Our house is in a prime location on a double lot. It has 2700 square feet downstairs and 600 upstairs. It is a charming colonial built in 1937 with shiplap cypress siding and wooden windows. The spacial arrangements leave much to be desired.

The two story space is about 24x24 with a bedroom, bath, hall and closet upstairs and a small office, kitchen , staircase and hall beneath the upstairs.

The one story portion of our house includes a LR, DR, Den, two bedrooms separated by a bath, a powder room and a rear entrance hall with washer and dryer behind louver doors. There is tremendous wasted space in the portion of the house directly beneath the upstairs: a huge hall and staircase (12x24), a small office (10x12) and modest kitchen (12x12).

The kitchen is closed off and not pleasant to be in.

The den is about a foot lower than the rest of the first floor (a porch someone enclosed) and the ceiling is low in that room.

There are two bedrooms on the east side of the house which are separated by a shared bath. Closet space is abysmal. LR is gracious as is DR.

Two plan options:

Option 1.

Remodel existing downstairs 2 bedrooms & bath/closet and add new

master bath (12x12)

Move kitchen to rear of house (giving up Dining room) and perhaps using

present LR as DR

Use old kitchen space as utility space; pantry, laundry room, storage

Rip off roof of den and raise floor and ceiling to match rest of

house if funds permit

Pros of Option 1:

An ok Master Suite downstairs (by taking one bedroom and the shared bath area and adding about 12x12 for closet,bath).

Focus on getting a nicer kitchen with a better den.

Less cost

Cons of Option 1:

Somewhat less private and smaller MBR area

Working all over the house

The present second bedroom would not have a bath and would therefore give us a 2-3 bedroom house. One bedroom and bath downstairs and one large bedroom which could be split into two bedrooms upstairs. Fewer bedrooms may hurt resale.

Option 2.

Add MBR, bath and closet to rear of house by adding a wing on the

southeast side of house

Move kitchen to rear of house (giving up Dining room) and perhaps using

present LR as DR

Rip off roof of den and raise floor if funds permit

Pros of option 2:

More square feet

Concentrates the work to one side of the house and allows us not to touch the other side except for minor repairs. It increases the value of the house more but it will cost more.

A nice and more private master suite

Leaves the side of the house with the two bedrooms and bath alone.

The present 2 bedrooms and bath would make a nice office and TV room and preserve the existing 2 bedrooms and bath to give us 3 bedrooms downstairs and one (which can be split into 2) upstairs. This plan also has nice kitchen and den.

Cons of Option 2:

Greater cost

Public area (kitchen and den) not quite as nice

Question:

Improve quality of public space and make do with modest remodeling of Master Bedroom and bath or

Add master bedroom and bath and have a more modest kitchen/den

This is a complicated problem. If anyone has input, I appreciate it very much.