should two become one?

Can you knock kitchen and back room together - that would be my choice.

I agree with kitty...kitchen/diners seem to be what people want these days.Our little seaside house has one and we spend most of the day in the kitchen/diner then move to the front room at night to watch TV.

I agree with kittylester but if you cannot or do not want to do that I would keep therm separate.

3 houses ago I had a very large lounge/diner which was difficult to heat. I think that I would prefer separate rooms because one could watch TV and the other maybe read a book or whatever in the other room.

Friends of mine have deliberately kept the two rooms separate because the DH is a sports fanatic whereas she is not. It works fine for them and is also easier to heat.

Perhaps you could have the best of both worlds and knock it through and have doors which open fully between them. The latest fashion does seem to be for a kitchen diner but then fashions do change.
It is fun working it all out though!

Kichen diners are very useful but it also depends if you always want to be sharing or need your own space at times. Nice to have snug where you can be alone at times.

Our last house was one large through room. We put in pine louvred doors, floor to ceiling which folded back against the walls and we and most people loved it. We kept the smaller one purely as a dining room but it was great for entertaining (which we did in another life!!) . It was very light and very successful . It sold the house when we moved but trends change quickly.

didn't explain myself properly! so the two reception rooms are adjoining and the rear one has door to the garden in the back wall (well into the side return)

The kitchen is in the side return and has already been knocked through so it is a kitchen diner so that bit is fine

So the question is one big airy living room or two separate - so many reasons for both I can't decide

Obviously the kitchen isn't IN the side return - the side return runs down the side (obvioulsy) of the kitchen so knocking it into the receptions doesn't work - will try and find a similar floor plan to show you

ok here you go

www.google.co.uk/search?q=victorian+terrace+floor+plan&tbm=isch&imgil=kBA9tnW9kaxItM%253A%253Bh-UMFgWFNBC7ZM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.v-aline.com%25252Fvictorian-houses-floor-plans%25252F19%25252Fvictorian-house-floor-plans%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=kBA9tnW9kaxItM%253A%252Ch-UMFgWFNBC7ZM%252C_&usg=__bx76fWap0S_u7DTvTaBXuYJRROA%3D&biw=1131&bih=544&ved=0ahUKEwit3JCJ1fLMAhVBXBoKHbNNDeoQyjcIKg&ei=mEJEV62wAcG4abObtdAO#imgrc=kBA9tnW9kaxItM%3A

in this floor plan the two downstairs rooms are knocked into one. In ours they aren't (yet?) Either way I wouldn't use the rear one as a dining room as we would have the table in the kitchen and don't need two dining tables so I guess we either have a living room and a snug (it's not that big) or one big room

Your terrace looks not unlike mine, built in 1891. I kept the two reception rooms separate and sometimes regret it. However, the front room is quite close to the road and I prefer to sit and watch TV (or surf the net) in the back room which is quieter. The kitchen was originally built as an extension and doesn't go the whole width of the house so it's not really practical to have a kitchen/diner without substantial structural alterations.

how many people going to be living there?
do you have hobbies?
what are you used to?
noise considerations?

We lived in an identical house when the DCs were young and kept the two rooms separate. If we hadn't moved, I think I would have gone for the option of opening the rooms up into one, but having foldback doors so that we could have still had separate rooms at times. Our present house has internal French doors dividing the two rooms and that works really well - computer's in back room and tv is in front room and it's useful to be able to separate the two from each other!

used to separate rooms but the ones we have now are bigger so the need to knock through never arose

quietish road so noise not a major issue

hobby is reading and cooking - cooking in the ktichen naturally - thought the back room could be a library reading room and the front room the main living room with the TV.

we could knock through but have doors to separate I suppose though the doors won't insulate noise from TV/conversations as a wall would.

the kitchen in the one we are buying is long and thin about 20 x 10 feet so easy enough to have a table at one end and units at the other without knocking it about too much. It was originally two rooms that have been knocked into one big kitchen diner

I'd leave it then!

only thing about leaving it is if we ever have all the family over (doesn't happen more than once a year but we love it when it happens - about 16 people) fitting them in the living room would be hard unless it was knocked through. I can see many benefits for leaving as is though not to mention the cost

I agree with kitty. That's what I'd do.
Ours was a through lounge with double doors dividing the two halves when we moved in. We took the doors off when the children were young so they had more room to play.
When they were older the doors were replaced so we had a separate lounge. This room stays tidy less messy and it's nice to retire to in the evening.
I would in hindsight have knocked the kitchen and back half into one when we reverbed the kitchen a few years ago.

Sorry I've just read more of the thread. Have you thought about putting doors between? That way you get the best of both worlds. Especially if you have a large opening with bi-fold doors.

yes I know people who have knocked out the wall to form and archway and put in wooden doors that can be open or closed. I'm not averse to that but it's quite a lot ot spend so I need to be sure first. The other thing is that the doors would be quite big so when open restrict space in whichever room they opened into

I prefer separate rooms so OH can listen to radio 2 while I watch tv etc. Also good to be able to have won space. When we had an extension lots of people suggested a kitchen diner but we have kitchen/breakfast room, dining room with sofa at one end and separate sitting room. Suits us.

That layout is very similar to our house, with the difference being that we don`t have a hallway. When we moved in over 30 years ago, we were thinking of knocking the 2 rooms into one, but then our daughter became unable to get upstairs, so the front room became her bedroom, so we now only have the one living room, and even after 20 years, I still miss my front room, it was hardly used, but was always a nice clean, tidy place to usher unexpected visitors into!

bitbot Our big old doors fold flat against the wall when opened, so take up no room at all.

Stupid auto correct.
bi-fold doors

We have lived in houses with both options and have just gone back to one with separate rooms. Not only does it allow us to both to do different things without disturbing each other, but both rooms can be furnished in different styles. Plus it's warmer!

x

The layout you described is similar to mine, but the only thing is we don't have highway on roadside.