Thanks for all of the reviews. I will make sure to change the swing of the bathroom doors and will most likely make the pantry door a single outward swinging door. As for the family room, it's 18 x 18'2 including fireplace and built-ins. I'd like it a little bigger but we're tweaking an original plan and trying to only make minor changes to keep the costs down. I think since it's an open plan, I'm ok with the size. I've measured the size against our current family room and I've seen pictures of the family room in a built house and it seems large enough. lyfia, I hear what you're saying about the location of the laundry room but it doesn't really bother me. As for the front porch, I think it's 7' but that is the one last thing I have to confirm. I agree that 7' should be the minimum. Yes, we'll change the french doors to sliders. That works much better. gobruno, I hear what you're saying about the bedroom with the small dormer as the only source of natural light. Unfortunately, in order to keep the elevation the same, I don't think there's much we can do. I'm going to look at pictures of larger dormers to see if we want to make them larger. There are skylights in the playroom but I think we're going to add a large dormer instead. Thank you all for the reviews!

Virgil and Bevangel, Thank you for your expertise and time. I just sent revisions off...with the second plan and the ability to either cut down the shower size, but still be a twofer, Bevangel, sadly we are not small either;), always a work in progress. Thanks too for reviewing the original structure. My initial instinct was to not see the addition from the front but I think the right side bump will work if I'm careful with finishes. Virgil, We are rolling with next set and elevations and I'm prepared to revert more towards the first rendition (5th prelim shown above) if exterior and roof are not functional and attractive. The fireplace is on the left and will stay there and since it's gas it won't steal space rom the girl's room as the built-ins can hide some variance. I'll post when the next set is in (2-3 weeks). I will hurry up and wait. *wondering* Kirkhall, hope your toes are in the sand and it's sunny;). Haven't "seen" you in a few days. Thank you everyone!

Yes, I've researched the codes here. CA does have the same restriction - a legal bedroom cannot have a door to the garage. However, half the houses in this neighborhood have this same floor plan, and half of those families use this room as a bedroom - even though it's not legally a bedroom. However, we are planning to wall up that door and cut a new door to the garage somewhere else, so it will be a legal bedroom. The setback over here is 20 feet from the sidewalk. The front of our garage is 26 feet from the sidewalk, so we could extend the house up to 6 feet past the front of the garage. The house was built in 1962, and most of the houses in the neighborhood are very similar to this one. We haven't really considered a complete teardown due to cost. I think even if we did do a complete teardown, because the lot is so small, we would still end up with the same footprint - and face the same challenge of arranging all the rooms in the house. We did consider a second story, but aside from the fact that the foundation currently won't support a second story, a two story isn't really suitable for my elderly parents.

Your existing house is charming, and the addition looks tasteful. I hesitate to argue. You are surely very invested in the plans. Can you get some 'ballpark' bids instead of waiting to have detailed plans? (Add at least a 20% 'fudge factor'.) What are quality builders getting per square foot for new homes in your area? Ask a few realtors to value your house 'as is' and with the addition. What you plan is a 1000 sq ft new house, including all the most expensive components: kitchen, baths, heating and cooling, electrical. How much will you be doing with the old house to integrate it? Will you re-roof? Buy new HVAC to serve both parts? I'm afraid you'll be at that $1.4 mark, and have to live through the mess for over a year, then discover you could never sell for what you've put into the house. The RE market in your area may be stable. In mine, you can buy existing homes for much less per square foot than you pay for new construction. Our teardown decision was also informed by a neighbor's experience with a big renovation. They nearly doubled the number of bedrooms and baths. It took almost two years. When they sold, buyers rejected their house for homes that were originally built that size; they could buy them for the same asking price. The house was on the market a long time, and they lost a lot on the eventual sale. All RE is local. This may not apply to your area. Just be careful to weigh the total value you'll have after making this extensive addition plus any renovations to integrate the old portion of the house.