Curiousgeorge - Living in Ireland it is either cold or very cold (and always wet)....... ;D ;D ;D ;D

Wiseblood - as a connosuir of Property Bladder on C4, I can tell you:

1) You need to work out who the target market(s) are for when you come to sell (if profit's your intention). If you're buyers aren't gonna only be young professionals who like open plan living, the cost of knocking a structural wall down might not be recouped when you come to sell. Is your house likely to be bought by a family, a landlord, or retired couples downsizing for instance. Obviously your area affects this.

2) What period is the house, and would it suit open plan living, eg a 19th century cottage probably wants to retain its cosyness.

3) What have the neighbours done to improve their homes and what desirable features have similar priced houses got in your area? Eg. if the neighbours have all got en suites or conservertaries or something and you haven't, you're not gonna be able to sell yours easily if they're on the market at the same time when you sell yours. If there are any for sale try and have a nose round.

4) Get at least 3 Estate Agent's opinions on your wall proposal. 2 at the very least. I was in the exact same quandry as you (without the option of building a porch though). Every estate agent advised I had a family sized home, and most families in my area would prefer a living room seperate from the main hallway, even if it means the living room remains tiny (it's about 3m x 4m!). They said I either wouldn't recoup the money I'd spend or it'd be so negligable you'd have to question wether it was worth all the hassel in the end (and mine isn't even a load bearing wall).

But, if you're doing it for yourself to live in and you're gonna be there another 5-10 years or more, the rise in house prices during that time will probably make any loss you may create now quite negligable (especially compared to the years of added comfort you get out of it for yourself).
:-)