@3onthetree & @mamagoose, I hope you don't mind that I'm tagging you. I found your advice on my previous posts to be very helpful and I'm hoping you might weigh in on my revised ideas.

@RappArchitecture -- thanks! I hate that there are sooooo many options! It's tough trying to pick the "best" one. It makes me feel like I am always missing something. I don't have exterior elevations currently, but I do have a picture of the back of the house...not sure how helpful that would be?

Meet with architects who see your house inside and out and know the structural confines and possibilities and discuss your hopes and goals and get plans. Then send those plans out for bid with local contractors to assess if it is even doable within your budget.

The biggest obstacle to any addition will be the low budget for the project. You should explore options within the existing footprint first, with no addition. Adding a basement window well to allow egress and using that space would likely fall within your budget for the bedroom need.

I like option one. It keeps the same roof line and doesn't block the lower level windows. Plus there could be a view to the back and side yards from the kitchen depending on where you put the windows. But maybe flip the washer dryer to the outside wall to vent.

Thanks for all the feedback!

@User -- I see your point about the budget. If nothing else, I'm hoping to have a 'master plan' so that as we start projects we are accomplishing them in an order that makes sense (within our budget at the time). I wish I could understand not how much something would cost, but just relative cost to one another. I've tried looking at options within the current layout, but can't seem to make it work. One issue I'm running into when considering adding a guest bedroom and bath there is that the basement has concrete floors. It seems like it might be more or equally costly to add a bathroom in the basement as it might be to add an addition (and when it comes down to it, I would prefer a main level guest room if the cost is similar)?

@houssaon -- good point about venting the dryer! Thanks!

@roarah - we are working with a designer (who was partially trained as an architect, but doesn't practice as one). It might be that I'm not good at (or just unsure of how to) navigating our relationship with them. I feel like I have a ton of little questions (e.g. is it odd to have the guest bathroom have two doors so you could access it from the bedroom and the foyer?) and a lot of questions related to cost comparison (e.g. is it more expensive to move the basement stairs or add an egress window?), but it can be difficult to ask those via email and I'm unclear if that would be an okay reason to have a phone call? I hate to waste anyone's time. I'm also struggling, because I don't want to spend a bunch of time (and money) coming up with plans that meet my needs only to send them out to bid to a contractor and have them come back way too expensive (to the point we would be over investing in our house or could build a new one). Maybe I need to meet with a contractor sooner in the process to help me understand cost??

To be clear, you are adding small accomodations for Guests upstairs and keeping the basement for MIL as is?

Repeating sentiments about your budget. If you go out the back, you will have a basement (which needs finished) because of the already dug-out basement patio, but the roof probably would be simpler. If you go to the side, a bit more complicated roof/porch work but maybe slightly offset by a crawlspace.

It seems to me that the best solution will be one that can narrow down (well, maybe force you in a specific way) how your daily house access, the use of the back deck overlooking the horses, the northeast side of house as the current and future daily use, and size of basement Guest suite (if adding addition) all perform together. You have/need/use too many access points and have too many segregrated outdoor areas to provide a neat package that makes them cohesive.

It might be more cost effective to build a free-standing ADU in the back yard for guests and away space instead of an addition. You can then repurpose the space inside your house for things that you'll use daily. New construction tends to be cheaper than remodelling.

My question is what is allowable by local zoning? I wouldn’t spend a penny on design until you do some research, especially if you are considering an ADU.

@3onthetree -- yes, this revised plan (with the addition either off the side or rear) would add a guest bedroom on the main level and expand the current half bath to make a full bath (or 3/4?) for guests or general main level use. We wouldn't make any changes in the basement with a side addition. If we went the rear addition route, would connect the basement portion of the addition to the current walkout basement, but no major changes.

I see what you mean regarding the many entrances and outdoor spaces...I just don't know how to remedy this. I HATE the walkout basement garage (that is now just a parking area since the previous owners turned the garage into living space). It makes no sense to me...so you park at this level and then have to haul all your stuff upstairs? And then, if you want to go outside to play, you are going out through a different entrance (on the opposite side of the house) to access the nice part of the yard--where do you keep your shoes?? I find we spend most of our outside time in the side yard and get there through the sliders in the dining room (this is also where we have a nice deck and pergola and the ground is flat and accessible). In the picture below it is the space I colored red. What would make sense to me would be to create a mudroom off that side of the house and then add new parking (not sure where or how) to that side of the lot. But then what do you do with the walkout basement garage parking space (I guess MIL would still park there)? We also have a detached garage behind the house to the left -- but that is used as a workshop (not actual parking).

Maybe I'm overthinking this and need to reign it in. Maybe we don't need a guest room and bathroom. Although it would be really nice to improve the flow and function on the main level and how we access our outdoor space. At any rate, thank you for your thoughts.

@Jennifer K - this is definitely a consideration. It would be smart to price this out to see what makes most sense. My partner suggested we buy a nice RV to park in the back when we have company--haha!

@mle0782 -- good point. We live in the county, so I think we have more leeway than if we lived in city limits, but we would need to understand the parameters before we did anything.

IMO you take your wants to an architect they will give you exterior elevation drawings and honestly I think that will help make up your mind. I know architects are expensive but so are horrible design mistakes . Asl do not post any more on new posts just add here. Your budget is not large so IMO get the best use of the money with a good plan.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting -- good point! Maybe need to have an additional conversation with our designer. It's tough spending money on a plan that may or may not come to fruition. Maybe I need to talk to a design/build firm rather than an architect to get a better sense of cost and feasibility. I guess I'm just not clear what the order of operations should be and who (i.e. architect, contractor, etc.) needs to be involved when. What I would love would be a brainstorming session with someone who had ideas about design and plan (including outdoor spaces) like an architect, but also had a good sense of cost and could tell me which ideas would cost more than others, tell me things to avoid that would certainly hike up costs, or suggest less expensive ways to achieve my goals without actually giving me a specific estimate -- I guess this is what an architect does--it just seemed like when I meet with a few (initial conversation only) the cost was high for a project I wasn't even sure we could afford to actually do.

Thanks for the Houzz tip on posting in the comment thread vs creating new posts.