We desperately need more space and need quiet rooms to read, study and chill in. Further down the beach road, recently a large Victorian property came on the market, but needs much renovation. Hence its lower price and it's as close to the beach as we are, though its killer feature is a magnificent indoor heated swimming pool and a nice big library. Our children would love this old property. It's just that I distrust the boy racer neighbours.

If we sold our individual properties, we'd accrue far more than the Victorian property's market price, therefore having good funds to achieve what we'd want and save the rest.

On the other hand we have planning permission to merge our present individual properties. Either decision means building chaos. I'm wondering what to do.

If we merged our properties, then we could solve this problem in adding two extra bedrooms in the lofts and extend our kitchen so it becomes a comfy dining room. As the kitchen is known for being "the hub of the house", this makes sense as I have a massive Lacanche I don't want to lose if we sold up.

Our rear gardens have walnut and sweet chestnut trees, a big vegetable patch, a greenhouse and an orchard each. Protected from the elements, it's virtually gale-free with only light winds breezing around our veranda.

Any suggestions would be helpful.