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A homeowner featured by Ideal Home moved the kitchen in a renovated house and converted its former location into a bedroom. The change was intended to improve circulation and put the kitchen in a brighter space, though relocating plumbing and other services added cost concerns.
A homeowner renovating a house made up of a 1700s cottage and a mid-century extension moved the kitchen to another part of the ground floor and turned its former location into a bedroom, according to a report by Ideal Home. The decision drew concern from builders over the costs of moving water, drainage and extraction services, but the homeowner said the new layout improved circulation through the house and placed the kitchen in a brighter area with a connection to the patio.
The homeowner and their partner lived in the property for nine months before starting a gradual renovation. They found that the existing kitchen, in the cottage portion, was dated and dark and sat awkwardly far from the front door. It also served as the main route to the staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. They decided to relocate the kitchen elsewhere on the ground floor and reuse the original room as a bedroom.
Builders working on the project questioned the plan, the homeowner wrote, partly because of the additional work involved in establishing new drainage, water supply and extraction. The report says kitchen plumbing can add 4% to 5% of a project’s overall budget, particularly for a new kitchen or one in a new extension. The couple were renovating on a tight budget, and the homeowner said the builders’ concern was understandable.
The new kitchen was built in 2025 and had been in use for about a year and a half by the time of the report; the bedroom in its former location was completed only recently. The homeowner described the converted room as a spare bedroom. The report also says the new kitchen has north- and west-facing natural light and opens visually toward a courtyard garden through widened patio doors.
A Layout Built Around Daily Routes
The homeowner’s account highlights a renovation trade-off: moving a kitchen can add expense, but keeping it in an awkward location can affect how people move through the entire home. In this case, the original arrangement routed household traffic through the dining room to reach other living spaces. The relocated kitchen was placed in line with the front door, which the homeowner said made tasks such as carrying groceries inside and taking out rubbish easier.
The project also shows why room labels do not always dictate a practical plan. The cottage had no bathroom, and the couple said putting all bedrooms upstairs would have required a second-storey extension they neither needed nor could afford. Reusing the old kitchen as a bedroom provided another sleeping space without expanding the building’s height, according to the report.
The account is one homeowner’s experience, not evidence that relocating a kitchen is generally cheaper or better than other layouts. Its relevance for renovators is the need to weigh daily circulation, light and room use against the installation costs and constraints of moving services.
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Why the Original Kitchen Moved
The house combines two different structures: a two-up, two-down cottage dating to the 1700s and a mid-century bungalow-style extension. That uneven layout shaped the renovation choices. The existing kitchen was in the cottage section, away from the entrance and close to the route up to the bedrooms. The homeowner said its size and basic design were adequate, but its dated finish, limited light and position made it a poor fit for the household’s routines.
The couple considered the kitchen’s replacement as part of a wider ground-floor redesign. The new location allowed them to create a more open kitchen, dining and living area, with a stronger connection to the courtyard. The homeowner also said that keeping the old kitchen in place during construction meant the household could continue using it while the new one was being built.
For planning, the homeowner cited advice from architect Laura Jane Clark’s book, The Handbook of Home Design: map the existing floorplan and trace common routes through the house to identify where movement is obstructed. The homeowner said doing so revealed that too much traffic passed through the dining room. This method informed the layout decision; the report does not provide architectural plans or an independent evaluation of the finished design.
“The kitchen in the cottage section just wasn’t going to work.”
— The homeowner, writing in Ideal Home
Costs and Room Details Not Reported
The report does not give the project’s total renovation cost, the amount spent moving the kitchen, or whether the final costs matched the builders’ expectations. Its 4% to 5% plumbing figure is presented as a general estimate for kitchen projects, not as a measured cost for this specific renovation. The report also does not give the precise dimensions of the rooms or say whether planning approval or building-control work was required.
The homeowner describes improvements in light and circulation, but the report does not include an independent assessment, detailed before-and-after measurements or comments from the builders. It is also unclear how often the new bedroom is used or whether the household has experienced any practical drawbacks from the revised ground-floor layout.
How the New Layout Performs
The kitchen and bedroom are both described as complete, so the next measure of the decision is how well the arrangement serves the household over time. The homeowner’s report points to easier routes through the house and a brighter kitchen, but does not provide longer-term cost figures or a formal evaluation of the work.
Readers considering a similar renovation would need to assess their own floorplan, household needs and the location of water, drainage and extraction services. The project account suggests mapping everyday routes before committing to a new layout; the cost and feasibility of moving a kitchen will depend on the individual property and work required.
Key Questions
Why did the homeowner move the kitchen?
The existing kitchen was dark and awkwardly placed, far from the front door and on the main route to the upstairs bedrooms. The homeowner said relocating it improved the house’s circulation and allowed a connection to the courtyard patio.
What did the old kitchen become?
Its former location was converted into a spare bedroom. The homeowner said a layout with all bedrooms upstairs would have required a second-storey extension that the couple did not need or have the budget for.
Why were builders concerned about the plan?
The builders questioned the budget impact of moving services, including water supply, drainage and extraction. The report gives no final cost for this project, so the actual expense of the relocation is unknown.
When was the new kitchen completed?
The homeowner said the new kitchen was built in 2025 and had been in use for about a year and a half when the report was written. The bedroom that replaced the old kitchen was completed more recently.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
