I had actually hoped to have my desk chair utterly completed at this time in order that I may present you the completed chair, however my mother and I bumped into an enormous drawback on that mission that took us far too lengthy to determine yesterday, so it didn’t get completed. I’m actually hoping we will get it completed at this time in order that I can present you the completed chair tomorrow. It’s wanting so fairly, and that velvet material is beautiful!!
However within the meantime, I noticed that I did y’all so incorrect yesterday. 😀 I wrote that complete publish, talked about that we lastly had a flooring plan, and that there was one submission particularly that basically influenced me. After which I didn’t present y’all both a type of issues. I didn’t present y’all of the influential flooring plan submission, and I didn’t present y’all our new flooring plan.
I didn’t fairly really feel able to share. I needed to maintain it to myself for a bit longer, simply to ensure I wasn’t going to make extra modifications (and I nonetheless might make extra modifications, after all). However actually, I needed to only get pleasure from it with none extra enter from anybody. I sort of bought enter overload, which I requested for, and liked, and appreciated immensely. However that inundation of concepts and knowledge and creativity wouldn’t let my thoughts relaxation. I used to be dropping sleep, mendacity awake in mattress, eyes broad open, till 2:45am some nights.
So as soon as the choice was made, and my thoughts may lastly relax, and I may get some good sleep, I simply needed to remain in that calmness for some time and soak it up. I needed to have the ability to admire the brand new flooring plan with out questions or doubts. And I needed to benefit from the plans with out additional enter until that enter was particular solutions to particular questions that I ask. And fortuitously, my mother has been right here the final couple of days and has stuffed that position completely.
However final night time, I noticed that’s not honest. I requested y’all on your enter, and so a lot of you very generously took time to attract out plans and write out explanations of/reasoning on your plans. So for me to say, “Okay, thanks! I’ve a plan now! However you’ll have to attend for some future unknown date when I’ve architectural drawings to see the plan,” properly, that wasn’t very good, now was it. 😀
So I’ll go forward and provide the scoop. First up, that is the ground plan submission that basically opened my eyes to new prospects. This one was from Jenny.
And notably, it was what she urged for this space that basically struck me.
And after I say it “struck me”, you’ll keep in mind yesterday that I informed you that I initially wrote this concept off in about three seconds. I took one look, and thought to myself, “Nicely, that’s loopy! I can’t do this!” In any case, that plan requires me to do away with my studio half lavatory.
However over the following hour, I actually began fascinated by it. Are you aware which room I haven’t utilized in over a yr? The studio half lavatory. That room has been torn up since I used to be planning on redoing it and had sort of began on it earlier than turning my consideration to the studio. So after I’m in my studio and I would like to make use of the toilet, I am going to the hallway lavatory. It has by no means as soon as felt like an issue to me.
Additionally, I’ve all the time thought it was bizarre that I’ve to stroll into the again door from the carport into and thru my studio to get to the principle a part of the home. However turning that rest room right into a walk-through pantry that goes proper into the kitchen solves that drawback! It turns that awkward entrance from the carport via the studio into one thing that feels rather more pure strolling via a walk-through pantry straight into the kitchen. That simply is sensible to me.
Jenny’s flooring plan was additionally the primary time I’ve ever critically thought of eradicating the wall between the present kitchen and the music room. In truth, for about two days, I used to be certain I used to be going to go in that route. I drew up a flooring plan with these rooms mixed into one large front room, despatched it to my mother, and mentioned, “That is it! That is the brand new plan!” However ultimately, I did change my thoughts about that.
Now relating to the opposite facet of the home, there have been a couple of different flooring plans that basically resonated with me. For some motive, it had by no means occurred to me so as to add on a visitor bed room on the again of the home. My thoughts was caught, and I assumed that if we now have a visitor bed room, it needs to be the place it’s now. So seeing the ground plans with the visitor bed room as a part of an addition actually helped to get me out of that tunnel imaginative and prescient. That features this one from Diana.
This one from MJ…
This one from Christina…
And this one from Maureen…
All of these had the visitor bed room on the again facet of the hallway lavatory, with the doorway to the toilet moved to the other facet of the place it’s now. And I liked that as a result of if we will transfer that rest room entrance, that provides me the personal master bedroom that I really need. Principally, every little thing past the cased opening within the music room can be master bedroom, and I believe it could be so fairly to place some French doorways in that opening.
So after I mixed all of these concepts — Jenny’s kitchen and walk-through pantry in addition to her suggestion to mix the kitchen and music room, including the visitor bed room onto the again of the home, and swapping the doorway to the hallway lavatory, I got here to comprehend that I’d additionally must make the most of M’s suggestion of getting a again hallway connecting the 2 sides.
So after I put all of these concepts collectively, this was my unique plan.
Beginning on the entrance, I might even have a correct lobby as a result of I’d add some separation between the entryway and the eating room on the appropriate. The music room and the kitchen can be mixed to develop into the lounge. The breakfast room and pantry mix to develop into the kitchen, with the studio half lavatory turning into the walk-through pantry from the again doorways. After which on the opposite facet, the present visitor bed room turns into the closet/laundry room combo. On the again of the home, we add on a house health club and visitor bed room, and a breezeway connects the visitor bed room/lavatory and kitchen, and likewise supplies room for a hallway to entry each visitor areas in order that the hallway lavatory can stay its present dimension.
So I sat with that for a few days, and I used to be so sure that this was the one. This was the ultimate flooring plan. I used to be so sure about it that my mother, brother, and I went over it in nice element at lunch on Sunday, they usually each liked the plan.
However the extra I considered it, the extra I began to have doubts about a few issues. First, I really like my present entryway and front room. I simply find it irresistible. As a lot as I’ve informed myself through the years that I’d actually desire a proper entryway, when it comes proper all the way down to it, I really like what I’ve. I just like the openness of it, and I lastly have a entrance front room that I really like. It took me means too many tries to get there, and now that I’ve it, the considered altering it makes me unhappy.
Additionally, if I flip that entrance front room right into a eating room, the thought of placing up some kind of wall, even with an enormous cased opening, to separate the entryway from the eating room simply made me unhappy. However I additionally don’t like the thought of getting that room as a eating room with out a separation of some kind. It appears bizarre strolling proper right into a eating room. So with out the separation appears bizarre, however with the separation looks as if it chops up the house, which is now so open and ethereal and fairly. I simply don’t need to mess that up.
Additionally, I didn’t love the thought of the TV within the household room being seen from the entrance door. And imagine me after I say I attempted each furnishings association attainable, protecting Matt’s mobility in thoughts, and the one means I may make it work was to place the TV on the shared wall with the hallway lavatory.
And at last, that music room is my favourite room in our home. I began taking a look at the entire issues I’d need to undo and redo, together with the ceiling, and it simply made me so unhappy. I’d lose my doorways, my bookcases, the ceiling…actually every little thing. And there actually isn’t room anyplace else for the piano. That piano is sentimental to me, and I can’t displace it. I simply gained’t. So the considered utterly dropping this room appeared insufferable to me.
So ultimately, I added a brand new household room as a part of the addition…
I do know what you’re considering. We’re proper again the place we began. Nicely, sort of, however not utterly. This addition continues to be fairly a bit smaller than the unique plan (720 sq. toes for this one in comparison with 1215 for the unique one). Additionally, there are phases with this plan that may unfold out the monetary burden over time somewhat than having it unexpectedly. And the principle factor is that I went over the estimate that I bought from the contractor final yr (the one which got here to $236,000) with a wonderful tooth comb to see what he budgeted for every factor, and the way I may deliver these prices down. The obvious funds merchandise is the price of the contractor. Simply by being my very own contractor, we will save $50,000 proper off the highest. However there have been so many extra alternatives to deliver the prices down. I’ll share all of that in excruciating element at a later date.
However as of proper now, I’m nearly 100% sure that that is the ultimate plan. And I’m very glad that I went on this lengthy journey over the previous couple of months as a result of we’re ending up with a really totally different plan than the one we had initially, and I believe this one is so significantly better and a extra environment friendly use of house.
Only for comparability, right here’s the unique plan after I added the walk-in closet and the storage closet…
And that is the brand new and improved plan…
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
