A basic summary and perspective direct from the homeowner – excerpts and references to this will show up in the project page and posts on the project:
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I thought about our project a bit and wanted to give you some additional information about what this project is for us so that you can use it if you would like in your posts.
Our family has grown and several area’s of the house have been outgrown.
The small back entry that walked right into the kitchen was difficult to work with. Especially in the winter with all the jackets, snow pants and boots. Everything spilled over into the kitchen and dining room. A mudroom was high on our wishlist.
Our kitchen was the original and the cabinet doors were falling off and the laminate counter tops were all banged up. The storage in the cupboards was inadequate for all the food and kitchen items we need. There was not much counter space and any we had was often filled with dirty dishes. We hoped for an updated and larger kitchen with an island for more counter space and to make serving guests for parties easier.
The 1/2 bathroom for our main area was right off the kitchen and the layout made it difficult to get in and out of. We wanted a bathroom near the mudroom that would be accessible to the kids after playing outside. We desired a bathtub so they kids could clean up before going further through the house after getting all dirty outside. We also made sure the bathroom was placed between the mudroom and the living area so that guests wouldn’t have to crawl over shoes and boots to get to the bathroom.
We had a two car garage which allowed two cars to fit in if we didn’t have much else in there. Often during the summer our kids keep their bikes and toys in the garage making it difficult to get even one car into the garage. We desired a three car garage which would allow both parents to drive into the garage.
We’ve never had a spot to put our vacuum so our vacuum would typically sit in the corner of our living or dining room. We added a closet that would fit a vacuum and other items where they would be neatly tucked away. We also added a storage area that could fit a freezer which was in our garage and off season jackets and outdoor gear.
Our house was not very open inside and we wanted to open it up to provide a brighter more open feeling. This meant some walls had to come down. The largest opening is between the kitchen and dining room.
We desired a spot for the parents or kids to use the computers so we found a spot for a media room which is within the main living area but is tucked away to allow for more peace and quite when a parent needs to work from home or kids need to do some research for school.
That’s a pretty good summary of what we were attempting with this remodel. It’s a fun exercise to write that down. It helps me realize all that we’re accomplishing with this project.
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