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Remodel Advice - Floor Plan Needs MAJOR Update

7 years ago

We have lived in our home for two years and are starting to plan a major remodel. We are trying to decide how we can improve the first floor plan to:

Make kitchen more livable. It is a gathering spot for our family and is completely closed off.
Have a mudroom/laundry area
Convert .5 bath to full bath.
Have living space near the kitchen (whether living room or playroom).
Do all of this in a way that is most cost effective.

I have attached a blank current floor plan as well as one with some labels. To provide some clarification, the North/South walls are load bearing. The East/West walls should not be.

Any help/ideas?

Comments (5)

emilyam819
7 years ago
If there is no bedroom on the first floor, are you sure it makes sense to have a full bath?

Does the long wall of the powder room plus that nook by the stairs equal at least 7 feet? If so, you can add a shower.

Maybe push the mudroom into the current kitchen space, add the laundry in the mudroom, and expand the kitchen into the current laundry. Then at least the kitchen and dining will be connected. But have you considere making the dining the playroom and the playroom the dining?

There are tons of possibilities if you move the kitchen to the office. If you are not on a slab, that might be doable.
J Lon
Original Author
7 years ago
I think you're right on the bathroom. By just bumping out a bit into the Play Room, I maintain the play room while drastically increasing the size of the bathroom.

Essentially, the major renovation items are:
1. Remove the pantry, shift the kitchen forward, create laundry room in the back of home off mudroom.
2. Open wall (with beam) from kitchen to playroom
3. Open wall (with beam) between living room and entry way. This opens up the kitchen to the entry room and living room
Am I missing any major opportunities?

I see what you're saying regarding moving the kitchen to the office. The office has a lot of custom built in library shelves/cabinets that we do not want to lose.
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It's really hard to put yourself out there to hear the constructive criticism so props to you. Our master bedroom is very similar to yours with the porch being right there. You'd enjoy access from your bedroom so add a door. Bedroom 4. The person who sleeps/lives there will get to hear every open and close of the garage doors, door slamming, engines starting and turning off, AND the laundry room noises. I'd flip the game room and bedroom 4. Yes, the bedrooms would be right next to each, but if I were the child, I'd rather do that than have to listen to all that racket. I know you are dead set on a Jack n Jill bathroom, but I think the kids will get aggravated with each other. Someone will lock the other one out accidentally or to be a meanie because let's face it, kids will do that! They should have their own bathrooms even if one bathroom is a hallway bath for access from the kitchen or gameroom. Reconfigure that wing and your kids will thank you for it. I still don't get the double island in the kitchen. I would not enjoy cooking on the stove and then walking all the pans and dirty dishes around to get to your main sink and dishwasher. Do a huge rectangle island with your sink and dishwasher and throw up some counter height stools. You'll eat there all the time. The openness to the family room is nice. I love open concept! I understand the idea of a powder room for the gameroom and for guests but it's quite a walk from living room. Have you ever seen bathrooms that have access from a hallway and from a bedroom. I drew something but it's not to scale. Steal a couple of feet from the study and create a little hallway. You'd have to adjust that bathroom layout and figure out the guest closet situation. If it's a guest suite, you could do a regular closet instead of a walk in unless you anticipate having guests who are staying for weeks. That bathroom would be really handy when you are hanging out in your living room, watching TV. Good luck on your build! It was a process for us, but worth it once we moved in.
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The walls between the garage and the house are usually fire separation walls with fire separation doors for entrances into the house from the garage. If you are rebuilding your garage walls, you may want to upgrade the walls. Also, there is sometimes a step up from the garage into the house to contain noxious fumes and water in the garage (usually that's where the water heater is). Keep the step if it's already there. Also, to go in and out of the pool area and lanai, you have to go through the dining room? I don't think that's a great idea. Just an aside, with small girls in the house, you may want to conceal the access to the house through the third bathroom, especially if Bedroom 1 is usually empty. It's nice to have the third bathroom when swimming, but consider alarming this door for other times.
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emilyam819
7 years ago
Are there actually all those doors from room to room? Or just openings?

Is the bathroom a full bath in this last drawing? If not, no need to expand into playroom.

You might consider opening the wall between kitchen and stairs. Then you can fit an island.
sherwoodva
7 years ago
More people are installing a full bath on the first floor so that if someone breaks a leg, etc. they can sleep and bathe on the main floor. The mudroom looks too big. Mine is just one part of the kitchen. A consideration if you would rather have a larger kitchen.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
7 years ago
@J Lon, I'm not trying to be difficult, but rather to help you arrive at the right plan for your family's needs in a time-efficient and cost-efficient manner. You need to consult either an architect or a remodeler (with in-house design capabilities) to answer your question. There are likely too many existing conditions/constraints for folks in this forum to provide meaningful input.

Best wishes for a successful project.

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