Back with plan for farmhouse remodel

13 years ago

Well, I know some of you think it's VERY bad to take down walls, but I'm planning to do it...and hoping you see why, when I post my plan.

We have a farmhouse, we inherited (with the farm) from my huband's father...belonged to his grandparents. The original part is from 1904, with a 1950's addition. The addition was built by my husband's great uncle and the fireplaces (living room and family room) were built by my husband's uncle.

We also have a very large family on my husband's side (30-40 people at parties) so a small space needs to live big. We like the original layout, more or less, but I think a big country kitchen is more practical and works better, on a farm.

The old house...originally, was the living room in front, the kitchen in back (with a small table) and the porch, stairs, and little room (that I made the entry) was the master bedroom! Celllar under and attic/big bedroom upstairs. The bath was added a little later. In the 1950's, the living room (with fireplace) back bedroom and bath were added. Upstairs, more attic space and downstairs, a family room (with another fireplace) and back bedroom.

Here's the before and after plans...each square is = 2 feet, but the first plan seems to be smaller (from the scanner, I guess). Also, I've included some pictures of the wood stove in the kitchen seating area...and a few inspiration pictures from the kitchen forum.

I always draw furniture in my plans, to make sure the room is big enough, to work as a finished space. Too many remodeling shows end up with beautiful rooms...that the furniture they'd like doesn't seem to fit!

Thank you for taking the time to look. Maybe taking the wall down will make sense to some, maybe not, but I appreciate your input and suggestions :)

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Comments (8)

oldhousegal
13 years ago
From what you describe your family like, I think the new plan works much better - for you. Opening the walls will give you the room and feeling of more space as well. I would love to open the wall between my kitchen and dining room, but cannot bring myself to do it because of the wainscoting and built-in in my home. But, my family is not that large, so it isn't a necessity for me either.

I would love to see interior photos of the 'before' look to your farmhouse. Some farmhouses were built to be just basic farmhouses, without the lovely parts some old houses have (built-ins, large moldings, intricate details), some had more character than others. In doing your remodel, if you started with the first, you could make it the latter....., I think a lot of old house folks don't necessarily mind tearing out walls, but tearing out the character gets them upset!

The PO to my house could never understand all the work I have been doing on this house, saying, "It's just an old farmhouse!" Well, to her it was, but to me it was so much more- by highlighting the special things (moldings, built-ins, plaster walls, divided light windows) and getting rid of the stuff that covered them up-or replacing those that she'd torn our- it made even this old 'farmhouse' better. Btw- she didn't know what she was talking about- it may have been a 'farmhouse' to her, but it's truly a craftsman style, and now those details really show!

I love your pantry/laundry area. What a great idea and so close to the kitchen will make doing chores so much easier. I'm afraid I have to keep mine in the basement- not due to space, but keeping it there gives me more exercise going down stairs and after all the sweets this winter, I'll need it!
lavender_lass
Original Author
13 years ago
LOL! I'm sure you don't need the stairs, but it is good exercise.

Thank you for the positive feedback. My old house doesn't have the nice built in features, but it does has a beautiful fireplace in the living room.

I'm excited to open up the kitchen, since I think it will be much more practical and look more like a farmhouse kitchen should look :)
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Lass, you are in a very enviable position, actually owning the property is more than half the battle. Both myself and my daughter would love to be in your position, we LOVE old houses. The Bing Crosby connection IS very cool indeed. This has always been a dream of mine, to buy and restore an old house, they have such carisma. Did you ever see the 1942 movie "George Washington Slept Here" with Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan? I'm sure your farmhouse is not in the same condition as the house in the movie was :).... my daughter and I went through an old house in just about the same condition as the one in the movie, it was a two story, with several rooms with bay windows (all smashed) a kitchen with pantry, a big covered verandah. It had a spectacular wide staircase leading up to the second floor and the bedrooms. This old lady was sitting in a small wooded acreage overlooking the water. It could have been restored into a thing of beauty. Such a sad day when it was torn down. Annette
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Okay, as I mentioned earlier, the idea of losing the dining room was not all that popular...so I went back to the drawing board, on my plan. The living room/bedroom side (the 1950's addition) is staying pretty much the same, but the master bathroom is back. The hall bath is more vintage style, with the claw foot tub and slipper chair...and I switched the sink and toilet...hopefully making soaking in the tub more enjoyable :) By adding the little 'back hall' I was able to flip the hall bath and finally have the plumbing back to back, which is a big improvement! The dining room is 'as is' with a bay window and french doors, rather than the current corner windows. This allows us to add the small sun porch/study, with windows on two sides, with short bookcases, below. There's room for a couple of reading chairs, a small desk, an orange tree and a few Star Jasmine. They're the plants I would love to have, even though they don't bloom that often, when the do....Wow! The kitchen is similar to Laura Calder's kitchen (which I love) with the addition of the banquette and wood stove. I finally found a way to incorporate the country kitchen, wood stove and view to the back. It's kind of a no-brainer, once we kept the dining room, but hey...it's a work in progress! LOL The sunroom and kitchen both have doors to the 'laundry porch' which is the laundry/freezer/pantry area, with lots of windows. It is the old porch and I still wanted it to look like one...as many old houses have this feature. The mudroom on the back is small, but works well to keep cold out and kitties in...and provides access to the greenhouse. This is mainly for starting veggies/herbs and flowers for the garden, growing a few veggies and some hothouse plants...but I couldn't resist a small table and chairs. The perfect spot for enjoying a quiet cup of tea :) Now that the kitchen is no longer open to the living room, I can bring back some blue! Here's a kitchen I love... With this blue laminate countertop for the perimeters and wood on the island. Same backsplash..don't this little blue flowers look great with it? A little more cheerful than the black granite, but I still like the sunflowers! Sarah Richardson's farmhouse island is a great example of seating on one end of the island...so not too close to the cooktop. I think both of these are beautiful! Maybe the first one for the corner sunroom (without the door) and the second one would be more like the greenhouse. Thanks for looking :)
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I think you have a real handle on what you want but a decision this big needs people you don't know and never will's opinion. Support and agreement is good and these folks know there stuff but it's your place you will live there. You never mentioned budget but for the kitchen I don't believe your prices include labor, electrical and plumbing, do they? I do know some people that paid more for the kitchen remodel around here that you can buy a simple tired home for. 12X14 sunroom. I was in the sunroom business and didn't want one for my home, sweltering in summer and stone cold in winter. Yes you can heat and cool them and watch those utility bills skyrocket. They look to be initially inexpensive but once you factor in added utilities it is more cost effective to extend with traditional construction with a large focal window. They will tell you they will appreciate the value of your property greater than traditional construction but now that they have been in fashion for a while they can actually be a deal killer. We are looking at homes and don't want anything to do with a sunroom. Glass is glass, the greatest heat loss is through the glass in a home, until they invent a high insulating glass that is affordable that is simply a fact. R-3 per pane, maybe, you do the math. Full thermal break or not. No one would build a room and put in R-6 of insulation in a wall. Sorry I know you are focused on the kitchen but thought I might give you my spin on sunrooms.
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Shades- All your windows are so pretty, in that picture. I like having lots of light/views, too. Shade cloth sounds like a really good idea. I didn't think about the privacy...but that's a nice benefit, too :) I posted this on my unfitted kitchen post, but I wanted to get your input, too. I've been debating about putting the washer/dryer in the mudroom (for various reasons) and a fireplace type of surround, around the wood stove. I don't like the idea that a hot surface would be so close to the entry. So, that being said...I was playing around with some new ideas for the kitchen. I'd like to have a bigger baking area and maybe a little place for marble, out of the main work space. Then, it hit me, what if I moved the wall oven/microwave into the pantry area (I still have the range oven in the kitchen) and I could put the baking area, between the wall oven and corner pantry. I have the farmhouse sink (with the drainboards on each side) in the pantry, for watering plants, washing veggies, arranging flowers, etc. The main sink (maybe a farm sink?) would be for clean up (especially big mixing bowls, pans, etc.) and the little bar/prep sink on the island, is for drinks and washing produce, out of the fridge. Although it's just the two of us, most of the time...we do have a lot of people over in the summer and at 'harvest time' so the extra room is really nice. What do you think? Oh, and I'm thinking the marble in the baking area, blue countertops on the L part of the kitchen, and butcher block on the island...and maybe around the pantry sink. From Fairy tale cottage
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lavender_lass
Original Author
13 years ago
Summerfield just drew the most beautiful plan for me, on the Building forum. What a sweet thing to do and I'm so excited to have such a wonderful plan :)

{{gwi:618183}}
kimkitchy
13 years ago
Wow, that is nice! Looks like your ideas are solidifying. How exciting. Best of luck with it all. I think it will be very nice when you are all finished.

(Hmm... I've lived in my old house 18 years now and it still isn't "finished"... maybe that's a concept I can't really grasp. I hope you have more timely remodeling than we have had!) -Kim
slateberry
13 years ago
if it were my house, I'd have a little door in the wall between the sink and the toilet in the master bath, about 3' up. It would be a horizontal laundry chute into a basket or cabinet in the next bathroom. Then, when you wanted to do laundry, you would just be a few steps from the laundry room with it.

Also I caution against a fridge next to a wall. we had that situation for 3 years and I could never get the door open all the way. Couldn't even pull out drawers or shelves to clean them. I finally took a pry bar to my kitchen and swapped some cabinetry with the fridge so it could open fully. I almost love my kitchen now!

Here is a link that might be useful: moving my fridge
lavender_lass
Original Author
13 years ago
Slateberry- Interesting idea about the laundry. As for the fridge, it's supposed to be okay, if the wall doesn't come out too far.

Kim- Thanks, I really like the plan. Hope your remodel finishes soon :)

Summerfield had a few suggestions and I asked for a few small changes, so here's the slightly amended plan. Notice the wall is not all the way up to the edge of the fridge...that was Summerfield's idea. Love the plan and I really appreciate all the work done...thanks again, Summerfield!

{{gwi:618187}}
jiggreen
13 years ago
Wow, Summerfield did a fantastic job! I wonder what program was used to do that plan....because I want it!

I love the layout, especially the super large pantry. One thing has me puzzled though...why such a large bathroom off of the kitchen and a smaller one for the master? You don't have a guest bedroom on the first floor, so I don't understand the need for the oversized bathroom. Especially since it seems like the master bath could use the space more.

I'd also love to see some interior before pictures of your home...I'm very interested in seeing the transformation as it progresses!!
lavender_lass
Original Author
13 years ago
Jiggreen- I'll try to get some pictures, soon. Here's one I took the other day, that shows the farmhouse (please ignore the shed). It was -4 F. and a foot of snow, so I took it out the window, from our manufactured home. The roof looks a little strange, because my husband and his friends put sheet metal over it, to keep the melting snow from getting into a couple of small leaks, where the addition meets the big gable.

{{gwi:618185}}

As for the bathrooms, this is the way they are now (for the most part) and the wall between them is the wall between the original house and the addition. I really don't want to move it...too many worries.

The good thing, I get a beautiful bath (hers) that also looks great for company. The master bath, mostly so we don't have to walk by the entry to use the bathroom, also gives my husband his walk in shower...and the hot tub! LOL Besides his bar/TV area in the basement, that's all he really wants.

Here's a picture I saw months ago, that I'm using for my inspiration for the hall bath...Summerfield drew everything from my description only...then I finally found the picture, again. Of course, I only need one set of drapes, one light fixture and probably beadboard rather than wainscoating...but it's beautiful. Even the pink tiles are pretty, but I'd probably go with something a little more neutral :)

{{gwi:618189}}

And here's an idea of what I want to use for the storage, across from the toilet...maybe not quite this big.

{{gwi:618190}}

I'm basing the remodel on a 1920's home, and back then indoor plumbing was something that most people didn't mind showing off, a bit.

Back with plan for farmhouse remodel

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Back with plan for farmhouse remodel

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