And just to make things REALLY interesting, garages are not up to 'code' as a living space. Please ensure you have pulled the right permits (all of them) and hire the right people to do the conversion. Garage conversions can be one of the most expensive 'renovations' we have. The heating, the plumbing, the venting, the electrical, the insulation, the concrete/foundation all have to be updated and conform to 'code' for indoor living conditions. Code includes fire ratings, electrical outlet distancing, the works. And remember: garage concrete slabs are NOT poured the same way a house foundation is. They RARELY have moisture barriers underneath them. That means anything you use over top of them MUST BE protected from moisture mitigation. A garage slab is considered 'soaking wet' (by concrete standards) until it is tested and proven it is not. To get it to test 'dry' you have about $7/sf worth of moisture mitigation efforts ahead of you. The 'finishing' touches can be found once the structure has been brought up to code. Your location will dictate where you can find recycled housing bits. Large centres have companies that remove and resell housing 'innards'. Small towns are going to be limited to what you find in the local paper (if you still have a local paper), on the Co-Op board or by word of mouth.

Yes, it will be too narrow. So here's the rest of my opinion: -The most prominent feature of a house should never be the garage doors. -The front entry should be clear, welcoming and should guide the visitor with visual cues. -A front door that's hidden in a dark tunnel is awful. -A home needs a "front side" - that's not always the side facing the street (yours isn't). Building the garage in front of your existing would completely block the "front" of your house. Here's an idea: Put the new garage behind the existing and have the garage door on the side of the house instead of the front. Rework the drive a bit --to the right of where the car is parked --with pavers so that it's a "drop off area" that helps to emphasize the "front" of the house. You have a nice house. Don't mess it up with a remuddle job that gives you more sq feet but ruins the house in the process.

While I think the revisions addressed some issues, I would 1. make the vanity longer and use up all the space possible. Remember, 2 sink vanities lose a lot of drawer/storage space. Also, is there any other storage in the bathroom? Where will a towel-rack go or even a bar to hang a towel? 2. A desk inside the closet? Not what I would do, but maybe you have a good reason. You're going to need some serious lighting conditions in there to address the needs of someone working at the desk. 3. You must have a great relationship with a plumber, because none of the water-needing devices are back-to-back which means a whole lot of plumbing. 4. I'd probably close up that door from the bathroom to the closet. 1st, you get more hanging space in the closet. 2nd, you get room to add a tall bank of cabinets in the bathroom for storage. 5. Is that the shower in the upper left corner? 6' by 5'? That's an awfully big shower (bigger showers not always better, since it might not be as warm in there), and then a little dinky toilet area which is going to feel cramped. 6. The master bedroom is still so big you can fit a sofa in there. This is my personal preference, but here you are adding all this "utility" to a big space...2 bathrooms, a desk to work at, a new laundry room... and yet you still want all that roomy space around the bed. I just wouldn't want that, if I were you. To me, I consider having separate vanities a far bigger luxury than space around a bed, or having a sofa in my bedroom. I do think it's a great idea to have the laundry close to the kitchen like that. But a powder room that is going to flush while people are dining at the table? And they'll be able to smell from there? All in all, I don't really know why you are opposed to getting an architect. I'd want it done right for the amount of money you'll end up paying for construction.

One of my favorite conversions is from Kurt Krueger Architects in Los Angeles that I came across a few years ago. They added a lovely front private patio and simple plantings in front of the old garage. Instead of closing off the garage door opening, he replaced it with a slider opening to the patio. So you are actually making the existing driveway your own private oasis. This might be an inspiration for you. Just remember to make sure there are no city ordinances preventing you from removing the garage and closing in a patio street side.