Are you moving stairs? If not the layout as it was, is nice. The only thing that bothers me is how the dining room seems so long but any laid out well

Wait is this the renovated plan? I liked the Long Island.

No just another version

I meant is the plan you shared at the start tue original or what you plan to do in the renovation? If it’s the plan can you share the original layout?

Add some walls.

Before you gutted, did you walk from the front door into the kitchen?

Is there a reason that you put the kitchen at the front of the house? You have the more formal dining area next to both the casual TV watching area and mud room. I would put the kitchen where you have the dining space (plenty of room since the dining space is bigger than you need) and put the dining space where you have the kitchen. You would have room for a spacious butler’s pantry between the kitchen and dining space and could better utilize storage space.

It looks like you have an outdoor kitchen (is that on the other side of the current dining room window?). It is a really long trek from the kitchen to the outdoor space.

And why are there two exterior doors to your mud room? Does one go into a garage? I would also put a door behind the main stairs to make that hallway a little more private (where the powder room is).

Put the kitchen in the back left, opening out to the yard.

So you gutted your house before you had a solid reno plan? May I ask why? I am always fascinated-slash-horrified by such a decision.

So..........you are remuddling a colonial to have a kitchen at the front of the house? No.

To answer the question-I wouldn’t gut anything until I had a plan.

WHAT'S GONE IS .....gone.............

What I would consider doing differently in your plan:

1. Change the living room furniture layout so you don't walk right into the back of a sectional

2. Change the entry way so that the coat closet doesn't open up to the kitchen. You have a bit of wasted space there at the entry where I think that you might even be able to have a coat closet open to the front orientation and then change the current coat closet to the small bar or something

3. Move the kitchen back to the back of the house and change the current kitchen to a dining room (which could work nicely with a little bar)

4. . Reconfigure the kitchen to run across the back wall. It looks like you could have a nice opportunity to connect indoor and outdoor dining/cooking. I would also take the cooktop off the island.

5. Potentially reconfigure the current family room area into a banquette or a keeping room or a playroom or a small family area depending on your priorities.

Your address is visible on the plans - you may want to post a different version - so I hope you don't mind that I looked up the house. It is lovely and it looks like there is lots of opportunity to take advantage of the natural light. I think that your current version with a large island in the front doesn't quite match the vibe of the home but that there is lots of opportunity!

Yes, kitchen in wrong place. Also cooktop on island for me is no- go. It’s much more of an event for me to clean a greasy cooktop, there’s definitely splatters nearby also, there’s some potential hazard to those seated or to stray items, plus I move cookware off of stove to landing zone frequently. I don’t really like sink in an island either, and I used to think it’d be more of an eyesore, but with a decent sized sink for some dishes, loading dishwasher as you go, and a quick wipe down it seems easier.

Put it back the way it was would be the very first thing that I would suggest. A standard and beloved home design, that has withstood the test of time for functionality, did not need the unqualified zero design experience flipper mentality “gut ’er open bubba, it’ll be awright!” approach. It completely ruins the house, and tanks it’s value.

Patricia Colwell Consulting

5 minutes ago

First what is the budget? What was it you disliked before ?IMO both are not ideal with the deep pantry and coat closet in the kitchen space . Can we see the original layout to compare . A big issue for me is the coffered ceiling that usually is the defining space to work with. I can't read the measuremetns on the drawings but I do not think uou have space for an island . I need all of the measurements clearly marked and the drawings need to be able to be enlarged so posted in jpeg format. Do not start another post just post all of that in comments here What was the plan before removing everything . You need to provide us with a lot more info too we will ask questions as we move along and those are all in this post too along with your answers..

Why did you post this 2x

This is currently how the first floor sits right now after tearing out a couple walls to open things up.

Budget for renovation is ~150-$200,000.

You have 2 threads on this, the other one has a couple photos but this one is more trafficked.

I'll ignore the gutting before plans in place. Have no idea on HVAC (slab vs basement), plumbing, or your goals and budget. But in general it's good to think before doing.

It's difficult to understand the drawings, as everything is shown as new, except for the half-toned portion of "original" back wall of house. It appears there are some odd additions to the back of this center-stair Colonial that you have to deal with, and accommodating the existing structure is questionable. The proposed plan has lots of inefficiencies and wasted space.

Just from the 2 photos in your other thread, this is what I think are bearing walls shown in RED, with the point of perspective for the photos in the BLUE circles. The plan to the right is where I might head towards in a plan layout, again, not knowing anything but from the 2 photos.

Put the walls back. For sure. Creating a bowling alley with a view of a messy kitchen from the front door is a BIG downgrade to what existed.

Why are you doing any of this? What is your morivation? And why havent you hired professionals to help you plan things appropriately?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4025-Saint-Germaine-Ct-Norbourne-Estates-KY-40207/73516542_zpid/ before pictures before anything taken out. It was oddly slapped together in 3 phases over the years. you can see the brick wall in my photos above from the original house

@ 3onthetree you are correct on the odd structural nature. that is has been the difficult part of this. the stained glass window is on the left wall.

Is this a flip? Or a home you plan to live in?

This is a home I plan to live in

Ok, so some more background info while I was posting. Sometimes you have to work with how the house was conceived (even odd additions), instead of remuddling a remuddle.

I have posted more details. Thank you everyone for their feedback.

I have to agree with not placing the kitchen at the front of the house - just doesn't seem logical for traffic flow or aesthetics.

I certainly would not want my coat closet in the kitchen or in such close proximity to the cooktop (even with it having a door - fine airborne cooking grease and odors will still penetrate) .

I am, also, another who dislikes cooktops on islands - especially relying on a down draft fan, and even more especially islands where seating is planned. Cooking zone is not an entertainment zone, IMO. (I also think that island seating when there is a dining table is redundant but that is a personal preference.)

No to having the fridge butted up to the sink. You need space on either side of the sink.

Overall the proposed kitchen plan just seems to be an inefficient use of space.

Full disclosure: I didn't read every reply, and I'm not a KD, architect, or other kitchen professional. I'm sure there are others who have much better insight on the overall floorplan; however having said that, here are my initial thoughts on the layout in your top post:

1. Why 2 doors right next to each other? I'd change one to a window, and on the top wall line it up across from the door at #2. If it's a door, get one with windows.
2. Use a door with windows to get some light and sight lines through the rooms.
3. This seems like wasted space.
4. Get the fridge out of the corner so you can open the doors all the way. To do so, either change your layout or put a 12" pullout between the fridge and the wall.
5. I strongly dislike cooktops on the island, for venting, mess, and safety reasons. Consider putting sink and DW on the island, cooktop on the wall.
6. Any plan for this? It's ok to have open space, but it seems like you could extend your wall cabinet run, or something.
7. Be sure your toilet isn't across from the door, because no one wants to see that.
8. This looks squishy. What are your aisle widths?
9. Looks tight between chairs and cabinets. Why not move the bar area to #3 and have more room for your table? You could possibly rotate the table the other way.

• Overall: check your aisle widths and walking paths through the house. Consider where you come in with groceries and what your path is to the kitchen, things like that. Also check code for exterior door swings in your geography, since you have one swinging out and 2 swinging in. (In my location, they swing in because snow; in other locales I think they have to swing out because hurricanes? Not sure.)
• Not numbered on the image, but your front entrance looks tight and not like a welcoming view upon entry into the house.

chicagoans thank you for feed back

Now that I see the blank slate I would be inclined to have the kitchen at the back of the house not front. At the back I would make that whole space a kitchen and family room. At the front I would have a more formal living room and a dining room on the other side. I do like the idea of an office but can’t picture how it would work either.

You're over your skis. You need permits, a plan. Do you have an electrical permit, plumbing, anything? No - as that would require a plan.

Get an architect or very good interior designer in there. Soon....Or before the second floor comes down?

Cool! Cool! Structural Engineers report. Now what are you going to do about that kitchen since you're saying you like a big opened kitchen with a large island.

So sad that you gutted it before having a plan. You're doing things backwards. As has been suggested, get an architect or other design professional in there as soon as possible.

I really don't understand the "gutting" comments. What is the point of planning a remodel of a new home that has already had an extensive remodel/addition? Your entire design is likely to go in the trash bin once you open up the walls. This is especially true if the walls are not in great shape.

When you are doing a buy, fix and hold/flip. Opening up the walls is one of the first steps. I would have done exactly what the OP did. The only reason people plan an extensive remodel before opening up the walls is because they are typically living in the house they remodel.

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I would recommend working with a talented architect/designer. I have done several projects in Louisville and find design professionals in the area to be quite reasonable. I think spending a bit on good design will save you money in the end.

There are times when I don't mind the kitchen in the front of the house, and sometimes the design necessitates it. It is hard to comment without knowing what's in front and what's behind the house. I also don't really care about my front door opening to a view of my living or kitchen space. I have a Ring doorbell and the only people who I am going to open my front door to, are people who are likely to be in the kitchen soon anyway. All good parties end up in the kitchen and most of the people who come into my house are colleagues and friends getting together. If the kitchen is in the front they just don't have as far to walk. Having said that, my kitchen is not in the front...

We renovated a old colonial and our architect (top one in town) REALLY wanted us to have our kitchen in the front room - I struggled with it honestly and we ended up with moving the kitchen to the back left of the home with a sitting room adjacent (back right)

our layout ended up being what @WestCoast Hopeful suggests