Kitchen extension: making room for a kitchen diner

Planning a kitchen extension? An extension for the kitchen is one of the most requested ways to enlarge a home. The kitchen moves back, there is room for a dining table and the house opens up to the garden. A kitchen diner in an extension does call for early choices. Where do the drains go, how does the cooking steam get out, and where does the light fall? The better the extension and the kitchen are matched, the less needs adjusting during the build. Below you can read what we look out for.

Why build an extension for the kitchen?

In many houses from the second half of the last century the kitchen is small and enclosed. A rear extension turns it into a spacious kitchen diner, where cooking, eating and spending time together happen in one room. The house becomes bigger and more sociable at the same time.

An extension for a kitchen diner often also adds value to the house. A modern, well insulated extension that connects to the existing house appeals to buyers.

How do you lay out a kitchen diner in an extension?

First decide where the kitchen goes and where the dining table goes. Many people put the kitchen in the old part of the house and the table in the extension, by the garden. Others choose a kitchen island in the extension, with light from above.

Sometimes the old rear wall has to be opened up completely for this. A steel beam then goes in, just as with removing a load-bearing wall.

• Worktop out of the walking route to the garden
• Kitchen island with more than a metre of space around it
• Dining table by the glazed doors or under the roof lantern
• Sockets and lighting fixed in advance

Where does the light come from?

A kitchen diner in an extension gets light through the glazed doors and often through the roof. A roof lantern above the worktop or table brings daylight deep into the room. Read more in an extension with a roof lantern.

On the garden side many people choose wide glazed doors. For the choice between a sliding door, a lift and slide door and French doors, read fitting a sliding door.

Kitchen extension: what do you arrange in advance?

Drains, water pipes and electrics are laid in the floor and walls before the finishing is done. That is why the kitchen design has to be ready early. A kitchen island with a sink, for example, needs a drain through the floor with sufficient fall.

Also think about extraction. A cooker hood that vents outside needs a duct through the wall or roof. A recirculating hood can do without, but good ventilation of the room remains important. An induction hob often needs a separate circuit in the consumer unit.

How do you coordinate the contractor and the kitchen supplier?

Give the kitchen supplier's drawing to the contractor as early as possible. It shows the connection points for water, drainage and power. We put those in the right place during the build, so the kitchen fitter can install without breaking anything open.

At Bouwbedrijf R. Vlieland one project manager keeps track of the schedule, from foundations to finish. That way completion of the extension lines up with delivery of the kitchen. If you are living at home during the build, also read renovating while you live there.

Frequently asked questions