Feedback on proposed renovation of 1957 ranch home?
I hope this works! I'm trying to attach a photo of the preliminary draft plan for our renovation. It's a 1957 ranch home that has a weird layout. I don't have a sketch of the current layout, but we're trying to add a bedroom (the one labeled Judy), expand an existing small bathroom (it would become a 2 sink bathroom with a separate room for shower/toilet so the new bedroom can share it with the kids), add a 1/2 bath for guests, expand the kitchen, and open up the family room space.
The 2 kids' bedrooms and master suite won't be touched. There's also one bedroom above the western kids' room (it was an addition the previous owners did about 15-20 years ago). Hence, the stairway up.
Our priorities are to have a larger kitchen, capitalize on the views off the southern side of the house, add a 1/2 bath (we only have 2 bathrooms now so guests traipse through the master bedroom to get to the toilet when we have large parties), and improve the flow. The previous owner who sold it to us also did horrible "updates" (using a handyman, so unpermitted electrical and plumbing work that is shoddy!), so we need to clean up a lot of work, too.
My questions:
1) The architect proposed "flipping" the kitchen and family room because our current family room isn't very deep and we spend 90% of our awake moments there. Yet I'm cringing thinking of the cost of moving all the plumbing from that western wall of the house to the southern wall. We currently do not have anything (but electrical) by the southern wall where the proposed kitchen, new entry, new 1/2 bath, and new laundry/mud room are located. We are in a very high cost of living area--is this something that's going to cost me an arm and a leg? On the other hand, my husband points out that we hope to make this our "forever" house and age in place so it's worth paying more to get the layout we want.
2) I'm hoping it's somehow possible to move the laundry room/mudroom entry to the western wall entry. We regularly do laundry on weeknights after we both return home late from work. However, my husband is a very light sleeper and cannot sleep through the noise of the dryer going through its cycle (which I regularly do now as the load isn't completely finished before bed). I also think it's a bit peculiar to have 2 entry doors on the southern wall right next to each other. I think it would be confusing for guests (which door to approach) and a bit weird.
Instead, if we move the laundry room/mud room to the west wall, we could make the family room smaller (only 2 couches instead of 3). We might also shift the kitchen, 1/2 bath, and front entry to the east. The kitchen could have a longer width then (I think more counter space is always appreciated, especially since we host all the extended family holiday dinners with 25+ guests). I also think we wouldn't need a doorway to the back patio area. We could just go out through the mudroom. We could make that window by the dining room an extra wide window and have it open up as a "pass-through" if we end up moving the BBQ grill, smoker, and pizza oven back there.
The new expanded bathroom would have a no-threshold shower instead of a shower over bath, which is the current configuration.
Any and all feedback and ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Comments (10)
palimpsest
6 years agoSomehow this does not seem like a developed plan. The blue is all hallway and the orange is all circulation space (and I excluded the entry). I really don't understand the plan
smiles33 thanked palimpsestRelated Discussions
Kitchen Remodel - Feedback on Proposed Layout?
Comments (36)kksmama - I am really liking this layout also. I never thought I'd be able to have an island centered on a large range in this kitchen and am thrilled that it might work. I think I agree about the prep sink being on the island. One good thing about my clean up sink now is I can face people at the peninsula when I'm washing and prepping food, and I'd still be able to do that if the prep sink is here. I'm willing to sacrifice some storage space under the island to allow an 18" overhang on 2 sides so I can fit 4 seats there. Prep space and seating are my main priorities for the island. I'll draw it tonight when I have access to my computer. Sena - I love, love the drawing. Thank you! I will definitely consider a narrow oval table for the banquette. I usually prefer rectangle or round tables, but the oval will probably work better here - more table space than round and doesn't have sharp corners to bang into. Great idea! I'm wondering, if I put the prep sink in the island, 1) where do you think the fridge should go on the DR wall - near the doorway or closer to the range, and 2) which direction should the prep sink face - the fridge/pantry or range wall (I'd like 3 stools facing the range if possible so I'm thinking this may affect placement of sink)?...See MorePlease give feedback about proposed shower layout
Comments (22)Linda, the original shower was approx. 4'7" along the back wall and 5' down the side (internal dimensions with the tile still up), but there was a tiled bench jutting out from the wall adjoining the toilet, so the tile was sloped down from the edge of the bench base. It was sloped, true, but not uncomfortably so. It was a neo-angle shower with a door diagonally across from the sauna (Kroze, that's the third door I was talking about.). Originally there was a small linen closet between the tub & shower, but having the 3 doors (sauna, shower, linen closet) all facing each other was not particularly attractive, plus we discovered termite damage behind the tub that extended into the linen closet, so it went. Linda, so it's not simply a case of waterproofing the area between the tub and the shower, right, as in a "wet room"? The current drain (more or less middle of the shower) sits about 1.75-1.825" below the slab of the bathroom floor over a distance of 2'2". Would that not be sufficient drop? And if it's not, well we could always install a curb, hopefully lower and not as thick as the 6x6 one we had before. Please feel free to show me where I'm figuring wrong...I understand that if we installed a linear drain at the back wall the drop would not be enough, but is that kind of drain a requirement by code?...See MoreRanch Addition - Proposed Layout
Comments (91)A few things: the fireplace where it is now is obviously not ideally located - so if you want to keep it and want a gas burning one, then I'd move it into the living room and integrate it into some built-ins along the outside wall. (no TV over it though - makes the TV too high. TV if needed there, can be off to one side). It doesn't, as mnmamax3 notes, need to be connected to the existing chimney - just needs a vent to the outside with adequate clearance. There are some quite lovely gas fireplaces these days, and they certainly do avoid the mess of a wood burning one (though I LOVE our airtight wood burning fireplace). The other thing - I actually preferred the layout of the master bedroom that you had before. The walk-in closet takes up a lot of space and while you do get another "free" wall in the bedroom, it doesn't actually give you more or more efficient storage and makes your bedroom a lot smaller. And - I'd add more windows - definitely one in the second bathroom, and possibly another set of windows in each of the bedrooms. One other question: access to the back yard. I'm assuming that you don't barbeque and also don't anticipate or want an easy transition to your private outdoor space in the back yard? Which is fine, if this is your lifestyle and you plan on staying in this house for a very long time and aren't thinking about resale, but I do know that many people have knocked out walls and gone to great lengths to renovate houses built in the 40s and 50s that didn't provide the now expected easy access/transition to outdoor living spaces. I recognize that this would require a major rethink of the kitchen/access to basement, but I think it needs consideration if it hasn't already been thought about. I can pretty much guarantee that the transition you have currently to the outdoors won't be viewed as easy or convenient once food/drink is involved - carrying stuff around the corner and down steps and out a door may seem trivial on paper, but in reality...it's a big disincentive to go outside to eat! I say that having owned a variety of houses with varying ease of access. If this was my house, I'd probably blow out the back wall of the kitchen for sliders to a deck, and reconfigure the space. I also still think the huge amount of main floor storage is a really bad use of "prime" real estate. Should be living space... rockybird was onto something with the reconfiguration he/she showed (moving hall over, LR gets bigger)....See MoreNeed feedback on kitchen layout & renovation!
Comments (12)The wall is 14.5'. (BTW, the designer is a friend, so she did a quick sketch up for me to monkey around with- saves her time and me $$- but that's why it doesn't have all the normal labels.) I think it's about 45" between the island and the long countertop, and 40" between the side of the island and the stove. I think the three windows shown in the plan are about the max I can do without sacrificing what storage space I do need. (It will double the amount of window I have now; also, I'm going to chop off a good portion of the never-used back porch and its roof, so that will also increase the amount of light coming through those windows). Some days I feel like I'm wearing a path between the stove and the fridge! But I'm trying to keep in mind how my needs from the kitchen will change in 10 years, as well. By then I may be ordering pizza every night! Thanks so much for your helpful input- it will give me more ideas to discuss with the designer-- in particular arranging things so that the snack zone gets used as intended. I really appreciate it!...See Moresmiles33
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoThank you both for commenting. I wish I knew how to draw the original plan! I attached some photos below to try to show the house layout.
Suezbell: there are two existing bathrooms: one in the master suite (which he didn't bother to draw in as we're not doing anything with it) and one in the middle of the house. It DOES have a window because there is a weird "courtyard" where Judy's new room will be. I wonder if the original owners just kept adding on to what may have been a 2 bedroom house, which resulted in this wacky meandering floor plan.
I agree, having the new 1/2 bath right by the front entrance (and on the southern wall with the best views of our 6 acre lot) isn't ideal. I would have preferred to have it on the western wall near the back.
No, that's not a hallway but the narrow stairwell up to the 4th bedroom (it pivots to the right after you enter the doorway). There is a door to the exterior "courtyard" area right before the stairwell that isn't on this new plan.
No, there is no current outdoor kitchen. We have a BBQ grill, smoker, and pizza oven (all individual components) on the eastern side of the house by a deck. The idea was to move it all closer to the kitchen. There is actually a poorly constructed open air carport where the "new" outdoor patio would be as the former seller had his handyman build it. We'd demolish that carport roof and change it to an open air patio since there's already a 4 car garage to the west of the house. FYI, the extreme angle of that proposed patio area is due to an existing concrete retaining wall as we're backed up to a hill.
The staircase is actually in the narrow hallway between the western Kid's bedroom and Judy's room. The one room upstairs is directly above the western Kid's bedroom. This was the weird "add-on" 15-20 years ago (actual time is unknown but it was 2 owners ago).
palimpsest: the blue is all existing hallway! Right now, it takes a while to walk from the kitchen (far western wall) all the way to my eldest daughter's room (the yellow to blue path!). Sadly, this house layout is very peculiar and weird. I'm almost tempted to demolish the whole thing and start over, but the 4 existing bedrooms are large, have brand new lighting and windows, and we have to live somewhere while the kitchen is redone...
The new plan has an entry, 1/2 bath, and laundry where there is currently just windows and a set of French doors. The man who sold us the house changed the original front entry to a giant stained glass window (so we have a hallway to nowhere) and used the French doors as the main entry. See photos from the listing below!
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6 years ago
GreenDesigns
6 years agosmiles33
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agosmiles33
6 years ago
Denita
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agosmiles33
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
GreenDesigns