Also, this isn't clear in the drawing, but I did specify an opening going from the dining room to the kitchen. It's between the two pantries, but the wall lines might make it look like it isn't an opening.

I commented early in your first thread, suggesting putting the kitchen
in the right-hand bedroom. Here's a different approach (which should
make your realtor happy ;), keeping the bedroom. It is contingent on
putting a hood in front of the center bay window, and safety code. It does not have a
walk-in pantry, but I've put several smaller storage areas in the kitchen
and mudroom--if you like the kitchen plan, you could still split the
bedroom into a wider entry, large overflow pantry, and mudroom, changing the awkward
bedroom door.

The
angled areas next to the range would have to be custom made, probably
just shelves with doors, but you could have drawers in the island, and
under the prep area. The blind corner base area can be accessed through
the bedroom.

I added the craftsman style room divider to give you more furniture placement options, and to match the support post on the other side.

Is the up stair in the drawing how it is presently? I thought in a previous drawing the up stair started in the corner. If so, I would much prefer a more open foyer rather than walking directly into the stair from the front door.

Thank you Noah! Your layout "feels" right to me and gives me lots of ideas. I'm going to start working on my own version of this.

Thank you mama goose!

I like what you've done with the kitchen layout and mud room area.

I just wish I could come up with some other use for one of the bedrooms. The house has 8 bedrooms and I don't think we would regularly use both bedrooms on the first floor.

The one in blue on your plan gets incredible morning light. It also looks out on the elementary school playground (3 doors down) where my kids will go to school in a few years.

You're right benjesbride. Currently the stairs going up start in the corner by the front door. Right now the house is configured as a 3-family, so when you walk in the front door, there is a door to one apartment directly in front of you and a door to the staircase on your left. The stairs lead to the second and third apartments.

We're making it a single-family house so the entrance and stairs definitely have to be reworked. I like the architect's plan to add a landing and turn the staircase, so I kept it that way in the layout above.

In that case, if this were my house I'd use that room as a playroom / art room. And the "guest room" would be the library. Any house with that many rooms ought to have a library :-)

I really like MamaGoose's layout. It feels very open and I like how the two bay windows face each other. Gives the two spaces some cohesiveness. The angled cabs by the range will be a challenge but if you can get custom cabs to make it work, how amazing would that look? :)

Thank you, Mrs.K. I think 15-18" deep wall cabinets could be used under the angled counter (red boxes). I like the angles for the extra counter space, but they could be eliminated, and the counter on the left clipped. The counter could be straight across, too, but that seems like a lot of space behind the range.

I moved the fridge over, and put a pass through window into the playroom (fab's idea :), then enlarged the pantry and mudroom area. That room could also be an office.

A main floor laundry room?

I like the window into the playroom!

Oh wow. I just peeked at your first thread. Someone was very into archways I take it.....That's completely insane!

I like MG's idea of the playroom or a family room in that breakfast room space. Somewhere comfy to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the kids in the school playground as well.

I am just not sure at all about the range in front of the bay window. How hard would it be to clean the window or countertop behind? I have seen many beautiful pictures of ranges in front of windows, but haven't seen it in front of a deep bay window before.

I had done a shuffle of things around on your other recent thread. So I just placed that image over your new bare layout. It almost fits. :-)

I made the one post in red. Is that close to where it is?

Sorry I had to add a couple archways to honor the original architecture! Ha!

I tried to figure out the back entry and failed. Posting just to spark ideas.

Just rereading before bed and understand now that you need to plan for disabled relatives possibly.

I am not sure what the codes for that are, but I'd make sure that bathroom door is at least 3' wide, as well as the bedroom door. Plus, have over 3' on the sides of any size bed they would need. That bedroom might be too small if it's going to be for two people.

In what way is your relative disabled? If the staircase were straight, would one of these suffice? Or are we talking needing full-on wheelchair-accessible everything?

Based on the fact that it's an old house, the staircase likely isn't a straight run up. There's probably a landing at 1/2 or 3/4 way up.

Here's one that sort-of combines the ideas given by mama goose and rebunky.

I'd make the foyer and living room into one room to make it seem more open, and depending on how the stairs are aligned, it could add extra space.

Rebunky, I think you're right--it would look good, but it would be harder to clean the window behind the range, especially with a hood there, and if the original window remains operable, it might not pass code anyway.

The following could be done with the range, but there wouldn't be much landing space, so I kept the sink in the current location--Michael, do you hate your sink/DW set up? I left the DW in the current location, too, and moved the pantry door for easy access from the kitchen (this might have been done on plans on the other threads). The counter with the DW would need to be deeper to account for panels on both sides of the DW, but that means you have a deeper prep counter in the corner, and you wouldn't absolutely need a sink on the island, although I think it would be nice. You could keep dishes in drawers in the island--the DW and dishes would be m/l in the island prep space, but in an old house we make adjustments. Just another option:

Thanks rebunky!.

Yes, the current architecture is unusual, especially when combined with the Late Victorian, Early Arts & Crafts style of the exterior of the house.

But the former owner was a wonderful lady and she loved it! She fixed everything exactly to her taste and spent 40 years with her family in the house. I hope we can be so lucky!

Rebunky and Jillius, the disabled relative is my sister. She can do stairs but very slowly, so I wouldn't want her to have to go to the second or third floor to sleep. A few steps are ok.

Thanks mama goose. The counter in front of the small bay window is tricky.

If you keep the sink in the window then you can't put a DW or trash pullout next to the sink.

If you bump the sink forward then there's a lot of counter space behind the sink and it also blocks the area where you have put the fridge. I think having the counter behind the sink in the window would look nice with plants, but it's not the most functional and my contractor said it could be expensive with granite counters there.

Thank you to everyone who offered suggestions!

I thought about this all day yesterday...and all last night, yawn ;-)

Here's the layout that I came up with. What do you think?

Michael...you have 8 bedrooms and don't need them? Perfect use of these 2!!!! Your layout is a great use of this space!!!

Isn't that the configuration you have now? You can have an under-sink trash pullout, but if you hate the DW being perpendicular to the sink, now's the time to move it.

BTW, are you keeping the grill? I don't recall, and I've been putting a shallow cabinet there, but it looks as if you could remove a few of the bricks to the right, and build in a reach-in pantry.

Oops, I missed your last layout. I like it, with some fine tuning. :)

I'd skip the sink on the island--it seems too far away to be useful for prep. Put the DW to the left of the sink (make sure you have room for a couple of inches of filler on each leg), and move the range down a few inches, to make more room in the corner for prep space. Maybe a tall, shallow pantry cabinet on the end of the range wall? Where will you keep dishes?

ETA--instead of the little bit of island counter by the chimney, you could put a 24" wide, 12" deep pantry cabinet there for extra storage.

Your guest room door is too narrow, but that's an easy fix, with a shorter bench.

I'd probably eliminate the 2nd sink in bath...move door to bathroom down into that lower position....and put up a small wall outside bath door so you have mini corridor effect.....place hooks on the non kitchen or inner side of this wall......reduce the bench to one side or the other and bring the "storage" closet from family room down into position in this new zone. ..what this accomplishes...a "buffer" for people coming out of bedroom and heading to bathroom from all the eyes in the general area...also a buffer FOR the people at island and in kitchen from the noise and various activities occurring in bathrooms....also creates a zone for "drop" of coats, bags,etc coming from garage entry...and moves the Storage closet/niche from near the sectional couch. The powder room is probably big enough to build a storage "tower" ...and with the powder room entering your plan, eliminating the 2nd sink in bigger bath will work...and there is probably within that larger bath, space for a storage tower also...or carve a small closet with door on kitchen side of wall. I like the general layout you plotted....it's just careful attention to the presence of people in a bed/bath zone with an open kitchen in the immediate vicinity. What might help this goal also would be reduce island depth to 36-39 inches instead of the 42 you show......you just need a buffer area over to the side with a wall, even small, for some privacy.

We're planning to remove the grill. I've never seen an indoor grill before and it seems a little odd to me. We think the brick around the grill is cosmetic but the chimney from the basement to the roof is somewhere behind the grill and hood.

It's actually a nice DCS gas grill. Maybe we can use it outside somewhere, but it would need a masonry platform I guess.

The hood is a 36" Thermador and we're hoping to be able to reuse it.

I would love some fine tuning mama goose!

Thank you herbflavor!

That corner with the bench/bedroom/bathroom is the area that I'm struggling with the most. I want to get a storage closet/pantry in there somehow and provide more privacy for the bed/bath but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

So would one of those chair lifts that you ride up the stairs work well for your sister? She herself would not be walking up the stairs -- it would carry her.

Speaking as an aunt with health problems, I love my nephews and nieces, but I do not have their same energy level. When I visit them (let alone live with them), it's nice to have a bedroom that is well away from major child activity, so I can truly retire from the hubbub when I'm exhausted or not feeling well.

If we can arrange a means of comfortably getting your sister upstairs, I suspect she'd be overall happier with a quieter bedroom location.

That would also free up space downstairs, which could open up some interesting possibilities. Right now, the house has a ton of bedrooms and small living areas, and it'd be nice if those things were more balanced.

Is there a basement? So you have stairs going down as well as going up?

Also, what is the first floor ceiling height?

Michael: Your plan looks great. I'd go with it.

I have a few concerns with your latest layout.

1) Now you don't really have a mud room, it's basically part of the kitchen.

2) I really dislike the bathroom opening straight towards the kitchen.

3) The kitchen seems so small for a growing family (with 8 bedrooms to potentially fill ;-)). The island looks odd and disconnected from the kitchen.

I'll think more about it, and hopefully Jillius, MG, or others will get an idea. But I was liking that deep bay window behind the sink. Here is Buehl's.

Thank you rebunky!

I agree and I'm not 100% satisfied with that corner with the bathroom/bench/bedroom.

I did like the idea of the deep bay window with the sink and the last pic you posted with the white cabs/black counter has been a major inspiration picture for me. Would love to have orchids behind the sink in a sunny bay window.

But, I do like the flow of the front of the house better with the kitchen in the back.

Do you have any suggestions for how to rework the mud room/island area?

Thanks!

Jillius, my sister hopefully won't need to move in for many years. So really the main use of the 1st floor bedroom would be a guest room/play room. But I do want to fix the bathroom with a zero threshold shower with grab bars. She's not in a wheelchair, more just balance issues.

I'm imagining having a Murphy bed in the guest room that could be folded up when no one is staying with us and then the kids could play in there. I also like having the guest room close to a door so guests don't have to lug suitcases all over the house and up stairs.

To answer your other questions, there are stairs going up and basement stairs going down also. The basement is partially finished. It already has a finished bathroom, fireplace and lighting. Just needs a floor really. It's a pretty usable space for an old house, very open with about 6'8" ceilings I think. But the stairs were changed long ago to a spiral staircase going down. The spiral staircase feels very treacherous to me. We would like to change it to a regular staircase, but that's beyond our budget right now.

Much better!

I would like your second layout WITHOUT the island. The island is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The layout you have now follows a nice U shaped layout. If you want an "island" get a moveable cart for the center. The truth is the space is too small for an island.

Instead of the island, I'd make that space pantry space or a coffee or snack bar type of space.

I'd also move the range down to the our left a bit so it's a bit closer to the door. Just enough to give a bit more counter space between sink and range.

Additionally I'd reconfigure the bathroom at the back so that the door opens into the bathroom and not into the area where you see it from the kitchen.

I would love to tweak it but will not have time till sometime next weekend.

What is the ceiling height on the main floor, and do you have a layout for the upstairs and the basement as well?

I don't think it makes any sense to redo your whole first floor and not have a finalized plan of where all staircases will end up/be. Even if you don't get to the staircase part of the remodel for a while, you have to leave room for the future stairs and make sure they fit and work on all floors.

Spiral staircases are definitely less safe/ideal in practice -- I'm with you there. IHave you tried moving furniture up and down them yet? Good times.

Two more suggestions.

Kitchen in the current location, office+mudroom+pantry in the bedroom.

Greens are walls. The corner next to the range is void. I'm guessing the tall cab in front of the support column can be about 18" wide, not sure if you can fit a MW there.

Love that first design, Sena. Maybe combine it with the second guest room design.

Don't love Sena's first one because I personally would not enjoy cooking in a corner like that.

I do like sena's second design but still personally prefer Michael moving the kitchen to the back and keeping the front of the house for entertaining without the kitchen breaking it all up.

I'd just move the refrigerator down, along with the range and put the MW in the island. The biggest problem I see is, where do the dishes and stuff go, from the DW. But, I still like the layout. Whether or not it is really functional? I'll leave that to the pros here.

ETA....I see, it can't be moved. Bummer.

Ok I tried. It's not great. I wish there was some way you could get rid of that brick chimney.

That is a cubby hole for the stroller, but the rest of the closet opens towards the bedroom. I figured you could do coat hooks or narrow cubbies either in the small bathroom hallway or behind the bar stools on the longer bathroom wall.

I think you will probably only be able to fit a Full or Double size Murphy bed. The bedroom is pretty tiny.

I thought a pass through opening to the dining might be nice and open it up a little. I love Shanghai moms. But maybe just one opening on the left side of the range?

I still like the one mamagoose did or Senas. I actually liked the kitchen in the more central location. It felt more spacious and open. Plus I liked how the cook is not isolated from the family rooms and can keep an eye on kids while working in the kitchen. Now if only that chimney was gone, then it would feel much better to me with the kitchen in the back.