Floor Plan

So, here's the scoop on the floor plan!

The quick mock ups I did here incorporate my changes/ideas, so this isn't exactly how the house is right now. But-the changes are rather minor, which would be awesome, but there would still be plenty for us to do to make the house ours.

Currently, the house has the traditional L-shaped formal living room/dining room combo. Then there's the standard kitchen, breakfast nook and a family room. We don't need all that space.

So... first and foremost, I would essentially get rid of the formal living room. In our case, we have a dining room set that we love and use (especially for game nights and dinners with friends) so we would rather have a big dining room here instead.

That leaves the small original dining room without a purpose. Right now it has small double doors closing it off from the kitchen. I would then add french doors between the opening of that and the formal living room, then turn that space into a playroom/office/craft room. Right now, with baby on the way, it would probably be a playroom, so all the toy mess is hidden... but I envision it as my office/craft room in the future.

BUT, in moving the dining area to the front room, I cut off direct access from the kitchen, which is weird. Luckily, the current kitchen set up allows me to remove a few cabinets and slide the fridge over, thereby creating an opening between the kitchen and new dining room. That is shown on my mock up below.

Otherwise the main floor stays the same. The family room has a fireplace and some great built ins, and the laundry room is in the corner. It's actually kind of nice there... it's big, has a utility sink, and is right off the back deck.

So, this mock up is not really finished (no wall cabinets put in, just played with some random furnishings, etc.), but you at least get the idea. And the dimensions are close, but not exact!



The only place I'm stumped on this floor is the nook. I'm not really interested in a second dining area. I'm hoping there's enough depth between the right side of the door trim and the wall to possibly do a built in bench and table and create a little nook there. Not sure there's enough room though. What are your thoughts on the nook? Seen anything done in a space like that before that you loved?



The second floor, again, is relatively done. Hardwood floors throughout and newly remodeled baths (beautifully done too... tile floors and shower surrounds, cast iron tubs, granite, etc).

Only issue is the closet space in the master, but my brainstorm is below. I have always wanted a cute built in bed nook in a kid's bedroom. I'll create one here by turning one of the existing master closets into a walk in, which bumps into the adjacent room. That bedroom is the longest, so it can spare the space. As a result, I get my bed nook and my closet!






So, thoughts?


Note: this is all just dreaming for me of course-who knows if this house will work out, but I like to imagine!

A New Option?

We looked at another house today. It just came on the market (we may have been the first people to see it, actually) and doesn't even show up in the MLS just yet.

The location is comparable to the first house we looked at, with a few trade offs.

• The neighborhood is better in terms of house values (meaning all the houses in this neighborhood are closer in value, whereas the neighborhood of the first house has a wider swing/bigger gap between the top and bottom).
  
• It is on the same side of town, which is where we want to be. It's not as close to the major university, but still very close. (The first house was maybe 2-3 blocks from campus).
• As a result, it is a tiny bit farther from stores, etc. but still within a mile from the grocery store, etc. So not far at all. And we love that area. And there's a Panera RIGHT THERE. I love Panera.
• The neighborhood has an awesome park and this house is right around the corner. Playground, basketball court, tennis court, huge field. AND, the park connects to the walking trails to a HUGE town nature preserve. We actually went to our appointment early today and walked the dog along the trails and it was amazing. We'd be right there all the time if we lived in this house!
• Better (newer) elementary school.

As for the house-again-lots of similarities with a few differences:

• Single car garage under instead of two car garage attached. But in the first house, the two car garage did not have access to the house. It shared a wall, but no door. Weird. This single car garage is huge and has a big workshop attached. Perfect place for my husband and his motorcycles and tools.
• 2240 square feet, which is closer to what I've always envisioned.
• Formal living and dining room again (house was built in the 70s) so I would have to get creative with use/design since I don't love a traditional layout all that much.
• 2.5 baths, and the two full baths have been completely remodeled... and are gorgeous. The half bath needs to be done, but definitely a quick fix with a toilet, pedestal and paint. This is a HUGE difference than the first house, where all the baths needed total redos.
• The kitchen is huge and beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice, really. Custom maple INSET cabinets (if you know about cabinets, inset is $$$). Handmade tile splash. Huge butcher block island. It needs some work to have some personality, etc. but seriously, it is soooo much better than the first house.
• Smaller bedrooms, but nothing that wouldn't work.
• Smaller closet space in master, but I have a solution for that!
• One finished room in basement, which means slightly less storage for my husband, but again, nothing we can't work around.
• Laundry on the main floor. Love that.
• Great built ins in the family room.
• Floors don't need refinishing, and there are new floors in the kitchen and family room.
• Hardwoods on both floors (just carpet on stairs, and new carpet in basement).

That list is getting long. Sorry! Obviously I'm excited.

The lot is the last thing. It is smaller than the first house (.95 versus .4) but, the first house was an anomoly. We always know there was NO WAY we'd find another near acre lot in our desired location. So, this lot is still great. Big deck (needs some boards replaced, but still great). Garden area for my husband. Brand new garden shed. Great front yard and landscaping. And there is greenspace (aka no neighbor) behind us, so it gives the illusion of an even bigger yard.

Lastly, it looks a lot like the house I grew up in, which makes me smile.

Will post the floor plan once I tweak it a bit with the changes that I'd want to make!

Always Thinking about Building...

The house is officially under contract, so we are starting to discuss Plan B. Granted, we are happy to stay in our house for a few more years, but the excitement over that house got us talking about where to go next.

Of course, my inclination has always been to build something we really love. But we aren't totally sure we could afford to do so now (meaning, that what we could build now will be sufficient in 10 years, etc.). But, maybe this is the direction we need to go?

I've been saving house pics and floor plans for YEARS that have influenced what I want to build one day, so I've been looking at them lately. Of course, none of them are perfect, but they all have parts and pieces that I would fit together into our dream home.

Here are a few of them, if you want to look yourself. Would love any feedback too!

House #1

• I love the exterior of this home (shingle/craftsman, prominent gable). I would attach the garage with some form of a mudroom.
• I don't love the long, skinny layout, but it's growing on me.
  
• The sitting area leading into the master is totally unnecessary and useless in my opinion.
  
• Love the central, prominent stairs that aren't right when you come in the front door.
• Don't love the entry traffic through the great room (and the powder room right off of it). Would reconfigure something.
• Love love love the second floor. Love.

House #2

• I have a strange affection for unusual split level houses, and this is one of them. I've always doodled plans with a "middle" level. Entry/main level would have all living spaces. Middle level would be master (and potentially an office and/or laundry). Top level would be kids' bedrooms. This plan doesn't have that layout, but the concept is there and I could work with the space to make it what I want.

House #3

• Love love love the exterior.
• This house is a bit smaller than I would like (want to be 2000-2200 sq feet finished), so we would probably upsize the rooms a bit.
• The photo of the house is different than the plan. I prefer the photo, where the garage is on the side, not in front of the house.
• I think this house has a ton of potential for a ton of charm and great details/built ins.
  
• Obviously the second floor needs an additional bathroom. No need for the office space on both floors either.

I really this this house has a ton of potential...

There are more, but that's a start. Any thoughts?

I think the house sold...

... and not to us.

I did some awesome renderings for it though. Might share those one of these days regardless. Otherwise, just gonna keep our eyes on the market, like usual.

Will be back with some other posts soon-this baby is due in 3.5 weeks!!

House Update

Well, the house is still on the table. There are a LOT of factors that will affect whether or not we can do anything, but we're plugging ahead and going to see what happens.

I plugged the current floor plan into Chief Architect with one slight modification. This version shows where we would take down the wall between the kitchen/living/dining and open those spaces up a bit more (not too much, since I want to be able to hide the mess in my kitchen). Lately I've been playing around with what exactly this area would look like. I don't *think* I want the entire wall gone from the countertop up... so I'm contemplating using columns, a header, maybe even some craftsman-esque bookcase dividers between the living and dining? I will post pictures of these ideas and get votes in the future, but I did post the perspective view of this area now (with wall entirely removed). Like I said, I think this is my least favorite option (plus, I don't think there is really room for stools on the dining side of that area without crowding the table/traffic pattern too much).

Obviously the colors and what not mean nothing in this perspective. I just did it with the standards-will customize it if we end up moving forward!

You'll notice the strange master dressing/closet/bath area. The master basically has a second room with two closets and a tiny master bath. It is weird as is (as seen below) but think about the potential!

Looked at a house today!

So, I'm still alive. And I do plan to continue blogging here, but we had a family emergency, which, on top of the pregnancy, has been about all I could handle lately. My husband's dad passed away last month after a long battle, and it has been a tough time for everyone.

So, I will return once I find my inspiration again (Pinterest is helping!) but I did want to do a quick post today. We looked at a house today, kind of out of the blue. We're sort of in a weird situation where we are really always looking at real estate listings in case something great comes along. And with the loss of my father in law, we want to be closer to my mother in law, as she is going to help keep the baby, etc. Plus, we want to move into the better school district sometime in the next 3-5 years...

Anyway, all things considered, a house is on the market in our desired area (actually, in an almost perfect neighborhood) and it has the space we want/need. My husband will be inheriting all of his dad's tools, guns and motorcycles, which currently FILL an almost 2000 square foot basement. So, it is non-negotiable for us to have a garage and a basement.

In addition, I want a neighborhood, but my husband wants land. He grew up in the country, and I grew up in the suburbs. So we are looking for a larger lot, possibly wooded, that is still in a neighborhood safe for kids.

I always envisioned around 2000 square feet for our next house (we are in 1230 right now, with an equally sized unfinished basement). One day, I hope to design my dream house, but realistically, that will likely happen after our children are grown. Regardless, every house I doodle is in the 2000-2200 square foot range.

So... why go look at this house? Because it is two blocks from downtown, two blocks from the major university in town, walking distance to the elementary school and playground, and more. And the lot is almost an acre and it is entirely usable. It is slightly wooded, has a large garden area, and a place for my husband's grapevines and fruit trees. The yard is seriously perfect for us.

The house is, well, cosmetically ugly. But, the crucial elements are there. It's about 2000 square feet on the first and second floors, then an additional 400 or so in the basement. The basement has an existing workshop, a perfect room to lock and secure for hunting storage, and a separate room for the mechanical stuff. The footprint of the basement is not the same size as the rest of the house (it's smaller).

There is a two car garage with built-ins already existing. The main floor has a living, dining and kitchen, then an extra family room, 1/2 bath and mud room. There is an AWESOME covered party deck that runs the entire length of the back of the house.

Upstairs has a master suite with a TON of potential. Right now there is a weird closet set up with a lot of wasted space, but the room is there! Then there are three additional bedrooms and a full bath. One room has an entire wall of good built in cabinets and bookcases and would be the perfect craft room/office.

But, it's ugly! Really ugly. But the big stuff is done! The roof is great, heat and air are great, water heater is new, etc. Wiring has been updated. There are hardwood floors on BOTH floors.

So, I did a quick doodle today of the floor plan and a super quick one of how we would modify the first floor to create a great room effect with the living and dining space. We would use the current family room as a playroom. There are certainly a few things I don't love, like the location of the powder room... but not deal breakers.

So, let me know your thoughts on the floor plan! We're going back to see it tomorrow and will keep you posted if we decide to proceed.

Curb Appeal?

I recently came across this MLS photo and found myself wondering if the designer of this plan even considered what the house would look like from the street. Talk about some terrible curb appeal (in my opinion, at least)!

This house is new construction, and unfortunately, there are no other exterior photos for me to examine. But, this photo gives me plenty to criticize. It reminds me of one of my favorite books, What Not to Build, which examines home exteriors and corrects common mistakes.

In the case of this sad house, I think the most obvious flaw is that in order to get to the front door, it looks like you will have to walk down a very narrow corridor! The entry is recessed between the living room and garage, but the space between them is so small! Do you agree that this is weird? It seems like it would feel cave-like down there... and it's definitely not very inviting!

Of course, the protruding garage bugs me, like it always does on most houses. I don't want to see my garage on the front of my house if I don't have to... but if I do, I certainly don't want it to dominate the home's facade. This garage does, in my opinion. It is the first thing that greets you... I just don't care for that.

Lastly, the second floor area is just, well, confusing. I love a gabled front exterior, as you know, but this is weird. It sets so far back that it almost looks like a bad addition, or a mistake. And the change in material wouldn't be sooo bad if they had maybe at least used a contrasting color!




Do you like this house? Tell me your thoughts!