storey block which would give us a good but not so impressive kitchen /diner (as we'd lose the high vaulted ceiling), bigger utility room, extra bathroom, bigger 3rd bedroom and impressive extra bedroom.

I've drawn up some rough plans and spoken to 4 architects to discuss feasibilty of the options. None of them believe there would be any issues with planning and i've got rought costs from builders and the bank's prepared to give me whatever money I need so we're good to take it to the next stage.
Trouble is we're not sure which option to go for.
Option 1 would be less of a distruption and cheaper but doesn't give us exactly what we want.
Option 2 would be getting on for double the cost and we'd be afraid that we'd ruin the character of the house.

So ideally we'd like a Sarah Beeny type to give us a bit of advice. Maybe layout could be improved (though architects had nothing to add to what we suggested), maybe with such a large extension (it'd be about 110 m2 in total) we would spend more than any value we would add to the house.
So without Beeny on hand to dish out the advice who would be a useful person to talk to make sure we're getting the most out of the property, not ruining it and not spending too much money to price us out of our area?

 

[skier-hughes]

It depends on what the house is.......

If it's somewhere for you to live, and for a while, and you need the extra 110m to enjoy that life, then that is the option to go for. You can make it fit in with the house by design.

If it's a short term step up the housing ladder, and you need it to make money then option 1 is the one to go for.

We'll never recoup the money spent on our house, but it is done properly and gives us what we want and we intend to stay here as long as we can, so it'll be my Son who benefits from the value and as such it doesn't really matter how much we spend

 

[LadyArowana]

The question is fundamentally why are you doing the project? nobody else can decide for you, because nobody knows your life and your priorities. For someone that does a lot of entertaining then a large kitchen and dining area would be the choice, others might feel differently. Try and imagine your life with each of the two different options and see which you like the best. We took away a bedroom and en-suite in order to have a bigger kitchen and a nice living/ dining room, lot's of people told us not to do that, but it suits us, and that's the whole point.

 

[spot]

We love the house and have no intention of moving. Great area, location, etc, however now we have a 3 year old and a 1 year we're finding the place is smaller than we'd like.
If we list out want we want from a house we'd probably be better off moving but the reality is something that ticks all the boxes in the area is simply way out of our price range.
A nice big kitchen/diner to be the central social area with access into the back garden would be great, an extra toilet or bathroom is essential now there are 3 ladies in the house and missus wants a bigger utility room. I'd like an extra bedroom because we have regular visits from relatives who currently have to kip on a sofa bed in the playroom (ex-dining room) and I need somewhere for my guitars and amps to go which for now have had to be moved out into the (detached) garage which is not ideal.
The missus isn't keen on option 2 because she thinks there's too much opportunity for builders to mess up the rest of the house (eg: we had an expensive oak staircase fitted only a few years back) and I think she's just scared we'll end up ruining the house. Which is why I think some advice from someone experienced in this sort of thing would be useful.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Finding good builders really is difficult if you're looking for a sympathetic extension and minimum of damage. A pic of your house would be good!!!!

 

[jocelyn plummer]

I would suggest option 1, with a young family-- the large kitchen/diner/loo and utility area will serve you well for many years. With regard to your musical instruments and kit have you considered a purpose built 'office/music room' in the garden, so freeing up your garage.

Do you need to garage your car/s? Could the garage be brought into the house footprint as a spare bedroom?

 

[Flyfisher]

. . . and I need somewhere for my guitars and amps to go which for now have had to be moved out into the (detached) garage which is not ideal.

You didn't tell us it was an emergency situation!

I tend to agree with JP about thinking about bringing the garage into the house footprint if practical. With limited space and a growing family it seems a luxury too far to dedicate valuable space to a car (unless, perhaps, there really is no other place to park it?)

 

[Owain]

option 2 makes a 4 bedroom house - would that have a lounge and a dining room, because 4-bed often demands a 2nd reception room, especially if the kit/diner isn't great.

Could you get a guitar room or guest bedroom and en-suite shower into the loft at a future date?