Have you thought about removing the fireplace?

I know. GASP. Unless that thing is of some architectural significance, you don't have to keep it. Seriously. We tried and tried to work around a fireplace and as soon as we gave ourselves the green light to ditch it, a whole new world of floor plans opened up. You won't miss it. If you want a fireplace, you can have one... anywhere you want. Not just in the middle of your house.

I did a quick drawing to show an idea for creating a foyer/ coat closet/ private powder. Since we don't know where your windows are, this may not work so forgive me for not spending a lot of time on the details. This is one of my favorite powder room configurations ; it creates a small closet for the office.

The white squares just represent furniture like a bench and a console table.

Changing the entry created a better approach to the bedrooms. To show you a few more ideas, I moved some things around and gained two more feet for your bathroom/ dressing room from my first drawing. Note: the bathroom is positioned so that when you enter the hallway, you can't see the mirror which would in turn reflect the toilet area. I really try to be mindful of toilet visibility as much as possible.

Guco, the mst. closet in your plan isn't very workable.

Can we assume in your plan there are no alterations to the front two bedrooms and their shared bath .

You may want to give out a few parameters for the crowd here , lest they do what architects will do - throw out possibilities that are nice with regard to budget being secondary.

Nanawalls and removing fireplaces are nice , but not when you have a small budget and there are a lot of other needs on the list.

Xedos, where would you put the master closet?

Yes, Everyone, please assume no alteration to the front two bedrooms and their shared bath. Also, no nanowall and no removing fireplaces please. Our budget is around $150K.

The ones that are up for change are: kitchen space/dining/family space/master bath/closet/half bath/pantry/study. We do kind of like the study in the front of the house though.

I've added dimensions for your review.

crl_, the kitchen and dining room should be open to each other. I just need to erase that line

xedos - Most of us here aren't architects, so why not throw out ideas? Spitballing with Gardenwebbers is free and can help guco organize her wants - needs - have to haves lists.

Our fireplace removal cost us a drop box rental, a roof patch and a floor patch. And one weekend. Super easy removal. I'm not suggesting guco DIY and I don't assume her's is just as simple, but fireplace removal isn't necessarily bank breaking. (ETA: I think all that together was maybe $800.)

xedos, You're very good at critiquing ideas. I haven't seen any of your drawings or original creative suggestions. Care to share?

Location is ok per se, it's just that 4' isn't wide enough for 2 rows of hanging and 4x7 isn't really big enough for a walk in closet that needs to serve 2 people.

Suggest carving out his closet from the middle bedroom. Or hers , if he is the clothes horse.

I'd also explore ditching the pantry you've drawn to put in the Mst suite and rework that kitchen space with cabinetry pantries. Lots of dead space in that kitchen plan.

I just read your message, guco. I'll stop encouraging a floor plan within the existing footprint. Best wishes with your addition!

Thank you for adding measurements. Is the 19 x 14 for the kitchen measuring the widest part at the top to include the pantry? So the main part of the kitchen is about 7 feet wide?

Did some tweaks.

The wider kitchen allows for the fridge to be moved back and you will now have room for cabinets along that wall which could become your pantry. Reach-in pantries instead of walk-in pantries are still very good pantries. It's the kind I have and I'm very happy with them. Your kitchen plan is quite dysfunctional and that peninsula seating blocking the nice double-doors (with windows, I assume?), please....no. You will lose the visual impact those doors should have with the peninsula blocking it.

Once you've come up with a final floorplan for the entire house/addition, we can work on tweaking the kitchen.

Have you cross-posted your remodeling plans to the Remodeling forum? Or even the Building a Home forum? It might be good to get some input from those folks as well. The more ideas you get from the collective hive minds, the better your final plan should end up being.

crl_The kitchen is 19X14 not including the pantry. I didn't count it because I had a feeling that it was not the best location.

funkycamper, I will cross post. Thank you. Thank you for showing the change of the half bath. I am not sure I like it though. I feel like the guests/visitors will just go use the bathroom in between the two bedrooms because it will be closer then. I think ideally I'd like to put a bathroom on the left side of the house too.

guco, I agree with funkycamper that more separation in the living areas would be preferable for a family. DH and I could watch TV or carry on a conversation in the living room, while our sons and their friends played Rockband in the family room. In your current setup, noise in one area will definitely impact the other.

DH and I helped remove a fireplace from a house several years ago. 4 or 5 people; I think we got most of it done in one long day, though the finish work (patching the hole in the ceiling) was done by a drywall guy the next day. The room was getting new flooring anyway. This was a wood-burner - obviously if you have gas that would have to be capped. But if you are willing to DIY the manual labor, I don't think removing the FP is a budget-buster.

Your kitchen layout looks awkward. The stools are jammed against the windows (with no view outside) and it's a long walk from sink to living space. Maybe something like this?

And if you don't mind losing a stool from the peninsula, you could stretch that out to the load bearing wall to the dining room. That would give you more counter space on each side of range...and a longer island :)

Laverder_lass, OMG you are giving me an island! Also you are making the Master closet bigger! I think I love your plan. Only one question. What's those two appliances at the end? refrigerator and what's "P"? Is it weird to have refrigerator that close to the door?

I'm glad you like it! P is for a small pantry....maybe a pull out? Just a cabinet to frame in the fridge and keep it from being against the wall.

It's easier to open fridge all the way (for cleaning) and you get more storage. Also, if you plan to entertain (deck, patio?) outside, having the fridge closer might be a good idea. If you need/want it closer to the living areas, maybe an undercounter fridge in island or long pantry area?

If you give us more exact measurements, location of windows, etc...the kitchen dimensions could be more detailed. But it's a start :)

Lavender_lass, no exact dimensions yet because it's not designed or built yet. However, I have to say I really really like your floor plan. My only concern is that the pantry may be too small. I was hoping to put a junk/pantry closet somewhere that is a walk-in.

You can always have a junk closet, it just doesn't have to be in the pantry. Maybe rearrange the half bath and add a junk closet off the study?

Just a quick idea....

Or you can scoot the half bath against the wall (window?) and have built in storage in short hall. Not a junk closet, but still lots of extra storage :)

PLEASE, stop cross-posting. Or, at least if you do, say you did!

Note for others: This is also posted in remodeling.

I like Lavendar's kitchen plan but really hate where you are intent on putting the bathroom. If I was a guest at your home, I'd use the one between the two bedrooms if I was allowed and never use the one you intend to put in. With that door right in the living space, it's way too close for the three S's (sight, sound, smell). IMHO, it would be best to save the expense of putting in a new powder room entirely instead of putting on there.

Lavender_Lass I think we may take your idea of sacrificing one seating area in the peninsula then pushed the whole thing back a bit. This way maybe we can put the junk area near the refrigerator.

What do you think?

Oh, just noticed Lavender's plan for a junk closet next to the powder room. Yes, that works great as it adds a hall which eliminates the 3 S's bathroom problem. I like the second version so guests can use it without having to go through your office which can sometimes become a bit of a junk collector room. Good job, Lavender!

Just a thought for the office doors...how about double door pocket doors, with glass inserts? The glass could be seeded glass or something else to obscure the view while still allowing light through. The extra light into your front room would be a nice side-benefit.

Yes, please post the link to your discussion in the Remodeling forum. It's nice for folks on both forums to see what's being said in the other.

ETA: I'm a bit strident about the bathroom placement because, in our prior home, we placed a powder room right off our family room without any kind of buffer. The door was right next to the TV/video game console so there was no sneaking in. When it was just family, no big deal. But a few times when I pointed it out to guests, they visibly flinched and asked me if I had another bathroom they could use. Clearly, they were uncomfortable using it so close to the action. I started paying attention to bathrooms in other people's homes and realized I felt the same way during social gatherings. It's really yucky and uncomfortable for many, if not most, people.

kirkhall, sorry! I was encouraged by others to cross post.

Pay no attention to kirk.

So, here's junk closet, junk cabinet/pantry, long skinny pantry....lots of storage!

And, when you want to talk to people at dining table or family room, you're much closer while working at main sink :)

A couple more questions: the half bath hallway seems kind of awkward to me. Is there any way to improve this? I shifted the TV to the other wall instead of on top of the fireplace, does that look okay? Also, we want to put sliding doors in front of the kitchen because I cook asian food and want to be able to separate the kitchen a bit. I shifted the kitchen cabinets a bit further down to make the walls fit. Thoughts?

Doors like that would be so awesome! Another person here is doing similar doors in her house from the Sliding Door Company. They have some beautiful options. You might want to check the out. Personally, I'd like something that slightly obscures the view while letting light through, just in case you want a bit of privacy like if you're surprising someone with a birthday cake. Or some other special treat.

You will need to make some changes here (in yellow circle). You'll probably need to shorten the long wall counter (marked x). People sitting at those stools will not want to feel squeezed by the side walls and you would want them to be able to sit there with the doors closed. There isn't space for that. And, even with the doors open, it doesn't look like there's enough space to walk into the kitchen without having to make a sharp turn and really squeeze around that peninsula. You may also want to shorten that peninsula but I'd start with shortening X first. You will want to really watch the measurements here to maintain good clearances.

Guco, you don't have the room for those doors unless you give up a lot of storage and seating in the kitchen.

A lot easier and cheaper to get a properly sized and powerful vent hood which will take care of the smoke/smell of the food better than a couple of doors that will get greasy and dusty.

Hallway is awkward , but once you start doing stuff in there you'll run into the " might as well" syndrome. If you have kids, "if you give a mouse a cookie". You'll end up needing another wheelbarrow full of money just to remedy that hall because that's not where it will end.

Also, do you need / want seating on the island AND peninsula ???

Xedos, you are right. I don't need a peninsula and an island. I think I am more willing to give up on the island if I can somehow keep the peninsula and have the sliding doors. I want sliding doors not just to keep out smells but also to keep messy kitchen hidden.

xedos, how would you fix the hallway to the powder room? Is there a better layout?

You notice the kitchen...in the picture with the sliding doors? It shows an island, not a peninsula. That might be a better fit with your space.

Also, I have to ask.....why is the front door opening into that sofa?

Lavender, the front door actually opens on the perpendicular wall. I just can't get the software to do it for some reason.

I think all your doors are much bigger than they would be in real life. For some reason, your software seems to like BIG doors :)

Maybe something like this?

Sorry, I misread your post and thought your were talking about the hall on the other side of the house.

Just shorten the wall on the dining side a bit.

island is much better than a peninsula in your space - especially if you want the sliding doors.

I've been following this thread instead of unpacking boxes from our recent move! Lavender, your ideas are great.Thank goodness Funkycamper held her ground about the powder bath opening into the family room. We had the same issue in our last house and nobody wanted to use the powder bath when guests were there - and isn't that the point of a powder bath?!!!

That hallway on the bedroom side. The wall across from the (kids' bath?) it might be fun to do something like this. I saw it, while looking for something else....and it just looks cheerful :)

Lavender, yes, our front door is exactly how you have it. Just not sure why my software is weird. I like that hallway picture as well. You have some awesome ideas!

What do you think about the TV being on that wall instead on top of the fireplace? Is that awkward with the way the couch is?

Thank you Lavender and everyone. I think we're going with Lavender's last drawing. I'll be back once the architect's drawings are done to go over the small details!

TV s above fireplaces suck as far as viewing angles are concerned from sofas and chairs.

xedos, we have our tv above the fireplace now. I got to say we love it!

Lots of people do.

I'm simply stating that the viewing angle is way too high for most rooms and viewing distances in the typical sofa/chair viewing room size.

Most things are compromises though.

After thinking about Lavender's ideas for a week or so, do you guys think there is any way to have a eat-in kitchen with banquette seating instead of island?

I just feel like the island will be tight in there and I personally don't love sitting on stools....

I added dimensions for your thoughts. Thank you.

Well, if your kitchen is 14' across...your French doors are about 10'. So let's put those more in scale. As for the sliding doors between dining and kitchen....that is going to make your kitchen area smaller, too.

All that being said, maybe something like this? You really need more realistic doors and scale (graph paper) at some point....along with window dimensions, etc. This is just a quick idea :)

You'll give up A LOT of storage and counterspace to have that.

Maybe you should just close off the kitchen completely , with a full light door in the corner by the pantries, and clerestory windows above cabinets on the wall separating kit/dining.

You could also have a lowered eating area ala your inspiration pic. and use reg. chairs if that's your only reservation with the last concept.

xedos, do you mean lowering the island completely?

I am afraid since the kitchen is only 14 feet wide, adding more to the island will be too much.

No, just the seating area.

2' cabs + 3.5' aisle + 2' island+1.5'eating, + 3.5 aisle = 12.5'. Just enough I think.

Your latest pic is no more than 12' to back of the chairs.

We met with our architect today and he recommended an eat-in area to maximize the views in the back.

What does everyone think? Does the kitchen look okay with the workstation area?

It looks like you'll have no view and limited natural light in the dining and living rooms. Is this not a concern for you? Typically people like their living space to feel more connected to the outdoors.

Just what kinda view are we talking about ?

I'm not sure anything short of an ocean view or a Hollywood Hills + sunset view could make me live with all the wasted space in that floor plan.

Plus, that banquet really eats into the master bath , and I wouldn't want to have a single sink and minimal storage for any view.

but , thAts me. What say you about his plan?

Oh, and the entry/ walkway into the kitchen looks like a disaster . Waaaay too tight

benjesbride, our purpose for having the kitchen in the back is so we can enclose it if needed. As for natural light, we intend to have windows in the dining room and skylight in the family room.

xedos, it would be a view into the foothills (not hollywood). We are okay with a small basic master bath though. In your opinion, is the island version still the best? Our architect tried to get us to do the eat in because he wanted to maximize the window space for the view.