21133  Category: Non Addition

CREATING SPACES tm           by Marcia Lyon

This project is in  Amherst, NY

In many homes there may be ample square footage, but just not where it is needed.  We all know so much life ‘happens’ in the kitchen and eating areas, but that doesn’t mean that is where most of the space should be.  People without family rooms ‘live’ in their living rooms.  That is not all bad, but usually they don’t want that lived in space to be the first thing seen when guests arrive. When things just             don’t work, it’s time to evaluate all of the spaces and reallocate them.

PROBLEM

This very traditional ranch home had a very static layout. The entry (A) opens into a small coat closet and then traffic can go through the oversized living room (B) or into the bedroom hallway (C).

The fireplace (D) is squished in a corner and is impossible to arrange furniture to view it.

The three bedrooms and hall bath functioned well enough for this family.  Their kitchen (E) was way too small and could not accommodate more than one frustrated cook.  The dining area (F) was OK, but it shared the traffic way to the deck (G).

The half bath (H) by the back door (I) was adequate but they wanted to add a shower to make it a ¾ bath. They wanted was a bigger kitchen and some semblance of a family entry with a real coat closet by the back door.

SOLUTION

What was needed was to completely re-orient the spaces, changing the living room (B) from horizontal to vertical (J). This sounds drastic, but we left the plumbing area where it was, adding piping only for the sink in the new kitchen (K).

The half bath (H) was an easy convert by bumping into the garage to add a 3 X 4 shower, making it a ¾ bath (L).  A portion of the old kitchen was claimed to create a new first floor laundry (M) which wasn’t even wished for but welcomed the possibility.

A family entry (N) was created with elbow room, built-ins for shoes, a generous coat closet and a “To Go” shelf.

The kitchen (K) features a walk in pantry (O) and a great island (P) that seats five and makes the ideal prep space for our cooks.

A new dining area (Q) is in a perfect location between the entry and the kitchen.  We even found a place to build in a buffet cabinet.

The second entrance to the bedroom hallway(R) is blocked off to create a better living room.  We used this extra space to build in a bookcase on the living room side, and an additional linen closet on the hallway side.

MARCIA LYON is a professional remodeling designer and freelance writer, producing projects locally and several other areas across the US and Canada.  To reach Marcia email: Marcia@creatingspaces.net ; or phone 515-991-8880   Her new book on remodeling design is The Essential Planner for Home Remodeling is available on her web site www.creatingspaces.net  There you will also find information about her Consulting Service.

{ 0 comments }