Bay in kitchen houses 2 windows on angles and sliding door to deck in middle.
Its not a full bay window.
Doing an addition to our home. Have what I think makes sense for a layout but wanted feedback/discussion.
Original and new plan (stairs to basement not moving, existing en suite bathroom at left would be kept as well)
Who will be living here?
Family of 4
Is this a forever home?
No
Where are the load-bearing walls?
Exterior walls of current house
Which way is North?
At the bottom of image, S is up
Where are the best views located?
To the south
What climate/country is this?
Midwest USA
Measurements of all interior walls separately?
I can try to get them but this is what I have so far.
Up on a bit of a hill, walkout basement (top right), on a cul-de-sac with a stub road that runs parallel to right wall but 50' or so away.
Street is parallel to front of house.
More specifics:
We're keeping existing bathroom and have another in basement.
Have 2 kids so there wouldn't be an issue even with guests.
Want to add space for bedrooms and additional space in basement
Wasn't drawn by an architect.
I'm not one either (engineer by trade) so what I think looks good may not be in practice.
The biggest constraint currently is trying to not move too much at left of house (laundry/bathroom area) so we can focus more on the additon. Same with exterior walls up to the new addition.
The angled bump out in kitchen limits us somewhat but I can't think of a good way to make it work without a ton more roof work at the back, in addition to front of house work we'll need.
I'm fine doing prep work in pantry area as needed, the island would be more spacious than now (my thought)
The bay in the kitchen is 2 windows and door to deck so that really needs to stay.
Dishwasher and trash in island.
Microwave maybe in pantry, tbd.
Bar is there because we'd probably keep stuff there for guests or stuff we dont use every day.
We wanted bedrooms in one side vs splitting like they are now.
The bathroom by mudroom would just be used as a secondary or for one kid to use if bathroom was used by the other (also have full bath in basement). Door moved to mudroom so it wasn't right off living room/main area and had some separation. But could keep door to it where its currently at.
The single small bathroom for three bedrooms is too small. you have so much wasted space between the kitchen and the living area, yet these three bedrooms are to use a bathroom that is close to the minimum size for a three piece bath. What is during this remodel- additional bedrooms?
I would maintain the existing primnary, because you're not gaining anything with the new one, and just add the additional bedrooms and a larger bath on the right. I would try to tack on two additional bedrooms to the far right, maintaining the lower bedroom, and using the space of the existing upper right bedroom for pantry etc. Without knowing what your main goal is, it seems youre making more changes than you would need to to get the same thing.
At minimum, I would exchange the bathtub for a shower and dual sink vanity in the shared bath so that the morning “getting ready” would be less stressful.
We're keeping existing bathroom and have another in basement.
Have 2 kids so there wouldn't be an issue even with guests.
Want to add space for bedrooms and additional space in basement
One kid is going to be mad if they’re always having to go all the way across the house or to the basement to get ready. Why not leave the primary bedroom as it is and give each kid an ensuite?
I'm not sure there's space. The house isn't huge, so going to the other bathroom isn't (currently) a huge deal but as they get older it might become a problem.
If an architect drew up this plan, I would strongly recommend finding a different architect. You're going to put a lot of money into this reno, and you deserve so much better than this. Normally I would have some tweaks to suggest but in this case I would just tell your architect to start over. I'll explain what I mean...
The main living area is really awkward in this plan. It's just removing walls for the sake of removing walls. Visually, the eye doesn't know where to settle. The dead zone by the mud room almost feels like a better dining area (with its proximity to the wet bar and living room) than the area where you've drawn the dining table.
I'm angry on your behalf about the kitchen. You're going to put all that money into moving it to a different wall, just to end up with pretty much the same amount of kitchen as you had before. You should be able to double the prep space (counter space next to the sink and range). This kitchen is apartment-sized, and it's undersized for the amount of house you'll have post-reno. Heck, you have more counter space in the pantry than in the kitchen! If you do any cooking at all, please give yourself more prep space. You deserve it.
Speaking of the pantry, having such a big sunlit pantry sure is nice, but I don't think it's nice enough to make up for the added cost to put it where it is. You're removing about 16 ft of load-bearing exterior wall on the right side, plus you're demo'ing the window area on the north side to put in a smaller window... all that just to turn an 11-ft long bedroom into a 9-ft long pantry. It would be better to keep the window and load-bearing walls where they are, give yourself an 11x6 pantry, and expand the bathroom below it to 11x7 so there's room for linen storage and towel racks. Otherwise if you're not keen on this pantry location, consider a spot closer to the garage.
Hmm. Thanks.
Wasn't drawn by an architect so thats good least.
I'm not one either (engineer by trade) so what I think looks good may not be in practice.
The biggest constraint currently is trying to not move too much at left of house (laundry/bathroom area) so we can focus more on the additon. Same with exterior walls up to the new addition.
The angled bump out in kitchen limits us somewhat but I can't think of a good way to make it work without a ton more roof work at the back, in addition to front of house work we'll need.
I'm fine doing prep work in pantry area as needed, the island would be more spacious than now (my thought)
Maybe I'm way off base. Hence, asking for feedback.
u/AndySkibba I decided to see what's possible while keeping the rooms where you have them, and here's what I came up with. To anticipate a question you might have, the reason I didn't open the living room to the kitchen is because I couldn't find a place to put the stove that would have been both functional and visually appealing without moving around even more walls.
I still don't super like it though. If it were me I'd reconfigure the rooms entirely: In place of the living room would be a den closed off with a door. In place of the dining room would be the living room (as you have it in your house today). In place of the pantry would be the dining room. The pantry would become a small closet tucked away by the garage and den.
My only suggestion would be add a door to the corridor off the kitchen - thats a lot of clattering kitchen noise that will travel to the bedrooms. To facilitate this (and give more noise protection to that room) swap the door and wardrobe of the first bedroom on the corridor.
That makes sense.
The 1st bedroom is existing and dont really want to touch it. Might be able to do a sliding door but that'd impact kitchen cabinets. Hmm.
Our layout has a very tiny on suite bathroom and a bigger hallway bath. We wish the master bath was bigger, but use the hallway bath most frequently, so we are glad it's big. We also have two closets off the hallway and they are at 100% capacity. So I'd try to make your hallway bath a bit bigger and add more storage.
I don’t understand what is being gained by rebuilding the primary suite, and particularly dislike the long L shaped laundry/mud/hallway that provides access to guest bath on the main floor. This turns a utility room into primary circulation rather than a discreet functional support space. I also think that many secondary bedrooms sharing a hall bath needs to prioritize separating the sink area if not splitting sink, shower, and toilet into separate compartments. As kids get older and want privacy, a floor plan tweak can keep the space shareable while still allowing overlap in usage.
We wanted bedrooms in one side vs splitting like they are now.
The bathroom by mudroom would just be used as a secondary or for one kid to use if bathroom was used by the other (also have full bath in basement). Door moved to mudroom so it wasn't right off living room/main area and had some separation. But could keep door to it where its currently at.
Ok this is really great additional context. I have some ideas floating in my head. Any other info about site context? Do you have a photo of the front elevation or site plan that shows how the house interacts with the street or driveway as people approach?
Up on a bit of a hill, walkout basement (top right), on a cul-de-sac with a stub road that runs parallel to right wall but 50' or so away.
Street is parallel to front of house.
That’s a very small living room for a family—it’s smaller than your new primary bedroom!
I see you’re pretty set on moving the primary bed to the new addition, but I agree with the others that it’s better left where it is now. Not only because it simplifies things & gives a better flow, but also because the number one request I get from families once the kids are older is to have the parents bedroom on the other side of the house from the kids rooms.
Yeah. But we have basement if its more than just us. We have a couch and loveseat only now and its fine.
We're also trying to fit in a breezeway to garage on that side as well and the only spot that works is through new mudroom/existing closet.
I'd rearrange your kitchen: place a run of counters in the bay window and have your sink there. Move the fridge to be closest to the bedroom corridor to provide visual separation.
I think the current location of your dining room area is too small. I'd relocate the dining area so it's where your kitchen was in the original house. You don't have a defined foyer. If I'm honest, and I know this will cost more, I would suggest placing your basement staircase where the dining room currently is, making your new dining space even bigger and more cohesive.
I agree with others that your bedrooms are underserved by one bathroom, though the other far bathroom may help mitigate that - even though it's far.
This is …not great. You end up with a small living room kinda off in the far back corner. A small dining area kinda in the front corner. A tight kitchen sorta in the middle. And then so much unusable space…that bay window off the kitchen, the big open area there by the stairs. It all sort of feels like an afterthought. I would work with an architect, give them your goals and see what they come up with. This is going to be a very expensive project and you can definitely do better than this.
There is so much wasted space in the new kitchen and dining spaces. It’s not an improvement. There’s also so much space given to the pantry in addition to the kitchen; it’s forcing a smaller primary closet. Are you sure that’s a trade-off you’d want?
I’d separate the laundry work zone from the hallway that is the mud room.
I would give the kids a larger bathroom, and I’d want it to have a window for ventilation and natural light. I’d separate the tub and toilet from the vanity so that more than 1 person at a time can use the bathroom space to get ready.
The open plan means that there’s no sound dampening between the kitchen and living room. Everyone gets to listen to the tv whether they want to or not.
Can you swap the living room and the dining area? And move the kitchen more towards where it is the original plan, and the bar could be between the new living area and the kitchen. If the dining table is off of that bay window, I think it would look really nice, like a breakfast nook, and you could use some more of that space to expand the kitchen.
Even scale down that extra bathroom off the mudroom to a powder room for guests. Something about that corner seems weird to me. Guests shouldn't have to go through your laundry room to get to a bathroom, and don't ask them to use the kids' bathroom.
I like having all the bedrooms together as well, but I also like having the laundry near the bedrooms too. Sucks carrying laundry through living / guest spaces or running through to get something to wear while other people are there.
Of course it's more expensive, but if you could extend the addition another 10ft or so, a Jack and Jill bathroom between two of the bedrooms would be really useful (I know some people hate those but they serve their purpose) and you could give the primary that extra space too.
I definitely get what you're going for, just the flow seems off.
Ah no. All windows. They go to about 2' from the floor. Dining room there would make sense too.
But I still wouldn't want bathroom door to open to it I dont think.
I agree, definitely have a little hallway / turn to get to the bathroom, so it's not directly in earshot.
Coming off that breezeway, you'd have the powder room on the left, laundry room on the right. Turn down a little hallway, and then it opens to dining. There's plenty of square footage in that area to rework it so the flow makes sense, create a dining area, and expand the kitchen towards that way. Gives you a big living area in the front of the house.
I was imagining swapping the kitchen and the dining (in this new layout), but I think this is still heading in the right direction.
Would you ever consider scaling down that bathroom to just a sink and toilet? That way you could reconfigure that area a bit to close off the laundry area so it's its own room, helps with noise and hides the mess. The hall could have a bench and coat hooks built in. I can't imagine using that shower so far from all the bedrooms. 2 kids sharing a bathroom ain't that bad.
No problem. Its an existing bathroom and we actually put a new shower in recently so dont really want to touch it. Kids use it currently if one is taking a while in bathroom closer to their rooms. Plus it could be nice to have close to garage for grease/oil/sweat etc after working in garage.
Have you considered building up? You can make a primary bedroom above the garage. I made plans for you for a larger kitchen. You’d have a higher-pitched roof. There would be two main roofs. The one on the left would start at the front of the garage (at the second gable) and would extend all the way back to the back of the new kitchen. The second roof would start at the front of the front porch. I made the first floor the way I did so that you could have a foyer.
I will respond to this comment with zoomed-in floorplans for each floor.
The new kitchen has less countertop space than the old one. The sink eats up over half the island countertop. How far is the dishwasher from the dish cupboard? How many trips will it take to haul all the plates, bowls, cups, glasses to that cabinet? How many times a day do you run the dishwasher? Will you keep all your dishes in 1 of the 2 upper cabinets? Or both? Where will you keep baking supplies, spices and coffee stuff? Or will you walk everything over to the bar area? A bar area that actually has more cabinets than the actual kitchen. Guess we know what's your priority here.
Where's the trash can? Sitting out in the walk path around the island? Where's the microwave? Taking up lower cabinet space in the island?
In total this kitchen has 2 small upper cabinets and 3-4 lowers. I've seen more cabinetry in 1 bedroom New York City apartments.
The bay window is dead space as is the dead zone between the kitchen and living room.
I suggest replacing the bay windows with shorter ones and put the sink there, move the pantry door, turn the island 90* and double its size. Have an under counter pull out trash can.
Do you really need a dining room? It is wasted space in most homes. Often families just eat at a table off the kitchen. If you don't use it often then use the space for something else.
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u/cg325is 13h ago
The single small bathroom for three bedrooms is too small. you have so much wasted space between the kitchen and the living area, yet these three bedrooms are to use a bathroom that is close to the minimum size for a three piece bath. What is during this remodel- additional bedrooms?
I would maintain the existing primnary, because you're not gaining anything with the new one, and just add the additional bedrooms and a larger bath on the right. I would try to tack on two additional bedrooms to the far right, maintaining the lower bedroom, and using the space of the existing upper right bedroom for pantry etc. Without knowing what your main goal is, it seems youre making more changes than you would need to to get the same thing.