What is your budget? Do you have an architect and kitchen designer already?

Budget is not bad. I d like to get all the ideas in so i can renovate over time rather than ripping because i changed my mind.

the biggest problem with "flow" issues that might benefit the whole situation if addressed is the laundry room location and narrow hallway on the other side. The kitchen isnt necessarily a problem but once you get nicer flow/ spaces dedicated to the functions you perceive I might create things like butler pantry/entertainment bar within these spaces then come back to the kitchen . I wouldnt rule out a master or guest suite on this floor of the home as well..... You just have to make some decisions that suit what you want first...then the pieces of the puzzle start to fall in line. We dont know enough about how you live...what you do...how many people are there...entertaining...growing kids...in laws...time line for the property etc.

A 300-500K project like this requires that you hire an architect immediately. And a kitchen designer, to collaborate with your architect.

Or move to an entirely different house.

Yes i want to add a master bedroom on the first floor but we use all the rooms. We would need an extension for MB.

i hired a deisgner to draw the plans. He wants us to know exactly the chamges before next stage

I thiught about combining formal living and dining but currently there is not enough space. and those might be load bearing walls. Existing dining could be the MB.

Hire the architrct. Immediately.

I remember you Mama Goose you provided some awesome suggestions for the kitchen in our other home. This is great, just that back side of the house is soo gloomy, it would be hard to have a family room that side; i dont mind having MB in place of formal dining. We have winters from Nov till March.

1. I could use the powder area and laundry as FR. Where to place pantry? Office room and Laundry?

2. Should we have the area visible from across the front door to see the open windows of sunroom or something nice? Or what if i open walls on the left of the stairs to have a nice view of living (yellow area below) But will that need symmetry with right stairs?

Thankyou. I thought about relocating the kitchen to the right too, close to FDining. I think a closed pantry is better so i have less to clean. We don’t drunk so Bar is not needed. I need the stove on the exterior wall for restaurant fan.

Ariel, now that you mention it, I think I recall your questions about more than one kitchen. If you're considering putting a FR in the existing laundry space, maybe extend that space to keep the master suite. Move the main laundry upstairs, near the other bedrooms, and use a stacked w/d for the master. Put the PR in the new entry hall, and make the former kitchen the office. Kitchen goes in old DR, where proximity to the garage entry should be an advantage.

Another possibility--scratch the MBR suite and make the office/FR the new kitchen and breakfast area. The family room would still be in an extension of the bay, and the office would be in the old kitchen space. I don't know what goes in the formal DR, but it's now too far from the kitchen to be used as a DR, but not a good location or size for a master suite. Main advantage to this idea is open concept kitchen, dining and FR.

These are just some wildly expensive ideas to think about until the meeting with the architect.

IMO when you get a plan from the architect the first item will be all the same flooring everyhwere ther eis no way those floors you show work together . If it was my house I would begin by changing that sunroom into an actul aprt of the living space use great lighting all LED 4000K to mimic daylight and then the kitchen is fine where it is but that lighting has to go for sure. You need real architects help here and also you need to know what your budget is . I would never want a space that nice to not be part of the living space all year. Then the whole FP space could then mbe converted to a master BR / bathroom

Thanks Patricia. The entire sunroom wall is not insulated, even the Cieling is not insulated. We d have to change the Cieling sky lights and the windows. We have pot lights with new bulbs but the lights are too deep. But yes that is a possibility. The walls will need rebuilding. When we entertain in December, we turn on the electric heaters, fireplace in the Sunroom and it works well. Guests like that room the best, due to high cielung, windows and skylight. If we change it to be more energy efficient, we will lose the charming windows and its default galore. I am not sure it will be beneficial to change that room.

The official first floor plan is from the architect. Not sure what you mean by the fist sentence. At the end of the day, our architect said it is up to us.

Ah Patricia, Do you mean change to tiles for all rooms, including the sun room. We didnt think about changing it in rhe sunroom but yes makes sense. We are leaving hardwood as it is.

You’re working with an “only takes dictation” drafter, NOT an architect. An architect is proactive, with ideas. A drafter is passive and reactive to your ideas. BIG difference. You need an *actual* architect.

Mama Goose, Thanks so much. Helps to brainstorm the various ideas so much.

We have three choices. If I could work with no extension, please let me know. That would be glory.

Option 2:

I switched the living areas.

Option 3:

WITH BOTH EXTENSIONS, won't we have to bring the front door forward as well? Would it be too hidden, not sure.

ALL,

Votes PLEASE :)...in terms of aesthetic, space optimization, flow, feasibility etc.

Great idea to switch family room and formal DR in your second option. If you want to open up the new FR a little more, equal width shallow pantries could be used on each side of a wider FR entry:

Can we do without extension, do you think? I also really want a walk-in pantry right by the kitchen so I can put appliances away and have clutter away.

Can we extend by moving the wall between sunroom and kitchen? There is an added step there and slanted Cieling. The step means we ll need floor truss?

Still want move the living where the laundry and existing powder room is. Pantry where the existing barbecue is.

Meeting with architectes next week. Was thinking that we could also build the master suite in the three car garage and then build a garage at the back.

Lots of money allows the wildest of ideas to come to reality. Even if there is zero ”payback” for the expense, other than your own pleasure at altering the home to suit you. It’s the equivalent of a couple of very expensive sports cars. Fun while it lasts, and some money recouped when selling the used car. But a lot of money unrecoupable.

For those with limited funds, major alterations and additions like any of this are best left behind in the pie in the sky dream phase. A new, more suitably larger home, is the best return on expense.