Reader-Submitted Floor Plan/Space Planning Suggestions
My mom and I had so much fun sitting at lunch yesterday (until 4:00pm) looking at and discussing the floor plans some of you submitted. I’m pretty sure we talked about every single possibility that exists, and there were some really creative ideas.
I was right when I said in yesterday’s post that I needed help getting out of my tunnel vision. And this whole exercise of seeing actual floor plans submitted by other people, and seeing how others envision the possibilities for our house, really helped me start thinking outside the box.
I’m not at a point where I can say, “This is the plan!” I haven’t even shown Matt any of the plans that were submitted, and I’m still thinking through various possibilities. I want to take my time rather than rushing into a decision. And I’ve got plenty of ideas to chew on now.
What I found interesting is that the ideas seemed to fall into two broad categories. The first category of plans required a large rectangle-shaped addition on the back of the house. The second category of plans required two separate additions, one on each side of the back of the house, with a deck or patio area between those two additions. So let me show you all of the submissions so far. And if you wanted to submit an idea, but haven’t had time yet, please go ahead and send it to me! Nothing is set in stone at this point.
First, let me remind you of what our floor plan looks like right now, with the sunroom and tiny bathroom removed since those are going to be torn down no matter what.
This plan was submitted by Becca, and the plan shows one single large addition on the back of the house. Behind the master bathroom is a home gym. Next to that is a laundry room. And next to that (and behind the kitchen and music room) is a large living room. The current guest bedroom would be turned into a large master closet, and the current living room would be turned into the dining room.
This plan comes from Becky, and it also has the single large rectangle addition on the back. The concept is very similar, with the new back addition housing a workout area and master closet behind the current master bathroom, a laundry room next to that, and a dining room behind the current kitchen and music room.
This next one is also from Becky, and instead of a large room behind the current music room and kitchen, this plan allows for an expansion of the current kitchen and a rear entry.
This next floor plan is from Jennifer. It also has a large rectangle addition on the back to include a closet and laundry combination, an exercise room, and a living room. The current living room becomes a dining room, and the kitchen expands into the current breakfast room/sitting room.
This next floor plan comes from Charity, and it also has a single addition on the back, although it’s two different sized rectangles rather than one large rectangle. Behind our bathroom would be a home gym. The addition behind the current music room and kitchen would be a family room and dining area. The current living room becomes a TV room. The kitchen expands into the current breakfast room/sitting room. And the current guest bedroom becomes a closet. This floor plan also has two small areas marked area #1 and area #2. Charity suggests that those can be used as storage and laundry
Next up is the first of the two-addition floor plan. This one from Nick has a workout room added to the back of our bathroom, a family room added to the back of the music room, and a pantry behind the kitchen. The patio/deck sits between the workout room and the family room with a curvy design on the back. The current breakfast room and pantry become a dining room. The guest bedroom becomes a large closet. The hallway bathroom becomes the laundry room. And the half bathroom in my studio becomes the full guest bathroom.
This is also from Nick, with a few minor changes. On this floor plan, the workout room and the closet have flipped places.
And finally, this one is from Teri. This one also has two separate additions with a patio area in between. The addition behind the bathrooms includes an exercise room, large closet, and laundry room. And on the other side is the galley kitchen addition I had planned.
I love aspects of all of these! Thank you so much to each of you who took the time to draw up these plans and send them to me. I plan to sit down with Matt this weekend and go over all of them in excruciating detail. 😀 Thank y’all again! This was a very fun experiment. If you still want to submit a plan, please do so! And if you submitted a plan and don’t see it above, that means I didn’t get it, so please send it again. As I get new ones, I’ll add them to this post.
Update: More ideas!
This floor plan is from Monica. I haven’t had much time to really study it yet, but it looks really interesting! It’s kind of a hybrid between the one addition and two separate additions with breezeway connecting the two new sections.
Monica also sent this revised floor plan that shows the wall between the dining area and the family room removed to open those room up to each other.
This next floor plan is from Arlene. The concept is very similar to a couple of others with a large rectangle addition on the back of the house to include a closet, exercise and laundry room, and family room. This plan includes a banquette with corner windows, and shows traffic patterns from room to room.
This floor plan is from Joleen, and it includes a rectangle addition on the back of the house with a combined closet and laundry area, exercise room, and sitting room. The current breakfast room/sitting would become the kitchen. The current kitchen would become the dining room. And the current living room would be enlarged to provide more of a large family room for us.
The next floor plan is from Maureen. This plan has a home gym, guest bedroom, and living room in a rectangle addition on the back of the house. The current hallway bathroom would become a Jack and Jill bathroom accessible from the hallway and the guest bedroom. The current guest bedroom could become the combined closet and laundry room. The kitchen would be expanded into the current breakfast room/sitting room. And the front living room would become the dining room.
This floor plan is from Christina. This floor plan moves our front door out of the living room, and creates an entry where the current front windows of the breakfast room are. The current guest bedroom becomes our home gym. An addition allows for a new large closet and a guest bedroom. The current hallway bathroom is expanded to allow for a small hallway with doors into the guest bedroom and guest bathroom. The kitchen is expanded so that it squares up with the back wall of the current pantry. And the back part of the current breakfast room/sitting room/pantry area becomes a dining room.
The next floor plan is from M. This floor plan squares up the front of the current breakfast room with the front of the living room, and moves the front door over to the right so that it’s not directly into the living room. The current kitchen becomes the dining room. The current breakfast room becomes the kitchen. And then an addition on the back of the house includes a closet, laundry room, and workout room. The door to the master bedroom is bumped out to create a nook for storage of items like the Hoyer lift.
This next floor plan is from MJ. This floor plan includes an addition on the back of the house that includes a workout room with a laundry area, a guest bedroom, and a kitchen. The current hallway bathroom is extended more into the hallway to make room for access into the guest bedroom. The current guest bedroom becomes a closet and storage, with some changes to the position of the walls. And the current kitchen becomes the dining room.
This next floor plan is from Diana, who happens to be an interior designer who specializes in space planning. This floor plan also squares up the front of the current breakfast room/sitting room with the front of the living room, creates a proper foyer at the front door, and moves the living room over to occupy what is currently the living room and what would be the squared up front of the current breakfast room. The current breakfast room/sitting room and pantry would become the kitchen. the current kitchen would become the dining room. The hallway bathroom is bumped out further into the hallway, creating a little hallway entrance on the other side. And an addition on the back of the house would include a multi-purpose exercise room that could be converted into a guest bedroom with the use of a Murphy bed.
The next floor plan is from Lora. This plan has a large rectangle addition on the back of the house for a big master bedroom that includes a sitting area. The home gym would stay where it has been for the last year-and-a-half. The current guest bedroom would be opened up to the entryway to be used as a living room. The current living room would become a dining room. The current hallway bathroom would become a combined closet and laundry area. And the current studio half bathroom would be turned into a full bathroom. This plan eliminates all of the wasted space in the current hallway.
The next floor plan is from Lori. This plan has an addition with a workout area, a family room, and a hallway with French doors connecting the rooms. The current breakfast room/sitting room and pantry become the kitchen. The current kitchen becomes the dining room. The current living room is walled off to form a multi-functional TV room with a Murphy bed that could serve as a guest bedroom. The door to the guest bathroom moves to the music room, and there’s space carved out of the hallway for a storage closet.
This floor plan is from Becky. The plan has an addition on the back of the house that includes a laundry room, guest bedroom with closet, and a living room. The entrance to the hallway bathroom moved to the other side of the bathroom, and a closet is built where the current hallway bathroom entrance is. The current guest bedroom is used as a home gym and a closet. The current living room is turned into the dining room. And the kitchen is expanded into the current breakfast room/sitting room.
The next floor plan is from Polly. It has a much smaller addition on the back that includes a closet on one end and a laundry room/utility room on the other. The music room becomes a dining room. The kitchen stays in its current place. The front living room becomes a guest bedroom. The current breakfast room and pantry become a sitting room and living room. And the current guest bedroom becomes a home gym with equipment storage.
This floor plan is from Amanda. For this plan, a separate building is used for our home gym, connected to the bathroom with a covered walkway. The current guest bedroom becomes our closet and laundry room. The current hallway bathroom becomes a half bathroom, leaving room in the hallway for a storage area for Matt’s equipment. The front entry is moved to the front of the current breakfast room, and that leaves all of the current living room to be used as a living room rather than being multi-use as a living room and entryway. The current kitchen and breakfast room become a dining room or dining/TV room combo. A kitchen addition is added to the back of the current kitchen. And the pantry area becomes a guest bedroom, with the studio bathroom becoming a full bathroom for guests.
This next floor plan is from Jenny. This plan adds a home gym behind our bathroom. The wall of the master bedroom is bumped back to allow room for a fireplace, and the current guest bedroom becomes the closet. The wall between the current music room and kitchen is removed to create a family room, and the current breakfast room/sitting room and pantry become the kitchen. The storage closet in the studio becomes a laundry room.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Lots of good ideas but I’m not sure how much cost savings there is over your original addition. What was the estimated cost of the addition and how much square footage did that add vs what have you and Matt decided is your ideal budget for an additon plus renovations of rooms that will change function?
I haven’t looked at any of this information in detail. These are the things Matt and I will need to discuss as we consider the options.
Yes, I think getting an idea of the costs of the different types of plans will really inform decision-making. I don’t know if anyone here works in construction, but maybe someone could give you a vague idea of cost of the original “big” addition v. one “medium” addition v. two “small” additions, with estimated square footage. Or if you have a contractor you trust maybe they would be willing to do a quick estimate. If they’re all relatively similar, then maybe the original addition plan is actually the way to go.
This is fun! Thanks for inviting us to play around.
Hmm. These are some great/creative ideas. Do they bump you back into doing the “big” addition to the house?
None of these are as large as our original big addition. That addition, once I added the walk-in closet and the storage closet, came in around 1200 square feet. These seem to be 500-700 square feet, which may be doable.
Nice work from everyone but I really like Teri’s plan. It checks all the boxes for workout room, closet, laundry and storage. I like keeping the guest room as is.
Wow, there are some really talented visionaries out there. I can’t wait to see what you and Matt eventually decide to do!
I will be submitting a plan and I am currently working on it.
Those are some very interesting plans! Each one submission is very clever.
My only suggestion is to keep a guest bedroom when finished. I’m a practical person, not very artistic, but a guest bedroom would certainly be on my list of rooms to keep. I know you are Matt’s care giver and that probably won’t change, Lord willing. However, if you should become unable to be his care giver, even for a short period of time, you need a room for someone to stay in your house. Perhaps a relative or a friend, come to help temporarily.
I look forward to plans for the future living spaces!
It’s also infinitely better for eventual resale, and even if that is decades away it’s worth considering during this process. I’m fully supportive of no second bedroom in a small house, but as the square footage goes up, it starts to seem like too much house for *most* families only needing one bedroom.
Love your plan, Diana!
I’m wondering about your workshop addition and if there will be any living space associated with that? One of my thoughts is if you or Matt ever needed live-in help, where would they stay? A guest room right of the master is not ideal privacy, BUT if you had to convert a room at some point for that purpose, would that make a good location? In that case, put whatever is least disruptive to move in that spot (i.e. gym). Definitely keep a closet in that room.
Also along these lines–if every space along the wall in the studio isn’t spoken for and you do have the occassional overnight guest–consider a Murphy bed with storage.
There won’t be any living space in the workshop. If we ever needed something like that, we’d build a separate building rather than sticking a person in a dusty workshop.
Lots of interesting ideas. I particularly like the idea of the exercise room off the master bath. With lots of windows! One way to reduce boredom while exercising is to be able to “commune” with nature in the backyard.
I did notice that there were some plans that did not include a second full bath for guests. Just the Master and the half in the studio. Not very practical. Even enlarging the 1/2 bath would still make it somewhat awkward for a guest staying over unless you put a Murphy bed in the studio. Everything I’ve ever seen or read tells you to include 1 bathtub in every home. Between bathing small children and soaking antique quilts, it’s rough without a tub. I really liked the idea of the guest room/Matt’s TV/game room. A queen size Murphy bed would be perfect in there. Basically wouldn’t need any reno since that room is beautiful as is. I would leave the guest bath where it is.
I would put the exercise room next to the laundry rather than having the closet between them. Sweaty clothes are not the fragrance I want in my closet! A door that could be closed between the laundry and exercise area would help confine odors to the laundry which reminds me, having vent fans in each room would help with the humidity generated. I put a vent fan in my 10 x 20 closed in porch. Between 4 cats living in those windows and having a hot tub, it seemed like a good idea! No HVAC in that room.
I suspect that no one plan is perfect but if you mash’em all together you’ll find something that works for you. I would suggest that any outdoor deck should have a roof over part/most of it since you aren’t doing much snow but have a whole bunch of sun which Matt can’t tolerate much. Shade and some ceiling fans for a breeze would make life easier for him on mild days.
I’m sitting in front of a print out of your floor plan and try to figure out how to include all of your ideas. What I realized is that the many things you want to include seem to be impossible without a chunky addition.
Having now looked at the fabulous ideas above, I am stranded as to my plan… I would go along the lines of the first of Nick’s plans but include Monica’s idea of closing off the living room to the entry, so that this area can work as a guest room if needed, bc that is the only requirement missing in Nick’s plan (I love that curved patio!).
My only useful (?) addition would be to bump out the master bedroom on the front so that the wall is level with the current bed room in order to give you more room to move around in there with all the appliances. (My hubby suggested that the ratio of building cost to bump out the roof vs room gained might be negative, though.)
I’m pretty exited about all the new ideas and look forward to seeing what you decide. It sure is not easy, but there are so many options to check the costs of.
Wow…this looks like so much fun, but I am just watching what others thought of. One thing I love…the kitchen changes with the sink with the windows above. I dream of that, as our old house as well as the downsized one we are working on have the kitchen in the middle…no sink/window. I always love that. We are putting solar tubes in to get some light in the new kitchen. Otherwise, I will keep lights on all day again. 🙄
Many of the suggested additions appear to be as big or nearly as big as the addition you had originally planned. The one with the primary bedroom, storage room, laundry room and family room on the back of the house. I’m wondering if you could make the addition you had planned 17-18 feet instead of 20 feet out from the back wall of the master bath/music room. I believe that would still be larger than the music room as a primary bedroom and a 17 x 20 is a nice size for a family room. You would have to make the laundry a bit shorter. I wonder what the cost difference would be for making your original addition a little smaller vs the suggested plans?
I really like Jennifer, Arlene and Becky’s first idea with the guest room and bath left as is and the rectangle addition. Maybe you could put a sofa bed or a Murphy bed in the guest room and make that Matt’s tv room also. Having the walkthrough Laundry seems like a good idea too.
They are all so interesting. It is so amazing all of the great talents that people can share.
I was wondering if you had ever considered going out the front where the T. V room is and turn that into a larger kitchen with an entry into the living room where window is to the new kitchen.
Just an out of the box thought.
I like the first floor plan for the simple reason it doesn’t change much of the original house. You’ve spent so much time, money and effort in what you already have that it would be a waste of a good part of your life and assets to be changing it. Life is finite and who knows what tomorrow will bring. I believe the simpler you can keep things the better. You and Matt are both getting older and it would be nice to not always be living in the middle of a building project. I’m not saying don’t add on to the house but to maybe simplify things for what you really need.
I agree completely….!!!!
WOW!!! Those are just amazing. I can’t wait to see what others have to say and how imaginative that everyone has been. Great ideas and great executions. We have a formal foyer in our home that is open to the second floor, and it is lovely, except for the cobwebs that are really accumulating at this time of year, but I digress, what you really see when you walk in is all the way out to our family room and the wilderness beyond. Trust me when I tell you, I couldn’t live any other way now after having that view when you walk in. We have a small house, but those two things make it feel very big. Take away the vaulted entry and you still have that view. Everyone loves spending time on our patio, you will love yours too. Good luck, there are a lot of great ideas.
Cheers to you both!
Do you want to walk from your bedroom, through the master bathroom, to get into your closet? What happened with your plan to add on the kitchen? With some of these you are back to adding a large amount of money. Don’t increase your footprint just for your church friends. That is a nice idea but that might not last forever. Seems like you would enjoy and use a new kitchen more than a guest room. Do you need a closet the size of the guest bedroom? Go back to the idea of adding the laundry to the guest room closet/laundry room. Then add an exercise room off the back on the master bath for you and Matt. Go back to the kitchen add-on because you felt like you could pay for that. Or you could increase the size of the hallway bath and put the laundry room in there. Then increase the size of the studio bath to a full bath.
Man, I don’t know. I have moved walls and rooms for days now and I keep coming back to the closet/laundry and new kitchen. ?????????
Sell your house and build a new house just like you want….no that is not a good idea. Have you gotten your workshop in place?
Great ideas BUT, are you not back to square one and your original plan of cutting the footprint thus cutting the cost🧐
So many great ideas! I really think you need to consider the options with the work out area separate from the closet & retaining a guest room.
Where can I find Kristi’s email to submit plan?
[email protected]
It is in yesterdays’ post, towards the end.
Looks like you are going back to the expensive large addition.
Interesting submissions. I favor the ones that keep a guest room and the current half bath and then provide closet storage and an exercise space off the master bath. Some submissions show an addition as large as the one you have already canceled. Teri would be my #1 choice of these options.
So many good ideas. As fun as it was to play around with your floor plan, I like Becky’s first idea as it keeps a lot of what you have already completed intact. Like Betsy 2 said “it would be nice to not always be living in the middle of a building project” and I am really looking forward to the house being finished and the garden started. The only thing I would rethink is the workout area and closet being the same room, you really don’t want your closet smelling like a locker room.
I like Lora’s floor plan as it flows well and makes good use of existing rooms.
Hi Kristi. My personal favourite is Jolenes. You mentioned how people could use rooms if you ever decide to sell so as I was looking at your layout I thought if you change your studio bath to be a full bath then that side of the house would make a great selling point as an in-law suite. I know you weren’t looking for this type suggestion but thought I would throw it out there.
We built our home in 2018 and just to give you a heads up, the two separate addition ideas are nice, but the extra siding will add to the cost. It’s cheaper to do one larger rectangular addition. You don’t have to worry about a concrete foundation, but the same goes for foundation. I wanted to do smaller juts in our house, for both aesthetics and maximizing the use of the space, but rectangular was a several thousand dollar savings.
With Matt’s MS, I’d be hesitant to have the laundry combined with the exercise room, or even right next to each other. I have asthma and my husband liked to vent the exhaust from the dryer to the basement to help with heating. Even though we don’t use dryer sheets, just the lint and the heat generated made my asthma flare while working and we had to remove the vent from the basement. My concern for him would be the heat, humidity, and lint generated by the laundry would be bad for him.
I agree with those saying to keep a full bath for guests. It’s also good to have a soaking option for when you need to deep clean items.
Please don’t do a closet/laundry combo. Wherever I have lived my laundry has been always hot and linty. I would hate my clothes in there. Need to be separate rooms.
So many great ideas! Considering how much it costs to build these days, I’d like to see some of you talented people use the existing square footage and rework it. It would help Kristi and Matt decide whether or not to spend the additional money if they could see everyone’s ideas for the existing footprint. And, if I’m honest I’m so impressed with what y’all have already done, I love to see what additional ideas you have.
Yes, me too! I still think that the separate gym area is a wonderful idea as well. Especially if you could at least spend the money for a back patio/breezeway/easy access situation for them both to be able to get to the gym easily and out of the rain. I love the idea of having a little escape to be able to walk over and work out.
Primarily for budget reasons, I like the plans that only add a closet, laundry (capitalizing on the plumbing already in place near the current guest bathroom, and gym.
Although I totally agree with you about designing this house for YOU, I still can’t help but to look at it through the lens of what would happen if you potentially have to sell your house one day. Though that lens, if you added those things across the back and left the current guest bedroom alone, I would make the gym addition large enough and put an area for a closet in that addition so that it could easily become a 3rd bedroom someday if needed.
I’m obviously not a contractor, but that seems like it would be the most cost-effective solution. With those needs met and out of the way, your DIY skills could reconfigure the remaining square footage anyway you wanted to for it to make the most sense!
This probably wasn’t helpful. Lol. But again, I am personally drawn to the layouts that add the closet, laundry, and gym only.
You have a lot to think about, and my one cent to add is– thick houses are dark in the center.
If you want to enjoy that natural light, the wide rectangle additions are going to eliminate a chunk of what you currently have. You said you would love more light in your kitchen and I urge you not to let that go! Adding wings/single rooms and allowing natural light into the middle is the way to go IMHO.
After reading this post and your previous one, I want to suggest a few ideas to keep in mind when you are finalizing your expansion floor plan.
1. I would suggest that you do not need a decorator, but you do need an architect. They are specialists in designing for flow and function. At minimum, you need a designer who is NKBA certified, a Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer. They will help you make these most important rooms truly function for you. Function is the key here. Unlike the rest of us mere mortals, you can make anything – even a storage closet! – look beautiful.
2. Please, please do not settle for your original, small, internal kitchen footprint. You will regret it very much later, and then it will cost so much more to do differently.
3. You likely only need one gathering space, either a living room or a family room, but for you two, perhaps not both.
4. Consider making your kitchen open to the living space, so that you can be with Matt while you cook and be with your guests as well when they are there. It is so much nicer to be together!
5. If you make your kitchen (and island) large enough, you may not really need a separate pantry. You can then use the pantry space for one of the other spaces you do need. (Laundry room?)
6. Speaking about that laundry room, please make it a separate space. It does not need to be huge, but it should have great ventilation, as laundry and damp clothes are really an invitation to mold and mildew if they are close to your closet or living area. It is truly another wet room, like a bathroom or kitchen. Make sure you have at least some hanging space, which can be high up on the wall. (Well, as high as you can reach or pull down!)
7. You, and especially Matt, absolutely need a separate exercise room. Putting it next to your master bathroom and bedroom, for something that will be used by him daily, is definitely the right track.
8. If you put a sleeper sofa in your new living/family room, you can get away with no guest room. The only reason you might need a designated guest room is if you will, at some point, need to have the help of a 24-hour caregiver, because of Matt’s physical needs. Think carefully about this for the future. Our dear neighbor had a stroke 20 years ago, and as his frail wife has aged, they have needed to have caregivers for all his waking hours. If they need to have 24-hour help, which may be coming, they already have a guest room.
9. Forget about making the house appealing for the next buyer. You have to make this house be perfect for just the two of you, now and for your future. This is a house for your needs, your comfort, your joy.
I’ve looked through all the plans and in my opinion, and they seem very complicated. If you are considering a full addition to the back of the house then make that area the new master bedroom with the space (closet, gym, laundry) Matt requires to live comfortably. It would be expensive, but not as much as remodeling the rest of your house, which is almost complete.
Wow, you have great readers, super nice of them to submit all these ideas to you. Good luck choosing!
So many comments and ideas! Please find yourself a professional!!!
I suggest an architect that you’ve done your homework on with input from a structural engineer. GOD BLESS and good luck.