How big is the pantry? What's in there now? How do you use it? What's in the foyer where the china cupboard is? Pictures are good, but quick sketches are also fine. I'm looking for ways to push your functional space out into the areas, by leaving the wall intact (if load bearing) but maybe creating pocket openings into which stuff can be recessed. Diagonal sinks, IMO, use up much more space than they save. A good-sized,, but not ginormous single bowl may be the best option in a small kitchen Do you need to have all the small appliances out on a daily basis? Perhaps some can live in the pantry. Have you considered making your counters and cabs deeper than normal (30" instead of 24") to get more countertop and cab space. Both options are a bit more costly but in your case, which such a small kitchen (and few cabs and modest amount of countertop surface - which is priced per square foot) it might be a very cost-effective upgrade. Search for references here and google 30" deep counters for more info. It also allows regular depth fridges to be tucked in a bit more resulting in a more counter-depth look without the extra cost, or loss of space, for a true counter-depth model. Fridges can't be installed slap against a wall as that will (if hinged on the wall side) interfere with the door opening fully and access to the hinge-side crisper drawer. Have you considered a smaller range (24 or 27")? In small kitchens every inch counts and for the same number of burners you have less space "wasted" in the middle of the cooking top itself. Ovens are smaller, though that may not be an issue. I was wondering if you had considered swapping the range and fridge locations. Put a narrow tall cab (could be the broom closet) beside the fridge against the currently proposed broom closet cupboard (which could be used for something else.) HAve a counter on the pantry entrance side of the fridge. Prevents having a cramped, slot of counter space between fridge side and chimney wall. On the exterior (sink) wall have a narrow-ish cupboard against the living room wall (to keep the range from being against a wall and give pot handles a bit of elbow space, especially if you consider a 24" range), the range, counter/cab, then the sink under the window and an 18" DW against the foyer wall. Moving the range to the exterior wall would make ventilation easier (and better and cheaper) and you could get rid of the OTR MW/fan. I am really interested in the pantry space as I think therein lies some useful solutions to your pretty tight space. Maybe the wall and doorway into the pantry can be completely eliminated and that space incorporated into the kitchen proper. A very useful tool is to sketch proposed options on graph paper, allows for easy sizing of potential items. Much easier to work with when doodling around than a computer drawing. It's the "what-ifs" stage, when all things are on the table that some of the best solutions appear. At the planning stage don't rule anything out (e.g.can't move electrical service for range, too expensive). While any one thing may be costly the expense in one are that solves another problem sometimes balances things out. Things can also be done in stages, as well, when there are budgetary restraints. And don't think that even the priciest/biggest of kitchens don't also have both space and budget issues, cause they do. Just different ones. Also are the openings you have measured for the doorways actual openings, or the dimensions including trim on either side. Those are very wide openings and you might be able to harvest a few very-needed inches from each - assuming you don't have any need for universal design, or wheel chair access at the moment. (The actual openings in the doors in my house vary between 29-31", I even have a pantry door that was only 24" wide, but we had to change it to get a freezer in that room.) Just looking at all the options you may have. HTH L.

I think you're asking too much of this small space. The house is 1200 sf ... with the addition, it'll be -- what? -- 1400ish? 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 baths just don't fit into that space. To put this into perspective, my first house was a simple ranch in that same size range. We had 3 bedrooms (master was full with a queen bed and large dresser, our two kids had twin beds and plenty of play space in their rooms), 2 minimal bathrooms with no storage, a good sized living and dining room and a small kitchen. It was small but functional. You're trying to add another bedroom and another bath PLUS a mention of second living space, etc. ... AND have space for a wheelchair. Can't happen. Unless your addition is going to essentially double the space, it just can't happen. My best thoughts: - Focus on your bathroom space. Since your dad's wheelchair bound, you MUST allow him space to maneuver, and I often hear on this board that means a 5' radius. I'd ditch the tubs completely and go with walk-in showers; no barrier, roll-in type. Realistically, his shower will be huge. And your bathroom needs space for dad PLUS a caregiver. What storage do you need in the bathroom? I suspect he has a moveable shower chair? Do you need to store any type of lift for him? Do you store medications in the bathroom? - With space at a premium, do you necessarily need two FULL bathrooms? Could you go with a jack-and-jill ... something that'd place a LARGE shower in a room ... then two half-baths on opposite sides? Yes, it'd be better to have two full baths, but realistically, this might be a compromise that'd work. - Since Dad (and Mom?) will live in this house all the time, and they'll have their own rooms, I'd consider twin beds in SMALL bedrooms. I'd consider placing their beds up against a wall to allow maximum floor space in the room. I'd think this would be especially useful for Dad since he needs the floor space for the wheelchair. - How much "stuff" do Mom and Dad have to store? I'm thinking of my grandmother, who absolutely was never going to use all the cooking gear or her plentiful collection of evening gowns again, but who COULD NOT let go of them. - You say they'll have live-in caregivers, and they'll need space. I'm assuming these caregivers will also have other homes elsewhere? So they will need sleeping space but probably not a whole lot of storage space? I'd try to give the caregivers a queen sized bed and a small closet. And I'd try for a seating area in the caregivers' bedroom -- a loveseat and a TV perhaps? -- it's not a secondary living space, but it's what I think a house this size can support. - Will the caregivers have children in the house? If so, could you plan more of a bunk room for them? And/or for visiting grandchildren? I'm wondering if you could do a bunk "up" and a seating area, desk, or play space "down" for the kids? Again, this'd give them a space apart from the family, but it would allow it to be in a small space. - I suggest plenty of insulation between bedroom walls. If your parents are typical, they'll start playing the TV louder and louder and louder. That type of thing wears on people's nerves and makes them "snippy". Avoid it with a bit of insulation. - With family coming and going, you probably need a good-sized eating area. And if your family's like mine, people want to sit at the table and talk to the cook. I'd encourage you to think about placing the dining table at the far end of the house (so it's a quiet, restful space, not a spot that doubles as a walkway) and scoot it up against the wall using a banquette. This takes so much less space. And you can leave an empty spot at the end for Dad's wheelchair to scoot up to the table. Since Dad will probably sit at the table for long periods of time, I'd try to place this in a spot with good views. - With family coming and going, think through your parking. Again, this is the kind of thing that wears on people: Plan it so that you won't always be running out to move your car so your brother can get his out of the drive. - Leave an empty space in the living room for Dad's wheelchair. If the whole room is full of furniture, he will have no place to sit.

Wow, such great suggestions by everyone, thank you so much! We are in WI where the winters are painfully long, the front of the house faces south so the sunroom on the side is my answer to needing a quiet space I can sit in the sun in the winter months. If the rear faced South, we would have just made a typical sunroom off of the back dinette. We also have a wide lot so I liked the idea of building the width of the house. We have two little ones, so part of the jack n Jill will be for a few times a year guest room. I do worry about the annoyance of the double locks on the bathroom and am open to ideas to improve. I figured though for two weeks a year, not a huge deal. The master bath/bed is my least favorite as well. I can't figure out how to get a good design with the master on the left but I would love if it could be done. The second staircase makes things challenging anyway I've tried it. If anyone can make this work well, I would love to see it. I do like the last post's MBath idea a lot - much less wasted space. I am very open to getting rid of the seating area and private entrance (husbands idea). Yes, we are trying to do a laundry chute too :) We did think long about all bedrooms up but at the end of the day, we are youngish, 30s, and like going "up" to bed, having more privacy from the living areas and being closer to the kids. I also liked the security of sleeping with windows open on the second floor. I know that doesn't seem to be the trend these days. The wall between the kitchen and dining room hall houses the fridge, so that would be tough to remove. The last thing we are really stuck on is whether to make the dinette bump out a hearth room or a screened porch. Love the screened in porch for 4 mos here but it will shade the already north facing dinette in the winter and I really want light spaces.

I am back after some thinking. I certainly do not want to present unattractive facade to the world but beyond attractiveness there are other things that I care about: usability, cost to build and maintain, energy efficiency. With the majority of the suggestions so far, it seems to me that improving appeal of the garage is done to the detriment of usability and "total cost of ownership". Longer and costlier driveway; additional windows that are purely decorative which means again higher cost to build and also more cleaning without the benefit of bringing light and views into the living spaces; longer walk from parked cars for us and guests (we usually do not park in the garage during summer); less sun on the driveway which means we have to scrape more ice or use more salt; game room too far from lounge area; more complicated roof; etc. The one exception is Janicone's idea of shifting garage right (north) and back (west). I really like it but I do not think location of the septic will allow us to do that . Virgil, I really liked what you said about making garage into something appealing which is also integral part of the house. That is exactly what I would love to do. I do not want to hide it - cars are important part of our live , at least outside of urban areas ( I would love to see better public transportation in US but ....) , so I do not want to pretend they do not exist. Ideally, I would love to use functional features that are required (garage doors, outdoor lights, siding, ...) , not purely decorative, to make garage interesting. Is it not possible with the original plan? I know I sound stubborn but even after all the pushback everybody is giving me I still think the original layout gives us the best functionality. Or am I just slow and missing something? It happens more often than not :) Mark, it is interesting that I was thinking to use garage doors with glass panels to achieve something similar to what you did in sketch 3 or 5. I'll attach some inspiration pictures when I have better connection. Of course now, that I saw number 4 (over the limit one) I am really thinking of doing exactly that. Our neighbors will love us ;) On the windows and rhythm - I think right now we have Piazzolla. Not very danceable but I love to listen :) On a serious note, I've already confessed that functionality is more important to us but if we can improve the looks without losing functionality and adding to the cost of the build I'd love that. If any of the greatly talented architects here would consider working with us, please message me privately. If not , I think we are getting ready to commit a sin of building another snout and rhythmically challenged house :)