Kitchen Extensions with Bedrooms Above

What you get

This service suits you if your kitchen is too small and you also need another bedroom. Building both floors at once costs less than a single-storey kitchen extension now and a first floor later. You get a layout that works for cooking, eating and the garden, a bedroom plan that works upstairs, the approvals your nation needs and the build, carried out by vetted teams working under S&K. Kitchen units are priced separately.

It suits you if…

Your kitchen is small or cut off from the garden and you need another bedroom
You want an open-plan kitchen, dining and family space
You would rather build two floors once than extend twice
You want large rear doors and good daylight in the kitchen

Line drawing: existing house in outline, new work in brick, blue dashed line at first-floor level.

Design points that matter

Steel beams and the open-plan opening

Removing the old rear wall to make one large room means a steel beam, sometimes several, to carry the first floor and roof. The engineer sizes the steel and its supports, and we decide early whether you want a flush ceiling with the beam hidden or a downstand, as this affects ceiling heights.

Glazing and the Part L 25% rule

In England, new windows, roof lights and glazed doors in an extension are normally limited to 25% of the extension's floor area plus the area of any windows or doors removed. Larger glazing is possible, but needs SAP or compensating calculations, so we plan the rear doors around this from the start.

Ventilation and extract

In England and Wales, a new kitchen needs an extract hood or fan to the outside under Part F, and enclosing the old rear rooms can leave them without fresh air. We route the extract duct, often through the outside wall or up through the new floor, and plan background ventilation for the whole space.

Bedrooms over a kitchen

Bedrooms above need an escape window or a protected route to the stairs, plus good sound insulation from the kitchen below. We position the stairs, landing and bedroom doors so the new rooms connect naturally to the existing first floor.

Services and drainage

Sinks, dishwashers and an upstairs bathroom all need waste routes to the drains, often near where the extension goes. We check the drains early and plan soil stacks, gas and electrical supplies so the kitchen layout is not limited later.

Planning and approvals by nation

England

In England, a two-storey rear kitchen extension can be permitted development if it goes no more than 3 m beyond the rear wall of the original house and stays at least 7 m from the rear boundary, with matching materials and roof pitch, outside protected areas. No balconies are allowed. Deeper designs need planning permission, costing £548 (or £575 for applications made from 8 December 2026).

Approval in England: Householder planning application: £548 (or £575 for applications made from 8 December 2026). Lawful development certificate: £274 (about £288 for applications from 8 December 2026). Councils should decide householder applications within 8 weeks of validation.

Building regulations: Building regulations approval (full plans recommended) from the council or a registered building control approver, with a completion certificate at the end.

Wales

In Wales, a kitchen extension with bedrooms above can be permitted development if the kitchen goes no more than 4 m and the first floor no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall, with the first floor 10.5 m from the rear boundary. This lets the kitchen project further than the bedrooms. Otherwise a householder application costs £585.

Approval in Wales: Householder planning application: £585. Councils normally decide householder applications within 8 weeks.

Building regulations: Building regulations approval under the Welsh Approved Documents, which differ from England's in places (notably energy efficiency).

Scotland

In Scotland, a two-storey kitchen extension falls under Class 1B, which needs at least 10 m to every boundary for permitted development. Most gardens are too narrow, so expect a householder application, which costs £371 and is decided within two months. A building warrant covers the structure, ventilation and energy standards.

Approval in Scotland: Householder planning application: £371. Councils have two months to decide a local planning application.

Building standards: A building warrant from the council's building standards service before work starts, and a completion certificate at the end. Scotland uses its own Technical Handbooks.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, a kitchen extension with bedrooms above can be permitted development if it goes no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall and stays 7 m from the rear boundary, with height, materials and roof pitch conditions. Otherwise a planning application costs £347 per dwelling, and building control approval from the council is needed.

Approval in Northern Ireland: Planning application for works to a house: £347. Councils aim to decide local applications within an average of 15 weeks; many take longer.

Building control: Building control approval from the local council under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland), using the Technical Booklets.

Guide price

As a guide, a kitchen extension with bedrooms above costs £56,000–£75,500 including VAT at 20% for a 4 m × 3.5 m footprint on two floors (28 m² of new floor space), based on West Midlands prices and our Standard spec, with kitchen units priced separately; London and the South East are higher.

Guide prices by region
Region	Per m² of new floor	Typical project
London	£2,400–£3,240 per m²	£67,000–£90,500
South East England	£2,200–£2,970 per m²	£61,500–£83,000
East of England	£2,060–£2,780 per m²	£57,500–£78,000
South West England	£2,060–£2,780 per m²	£57,500–£78,000
West Midlands	£2,000–£2,700 per m²	£56,000–£75,500
East Midlands	£1,960–£2,650 per m²	£55,000–£74,000
North West England	£1,900–£2,560 per m²	£53,000–£72,000
Yorkshire and the Humber	£1,840–£2,480 per m²	£51,500–£69,500
North East England	£1,800–£2,430 per m²	£50,500–£68,000
Wales	£1,840–£2,480 per m²	£51,500–£69,500
Scotland	£1,880–£2,540 per m²	£52,500–£71,000
Northern Ireland	£1,760–£2,380 per m²	£49,500–£66,500

Typical project: a 4 m × 3.5 m footprint on two floors (28 m² of new floor space), kitchen units and worktops priced separately. Including VAT at 20%, Standard spec. Essential spec is about 8% less, Premium about 20% more. See all prices and fees or work out your own guide price.

What's included

Free site visit
Measured survey, priced in writing with the design stage
Kitchen and bedroom layout design
Permitted development check or planning application
Steel beam design for the open-plan opening
Glazing, ventilation and extract design
Building regulations drawings and approval
The build to a finish ready for decoration, by vetted teams working under S&K

How it works

Free site visit
We look at your house, the boundaries, access and drains, and talk through what you need the new space to do.
Design and approval
Measured survey and drawings, then planning permission or a lawful development certificate, depending on the rules where you live.
Engineering and fixed price
Structural calculations and building regulations approval, then a fixed build price in writing.
Build and sign-off
Vetted teams working under S&K build it, and we arrange the completion certificate.

Questions about kitchen extensions with bedrooms above

Is it cheaper to build a kitchen extension and bedrooms at the same time?

Yes, in most cases. Building both floors at once means one set of foundations, one roof, one scaffold and one set of approvals. Adding a first floor later means removing the original roof, possibly strengthening the foundations and disrupting the kitchen again. If you think you will need the bedroom, build it now.

Does the kitchen price include the units?

No. Our guide prices cover the build to a finish ready for decoration, including plumbing and electrics, but not kitchen units, worktops or appliances, which vary widely. Large sliding or bi-fold doors are an extra at about £4,000–£9,000 and a wide open-plan opening about £3,000–£7,000, including VAT at 20%.

Can the kitchen be bigger than the bedrooms above it?

Yes. With planning permission, the ground floor can extend further than the first floor, giving a part single, part two-storey design. In Wales, permitted development allows the ground floor to go 4 m and the first floor 3 m beyond the original rear wall. We show both options at the design stage.

How much glazing can a kitchen extension have?

In England, the normal limit is 25% of the extension's floor area plus the area of any windows or doors removed. You can have more if SAP or compensating calculations show the house still performs, for example with better insulation elsewhere. Wales has its own Part L, and Scotland and Northern Ireland use different standards.

Can I keep using my kitchen during the build?

For part of it. The new structure can be built while your existing kitchen stays in use, but when the rear wall is opened and the new kitchen is fitted there will be several weeks without one. We plan when this happens and help you set up a temporary kitchen elsewhere in the house.

Related services

Two-storey rear extensions

A two-storey rear extension is a new two-floor addition built onto the back of your house, usually giving a larger kitchen or living space on the ground floor and one or two bedrooms or a bathroom above.

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Part single, part two-storey extensions

A part single, part two-storey extension is an extension where the ground floor is wider or deeper than the floor above, so only part of it rises to two storeys.

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Structural engineering for two-storey extensions

Structural engineering for a two-storey extension involves calculating how the new floors, walls and roof carry their loads down to the ground, and designing the beams, lintels, foundations and ties into the existing house to suit.

Kitchen extensions with bedrooms above