IIRC this is the house reno purchased to renovate and sell, so it just doesn't make sense (as lisa mentioned above) to dump a lot more $ into cosmetics that in all likelihood a buyer is going to change anyway. (But then reno knows this from experience, don't ya? ;D ). Honestly, looking at it from a buyer's perspective, it looks presentable to me. (Although I do like it with shutters back on and more neutral garage door.) If a paint tweak makes you more comfortable, then I say go for it , it's a quick cheap fix. BTW, I was showing DH your house (because I've been bugging him to get into renovating, it's something we can do ourselves. My father enjoyed Real Estate dealing as a hobby and did very well for himself rehabbing homes on the side when he was younger). DH wants to know if the driveway is the kind where the gravel soaks up and disperses the water below ground? (I have no idea what he's talking about, don't see those around here, but he does, so hope I phrased it properly! ;D )

I am glad to see an upvote for the same siding, and the windows are being replaced so one thats not as tall might go better. Now from the inside it’s an 8’ tall good sized space so the window from that POV looks fine of course and does not feel below ground or anything, hmmm.... Landscaping in the end would blend everything together as well. I like the deck idea and considered it however that would require significant reframing for code I imagine and the view is not spectacular in that direction (asphalt parking lot @ a church). Fake railing is an idea but was always curious as to how to avoid the side railing sloping up and looking awkward or staying level with the roof without the pinching out of the railing looking awkward. A flat roof would solve that problem but the existing roof is already there and I already have the materials to reroof using shingles with the eave extensions as I did the main part of the house...., I’m defiantly polling on tricks of the eye or other ways to end up with correct scaling as it were for an end result that appears fitting or like it was supposed to be there. I consider myself a seasoned amateur when it comes to renovation and am doing the work myself. Thanks for the conversations and help on the house!

suezbell - some great ideas, thank you ! I really like the idea of extending the breezway back to make a foyer and covered porch on top. I love porches ! One thing though - the top of the floor of the breezeway is at grade whereas the top of the floor of the house lower level is about 2 feet below grade. It doesn't look like I would have room for a porch above, plus stairs would be required to access the porch from the living room. Also, I don't think we have the budget for anything additional to what's proposed. So, you think the garage with the shed roof looks ok with the breezeway & addition ? Definitely will consider a single door w/ sidelights at the breezeway entrance. Makes perfect sense. Still on the fence with windows at the front of the addition. See post above this one that shows possible window scheme. I'm not so keen on octagonal windows. The upper level full bath is existing. My design can keep it exactly the same except for the door. I could have the entry to the bathroom placed in the media room if I moved the bathroom sink across the room to where the proposed door will be. I know that it seems a little strange to go through a pantry. But it could be interesting. The pantry won't be a typical pantry - but more like a provisions store/ apothecary / elixir bar sort of thing. We are a bit unconventional. I agree that the living room is a bit long at 23'. based on this feedback, I moved the fireplace and sofa/sitting area towards the stairs by a few feet. The idea of a partition and closet is a good one- very practical. Something to consider, but I'm guessing my better half will want the expansiveness and view of the two story stairwell. I did manage to squeeze in an 18' long closet on the lower level at the front of the addition. You can see this in the renderings just above this post. What do you think of this closet ? Your idea of accessing the pantry/ storage from area near the stairwell is a good one. Something to look at further. As you mentioned, maybe split up the pantry into two seperate rooms. I would probably still want to access the pantry from the kitchen, but at the same time, I could get another 8' high wall cabinet in the kitchen. It would also give the kitchen a even more refined look. Below is a rendering of the kitchen as it is proposed now ( with the entry into the pantry). Again, thank you for all of the feedback. Very good information and much appreciated. I will take a closer look at your ideas and see what I can do. Mike

@iris everyone here always says knock down to build on. But adding a floor is quite common here and I presume people do it it because it costs less. I know someone who added a floor and their build price was higher than I thought it would be but still many hundred thousands less than my new build. Are you working with a builder too? I would highly recommend double checking all with a builder. Making sure they have actually seen your home and are assessing it’s fitness for this not general idea. Not that it is the same but just as an example, when we were looking to buy/build in 2017, our builder said generally (take that for what you want it to be) about 900k to add a floor and gut the existing house. To build new more like 1.2 million. He was right on build cost so I’m guessing he might be close on add on cost too. Again I share only as an example of what our process was like.