Funny story. Do you remember nine months ago when I made a major redesign to the main level? I was pleased with the change at the time and thought for sure I was done designing. Joke’s on me… apparently I wasn’t!
If you’ve been following along, you know that our building project has begun. We’ve cleared out trees, dealt with sewer issues, and the crew prepared the site. In fact, just this week the foundation for the house was poured! I will have an update on that over the next couple of weeks.
It’s all very exciting and welcomed progress, yet as soon as I saw the footings laid out on the site, I felt a nudge. You see, our site has some gorgeous views. It’s a gem of a property. And when I stood in the spot that would be our future living room, imagining the three large windows facing the beautiful woods, I couldn’t help but want to open up the view even more.
I looked at the 3D images that I had drawn, and thought. Was it possible?
Truth be told, I kept these thoughts to myself for a while. Surely my patient husband didn’t need the added stress of his wife redesigning a house that was currently being built. But I couldn’t shake the idea from my mind.
And then… a lightbulb moment
All along I had been holding onto the idea of our restored vintage cabinets, flanking a very formal front entry. But then I realized that this setup actually created quite a bit of rarely used square footage. Did we really want to allocate nearly a tenth of our main floor footprint to something that wouldn’t be needed on a daily basis? My simple answer was ‘no’.
main floor before
Taking the formal entryway out of the picture, the space absolutely opened up. I was able to maintain a small area by the front door for coat hooks and a small bench to be used by guests and visitors. The beautiful cabinets were then positioned to frame an opening to the kitchen.
main floor after
Speaking of the kitchen. I am SO in love with this new concept, which puts the amazing cast iron sink on center stage!
That large window will be sized to fit perfectly over our vintage sink.
Overall, the public parts of the main level are now open to one another and will be graced with ton of natural daylight. And, of course, the spectacular view is expanded.
Additional benefits of the redesign
Apart from the increased view, this redesign has a couple other benefits. With a large space opened up, there is now room for an even larger dining room table. It has always been my dream to have a table that can seat at least ten. This space will accommodate a table that size, or even bigger! As a bonus, there will be room for an additional piece of furniture near the table.
Perhaps a china hutch, or a fun and interesting vintage piece such as an old apothecary cabinet.
In the kitchen, we can include a larger fridge. I had always thought we would use a counter depth model, until we found that they were quite a bit more expensive than the deeper versions. It seems silly to pay more for something that has less space, but that is just the way it is. Counter depths are considered an ‘upgrade’. Surely our growing family will fill up a standard depth fridge with no problem!
The home is also made more handicap accessible, should any of our family members find ourselves in a wheelchair at some point. There is a natural wide pseudo hallway running the entire distance of the open room, and the kitchen includes plenty of space to turn.
What the redesign entails
All of this seems to add up to a major change, but in reality it isn’t a big deal! It shouldn’t send our contractor or the crews scrambling around too much anyway! Essentially, we will need to purchase two additional windows for the house – a large one for above the sink, and another for the living room. Our front door will change, from one with sidelights to a door only.
The exterior will also look a bit different too, with the removal of the small gable dormer above the porch and the addition of a column set.
Though I’ll admit that I do like the exterior look of the original design a bit better, the revised version is a manageable trade-off for the increased function and livability inside. And, I am giddy at the thought of two planters!
So, there you have it. Our surprise redesign. I have said for years that I work best under pressure. Apparently that includes adding design tweaks mere weeks before the house needs to be built. A few of the construction document sheets will need to be re-printed. But it will be worth it.
I would love to know your thoughts on this last minute redesign. But, hey. If you have any additional improvement ideas- please keep them to yourself. There isn’t time to go back to the drawing board again after this! Ha!
