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Remodeling Design Dilemma Polls

Advice needed for potential great room remodel.

Victoria Bernard

3 months ago

I am in much need of advice on a great room remodel. I am a first time home owner and soon to be a first time mom. Some wisdom on this project we are considering investing in would be a huge help!

Context: we live in a 1960 home that has an updated kitchen but this awkward flex room we are considering a surface level revamp - refurnishing/painting/trim/door etc.. OR investing in opening the whole great room up and adding some built in storage for baby. Something we planned on doing since buying the house because the layout is just awkward. We plan to move for this house and upgrade within the next 5 years or sooner.

Our #1 goal is to optimize the return on investment this project would add to the resale value of our house in the next 5 years.

The big great room project would entail:

Removing the wall and fireplace that separates the flex room from the dining area. Today, you can see it is semi-open already with the dining room flowing around to the living room but it’s awkward..
Remove the wood fireplace
Upgrading and moving the external door to the patio
Add built in storage to the new wall

Questions:

Post-covid, is the existing flex room actually what future buyers want? Does opening up to a large great room for living and dining make sense for increasing home value? Or is cannibalizing the flex room and the fireplace just not worth it?
Where is the appropriate place to put the dining area and entrance/foyer is the new design? How would you layout the entertainment center/TV and dining table for example?
Are built in cabinets something that add resale value?

Any help or wisdom appreciated.

Entry View

Overhead View

Entry to Kitchen Before

Flex Room Fireplace Before

Flex Room Before

Keep Flex Room

Open it up

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Comments (2)

Jenny
3 months ago
In my (non-expert) opinion, spending a very large sum of money to remove the fireplace (the chimney, repair the roof, possibly down into a basement, replace the flooring, etc, etc) and therefore eliminate a downstairs office when more people are working from home, is not money well spent. I've heard at least one opinion that with more people home more after the pandemic, the noisiness of an open floor plan makes working from home more challenging.

If you can increase square footage, increase number of bedrooms or bathrooms you could reasonable expect to increase your home value.

For another opinion, talk with an experienced realtor familiar with your neighborhood and see what they think. Or start watching listings this year and keep notes on what sells for what price and how quickly and why.
Victoria Bernard thanked Jenny
beesneeds
3 months ago
What is up with the fireplace? As said, removing it is a thing. And also rerouting the electrical in those other walls, and venting if there is any. And a lot of flooring to make things cohesive. If you don't know yet, there may also be structural considerations to removing all those wall spaces.

I would leave it for the next person. This isn't a house your interested in keeping as your own. I wouldn't build storage the baby, especially since babies grow fast and you are planning on selling in a few short years. I'd save those remodeling dollars for the kid and the new house you are planning on getting.
Victoria Bernard thanked beesneeds
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