The Most Influential Floor Plan Suggestion (And A Look At Our New Floor Plan)
I had really hoped to have my desk chair completely finished today so that I could show you the finished chair, but my mom and I ran into a huge problem on that project that took us far too long to figure out yesterday, so it didn’t get finished. I’m really hoping we can get it finished today so that I can show you the finished chair tomorrow. It’s looking so pretty, and that velvet fabric is gorgeous!!
But in the meantime, I realized that I did y’all so wrong yesterday. 😀 I wrote that whole post, mentioned that we finally had a floor plan, and that there was one submission in particular that really influenced me. And then I didn’t show y’all either one of those things. I didn’t show y’all the influential floor plan submission, and I didn’t show y’all our new floor plan.
I didn’t quite feel ready to share. I wanted to keep it to myself for a bit longer, just to make sure I wasn’t going to make more changes (and I still may make more changes, of course). But really, I wanted to just enjoy it without any more input from anyone. I kind of got input overload, which I asked for, and loved, and appreciated immensely. But that inundation of ideas and information and creativity wouldn’t let my mind rest. I was losing sleep, lying awake in bed, eyes wide open, until 2:45am some nights.
So once the decision was made, and my mind could finally calm down, and I could get some good sleep, I just wanted to stay in that calmness for a while and soak it up. I wanted to be able to admire the new floor plan without questions or doubts. And I wanted to enjoy the plans without further input unless that input was specific answers to specific questions that I ask. And fortunately, my mom has been here the last couple of days and has filled that role perfectly.
But last night, I realized that’s not fair. I asked y’all for your input, and so many of you very generously took time to draw out plans and write out explanations of/reasoning for your plans. So for me to say, “Okay, thanks! I have a plan now! But you’ll have to wait for some future unknown date when I have architectural drawings to see the plan,” well, that wasn’t very nice, now was it. 😀
So I’ll go ahead and give you the scoop. First up, this is the floor plan submission that really opened my eyes to new possibilities. This one was from Jenny.
And particularly, it was what she suggested for this area that really struck me.
And when I say it “struck me”, you’ll remember yesterday that I told you that I initially wrote this idea off in about three seconds. I took one look, and thought to myself, “Well, that’s crazy! I can’t do that!” After all, that plan requires me to get rid of my studio half bathroom.
But over the next hour, I really started thinking about it. Do you know which room I haven’t used in over a year? The studio half bathroom. That room has been torn up since I was planning on redoing it and had kind of started on it before turning my attention to the studio. So when I’m in my studio and I need to use the bathroom, I go to the hallway bathroom. It has never once felt like a problem to me.
Also, I’ve always thought it was weird that I have to walk into the back door from the carport into and through my studio to get to the main part of the house. But turning that bathroom into a walk-through pantry that goes right into the kitchen solves that problem! It turns that awkward entrance from the carport through the studio into something that feels much more natural walking through a walk-through pantry directly into the kitchen. That just makes sense to me.
Looking at Jenny’s floor plan was also the first time I’ve ever seriously considered removing the wall between the current kitchen and the music room. In fact, for about two days, I was sure I was going to go in that direction. I drew up a floor plan with those rooms combined into one big living room, sent it to my mom, and said, “This is it! This is the new plan!” But in the end, I did change my mind about that.
Now regarding the other side of the house, there were a few other floor plans that really resonated with me. For some reason, it had never occurred to me to add on a guest bedroom on the back of the house. My mind was stuck, and I thought that if we have a guest bedroom, it has to be where it is now. So seeing the floor plans with the guest bedroom as part of an addition really helped to get me out of that tunnel vision. That includes this one from Diana.
This one from MJ…
This one from Christina…
And this one from Maureen…
All of those had the guest bedroom on the back side of the hallway bathroom, with the entrance to the bathroom moved to the opposite side of where it is now. And I loved that because if we can move that bathroom entrance, that gives me the private master suite that I really want. Basically, everything beyond the cased opening in the music room would be master suite, and I think it would be so pretty to put some French doors in that opening.
So when I combined all of those ideas — Jenny’s kitchen and walk-through pantry as well as her suggestion to combine the kitchen and music room, adding the guest bedroom onto the back of the house, and swapping the entrance to the hallway bathroom, I came to realize that I’d also need to utilize M’s suggestion of having a back hallway connecting the two sides.
So when I put all of those ideas together, this was my original plan.
Starting at the entrance, I would actually have a proper foyer because I’d add some separation between the entryway and the dining room on the right. The music room and the kitchen would be combined to become the living room. The breakfast room and pantry combine to become the kitchen, with the studio half bathroom becoming the walk-through pantry from the back doors. And then on the other side, the current guest bedroom becomes the closet/laundry room combo. On the back of the house, we add on a home gym and guest bedroom, and a breezeway connects the guest bedroom/bathroom and kitchen, and also provides room for a hallway to access both guest areas so that the hallway bathroom can remain its current size.
So I sat with that for a couple of days, and I was so certain that this was the one. This was the final floor plan. I was so certain about it that my mom, brother, and I went over it in great detail at lunch on Sunday, and they both loved the plan.
But the more I thought about it, the more I started to have doubts about a couple of things. First, I love my current entryway and living room. I just love it. As much as I’ve told myself over the years that I’d really prefer a formal entryway, when it comes right down to it, I love what I have. I like the openness of it, and I finally have a front living room that I love. It took me way too many tries to get there, and now that I have it, the thought of changing it makes me sad.
Also, if I turn that front living room into a dining room, the idea of putting up some sort of wall, even with a huge cased opening, to separate the entryway from the dining room just made me sad. But I also don’t like the idea of having that room as a dining room without a separation of some sort. It seems weird walking right into a dining room. So without the separation seems weird, but with the separation seems like it chops up the space, which is now so open and airy and pretty. I just don’t want to mess that up.
Also, I didn’t love the idea of the TV in the family room being visible from the front door. And believe me when I say I tried every furniture arrangement possible, keeping Matt’s mobility in mind, and the only way I could make it work was to put the TV on the shared wall with the hallway bathroom.
And finally, that music room is my favorite room in our house. I started looking at all of the things I’d have to undo and redo, including the ceiling, and it just made me so sad. I’d lose my doors, my bookcases, the ceiling…literally everything. And there really isn’t room anywhere else for the piano. That piano is sentimental to me, and I can’t displace it. I just won’t. So the thought of completely losing this room seemed unbearable to me.
So in the end, I added a new family room as part of the addition…
I know what you’re thinking. We’re right back where we started. Well, kind of, but not completely. This addition is still quite a bit smaller than the original plan (720 square feet for this one compared to 1215 for the original one). Also, there are phases with this plan that can spread out the financial burden over time rather than having it all at once. And the main thing is that I went over the estimate that I got from the contractor last year (the one that came to $236,000) with a fine tooth comb to see what he budgeted for each thing, and how I could bring those costs down. The most obvious budget item is the cost of the contractor. Just by being my own contractor, we can save $50,000 right off the top. But there were so many more opportunities to bring the costs down. I’ll share all of that in excruciating detail at a later date.
But as of right now, I’m almost 100% certain that this is the final plan. And I’m very glad that I went on this long journey over the last few months because we are ending up with a very different plan than the one we had originally, and I think this one is so much better and a more efficient use of space.
Just for comparison, here’s the original plan after I added the walk-in closet and the storage closet…
And this is the new and improved plan…
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.
Ever forward. Don’t forget the large patio in the back, with or without an awning or some sort of covering. And doors from the new family room out to the patio. Even on some of our most hot and humid days in Tennessee, we use our pavilion so much. We had lights and ceiling fans installed last year and what a difference that made. The plan looks great, keep tweaking, because it is a lot cheaper to tweak now, as you well know, than to stop construction and say how about move it over here.
Cheers!
Love it!!! Seems to fit all your needs!
I like where you have now landed! Well thought out and it just all makes the most sense. With all that you have done to your home, I would hate to see you lose so much of that hard earned beauty and design. In addition, I would love to see a powder room where the storage room is by your studio so it’s easy access from kitchen, outside and studio. Wishing you all the best on this new chapter!
Agree, I hate to see you lose the powder room by the studio. Even though you have not been using it, I think you would appreciate it being there, or nearer than the hall bath somewhere. I liked M’s design, with the back hallway and the expansion on the front of the house. But you have to live in it, so make sure before you commit!
WOW…. I’M SO GLAD YOU DECIDED TO KEEP MOST OF YOUR ROOMS in tact the way they are.
My question for you Kristi, will you be able to use most of the current pantry or will you redo it all…?
As for all of Matt’s equipment, where will all of that be stored…?
I’m not sure yet if I’ll reuse the pantry or redo. I’ll carve out a place in the home gym for Matt’s equipment. It fits the aesthetic of a room filled with exercise equipment, so it won’t look out of place.
I know that you don’t want feedback but… If you left the guest room at the front of the house and moved your bedroom, closet and laundry to the addition, you wouldn’t need to move the guest bath around and could link the laundry lines to that bathroom. Keep the gym where it is. Less wasted time and money.
I wouldn’t want my guest room right next to my master. Both rooms need more privacy, in my opinion.
That puts me right back to the original addition, which requires 1200 square feet instead of 720 because (1) I’d want a bedroom that’s much bigger than the proposed home gym, (2) I’d need to add room for a very large, (3) I’d need to add a laundry room, and I want a spacious one, and (4) I’d still want a new family room. That’s 1200 square feet. That doesn’t save us money or time.
I totally agree. And you could possibly make the family room smaller if it is just for the tv. Also, it keeps your master space much more private and with direct access to the yard and kitchen.
Something that stands out to me as a big question mark in the new plan involves the kitchen. When you were playing around with the two different kitchen addition plans earlier, you stressed how much you really, really craved having lots of direct light in that space–and emphasized that in your designs. But in this plan, the kitchen shows just one window and, though there would be some indirect natural light from the walk-through pantry window and, to a lesser extent, the dining room windows, it seems to me you’d have even less natural light in the new kitchen than you do now, where you have all the light from the breakfast room windows and that which comes in from the living room. Did you take all that into consideration and decide it’s not as big an issue for you, after all?
AGGH!!! MY APOLOGIES!!!! I just realized that the kitchen would extend into the now-living room. . . with all those windows. Whoops! Sorry! Plenty of light, then. 🙂 (Why isn’t there an edit option so I could delete my comment instead of completely embarrassing myself?)
The kitchen actually moves over into what’s now the breakfast room/sitting room, which has as many windows on the front wall as the living room.
I agree with you! These comment sections should have edit functions! 😀
Haha. . . And, in my flustered state, I even got my correction wrong! Time to stop commenting. Yes, it’s the BREAKFAST ROOM that the kitchen will utilize. I knew that. 🙂
Since the kitchen is going where her sitting/breakfast room is she has 3 windows across the front & 1 window on the back side.
Your new plan looks great. The one thing I noted is the space between the entry to your master suite and the back wall of the guest bath. Would you consider placing the washer and dryer in that space? That spot doesn’t seem to have a purpose and it would keep the water and dust out of your clothes closet. Bonus – the water lines already exist in the guest bath to accommodate the washer intake and drain. To do this you may have to move the doorway into the suite just a tiny bit. Perhaps use folding doors to muffle the laundry sounds and contain whatever lint.
Just a thought – it is the only thing I would do differently.
I have my heart set on my laundry being in a spacious room. I don’t want it tucked into a tiny space.
Then why put it in a closet?
Because it’s not technically a closet. It’s a 12’x16’ bedroom that would be used for the purpose of a closet and laundry room and would allow for two solid, uninterrupted 16’ runs of cabinets/wardrobes, and possibly even an island with storage in the middle. Surely you can see how much more spacious that room is than the hallway, right?
I can understand that. I had a laundry closet for 20 years. Now I have a laundry room, though it is not very large. Thank you for your reply. I have no doubt when you are finished it will be glorious. 🙂
Boy I bet your mind needs a rest after all the analyzing! I do have a question, what would the phases be?
I know for sure that our new bedroom is first, and after that, I’ll do the closet/laundry room.
After that, I’m still trying to decide if it makes more sense to do the addition first and then the kitchen, or to do the kitchen first and then the addition. Right now, since I have a usable kitchen and a new kitchen is just a bonus upgrade, but we don’t have any space for a home gym, I’m considering doing the addition first, and then saving the kitchen for last. That’s what I’m leaning towards right now, but I could certainly be persuaded otherwise if someone wants to make a case for it. 😀
Huh, from your post yesterday I was almost certain you were referring to the breakfast room extension, like in M.’s and Diane’s plans (which was the most out of the box, game-changing idea for me, as you can probably tell – it creates the extra guest space you want right next to the existing guest space).
Which now has me confused; what does the breakfast room roof you were discussing yesterday have to do with this plan? Isn’t the roof finished in these areas? Why is it a consideration?
Your plan separates the areas per function, and I like that; no guests going through the kitchen to reach the living room! And you won’t need to wonder how to connect the ramp with the kitchen addition any more (I remember you were considering that). However, if you won’t have a bath in the studio, remember to design your kitchen sink accordingly. You haven’t had a chance to REALLY use your studio yet, but remember that crafting often requires a sink/water, and it will have to be the kitchen now.
When will you be talking to the architect?
I don’t have a meeting set up with him yet, but I texted him today, so I’m hoping I can meet with him either this week or next week. I’ll keep y’all posted!
(And I have no idea about the roof convo. I think if you’re confused, that’s on me. My brain is very tired, and there’s no telling what I said. But I can tell you now that this plan doesn’t involve any changes in the roof over the current breakfast room/future kitchen, unless I want to raise the back side (current pantry) where there’s a flat roof that forces a sloped ceiling in the pantry. I’m going to talk to my architect friend about that and see what ideas he has. Sorry for the confusion!!
I love the new plan! It seems the perfect use of space and placement. Excited to see it in progress!
I’m so glad the music room will stay!! I love that room. 💕
I know you have decided on a plan but I hate to see you move the gym and guest room to the addition at the back of the house when it is more time and money. The master bedroom, closet and laundry could go in that space just as easily and then the master could open in to the backyard or patio. Mine is like that and I love being able to let the dogs out directly and so much more private than at the front of the house. I personally love your guest room and home gym now and hate to see those go, especially since the new space looks to be almost the same size. But the new living, kitchen and pantry are awesome in your new plan.
It’s more time and money to put the master bedroom, closet, laundry room, and family room in the addition since that requires 1200 square feet of space. The proposed home gym is much smaller than a master bedroom. So if I move the master bedroom, that room would have to be much larger. There’s no space for a large walk-in closet in the proposed addition, so space would have to be added for that. That’s 1200 square feet minimum, which puts me right back to the original addition. I don’t want 1200 additional square feet when 720 is sufficient.
This doesn’t really make sense to me. Based on the measurements of the rooms, it looks like the proposed new gym and guest bedroom together are around the same square footage as the current gym and guest bedroom. So you could put the master bedroom plus closet and laundry in either space, it shouldn’t change the size or cost of the addition.
I would personally prefer my bedroom to be in the back of the house, especially if there is access to the outdoors that way.
If I keep the addition at 720 square feet, and put the master bedroom, laundry room/closet in the back, that layout would require a hallway going from the family room to the master bedroom, taking away space from the laundry room/closet. If I make the bedroom dimensions as close to the front corner bedroom as possible, that will make the laundry room/closet 12.25′ x 12′.
https://www.addicted2decorating.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/The-final-floor-plan-for-our-addition-and-kitchen-with-master-bedroom-in-back.png
That’s a significant amount of storage area that I’d lose. Maybe it’s a good compromise for having a bedroom in the back. I’d have to give it some thought, but my initial thought is that I’d love to have as much storage/laundry room area as possible.
I’m trying to think of some way to do it without the hallway. You probably don’t want to flip it so the closet/laundry is in the back corner and the master bedroom to the right of that, right? You’d want some separation between the master bedroom and the living room.
How about putting a door right into the closet. Have the laundry space on the left as you walk in from the family room. You can put a short wall on the right so that you have more privacy for the closet.
Then the closet leads right into the master bedroom. In essence, the closet/laundry room functions sort of as a hallway.
Hi Kristi! I love this plan. Just checking in: does this give you a space for Matt’s lift and other equipment that he may need now and in the future?
Yes, I can carve out room in the home gym for that. Since the lift and wheelchair kind of blend in with the gym equipment (treadmill, Matt’s Theracycle, etc.), his equipment will blend in there, where they would stick out like a sore thumb in any other room.
You already have a gym and guest room. Leave them and build your new primary bedroom in the back with access to the outdoors. It looks to me like you could save a lot of money that way.
Makes sense!
A new master bedroom, large walk-in closet, laundry room, and family room is literally the original addition, and that requires 1200 square feet, as opposed to the 720 that this smaller addition requires.
I love this new solution. I think it answers a lot and doesn’t tear up a lot.
Absolutely love the Entry through the pantry instead of going through your studio. Such a better flow and much better use of space! I also would have been sooo sad to see the front room and music room lost and am glad you’re keeping them! The only question I have is if it would be a better flow to swap the closet and gym? Maybe consider squaring up the master bedroom and eatting into some of the currently labeled closet area?
That wall is a load-bearing wall, so moving it would be very expensive. I did consider it, but in the end, I decided that it’s not really that important to me.
I love the new plan! !!!! I am a big time crafter and the one thing I would really consider is adding just a small sink in your studio since you already have plumbing so close there. A toilet near there isn’t a necessity, but to me a sink is. I am sure with your creativity you can make it look AWESOME, it doesn’t need to be big, just available as your working on your projects. Just my thoughts. I sure wish I could do that in my craft room LOL
Ooh, great idea, I would do the same as you suggest if I had the option.
You know, I really like your plan. It seems like the areas that are so nicely done already will stay, and other things will change but for something SO MUCH BETTER for you. I love it! And YES, you be owner/builder! We have found some great guys for doing some of the work from a neighbor who already built his own home the same way. These new home builders in Florida are awful and the others are VERY Expensive…my husband is doing some of the work…but hiring out the big jobs. We are greatly relieved from when we had to deal with the Contractor. We have control, and make the choices, and save on what we do, and save by hiring/buying, etc. ourselves. Look around for someone building their own home, and ask for the people they would recommend. You still have choices, you can still tell them exactly what you want, and you can get quotes, and pick who you want, and only pay on YOUR schedule…or the agreed schedule on the contract between you. Much safer. The County you have to deal with is another story, but I have found them here to be very nice, and I just have to learn what they want, when, and keep working on things. Not impossible at all. If we can do it, you can do it much better! I have no doubt! I’m very excited for you, and that new plan looks so perfect for you and Matt.
You might reconsider the doorways to the outside both from the gym and guest bedroom. It would save money and is it really necessary?
The one in the home gym is necessary.
I love how this has come together into something really good. Nothing is perfect in this life, but Way Better is a real and excellent thing! You get to keep almost all the areas which you’ve completed to your joy, you get a bigger brighter kitchen (though I’m not sold on where Jenny placed the appliances…. the space can and I’m sure will be worked with), you get rooms connected that you wanted to be connected, and the non used studio half bath turns into a differently used space that makes sense. A triumph of fire hose input 😉
I’m so glad you added dedicated guest room. I think that would help a lot with resale and then if you have a really big party you have your studio as a backup. I’m glad you were able to finalize now to figure out where to cut to save you some money!
I know you are big on designing for the current owners not resale, but as a mother, I’d never buy a house where the kids’ bedroom shared a wall with the living room! It’s fine for a guest room, but I think you should consider having the guest room stay where it is and putting the closet where the exercise room is.
I want everything past the cased opening in the music room to be master suite. I don’t want guests next to the master bedroom. Whoever owns this house next can worry about stuff like that.
It’s looking great! Two quick thoughts… 1) a pocket door that slid behind the tv in the new family room could stay retracted most of the time but, when closed, would create a guest room en suite. Guests would appreciate the additional privacy especially if they were going to bed while others are socializing or watching tv in the family room. 2) is there a way for you to have a utility sink, perhaps hidden somehow, somewhere handy to your studio? They’re so useful, especially given how often you paint! Thanks for sharing your thinking with us!
I love the idea of the pocket door! And I’ll definitely look into finding a place for a sink.
I’m not a fan of a laundry in a clothes closet or garage. Many of the homes here in S Arizona have a garage laundry. No thank you; that’s my deal breaker.
I’m glad you took a break to clear your head and regroup. You’ll have a nicer layout having done this.
It’s painful to think that you are going to get rid of areas where you worked so hard and so long and ending up with such great spaces and now they will be destroyed. Areas such as the pantry. Except for the fridge, I think you created every inch of space with something you made yourself. And the kitchen is another space you created and now it will be gone. I understand why but it just seems like so much work is now for nothing. I am not being a downer for your new plans I’m a bit of a do-it-yourselfer and I don’t know if I could just get rid of so much that I put my heart into creating. Just sharing my thoughts and feelings. You do some beautiful work. I am an admirer of your numerous abilities and creativity.
I love it all, but for me I would prefer the laundry room at the back of the house instead of the front and definitely not in my clothes closet… but that’s just me. I would be worried about moisture getting into my clothes.
Best of luck!!
You could even keep a water source at the walk through pantry for a “coffee bar” area if your study group prefers hot beverages! I like this floor plan!
Love your new floor plan. And, kudos to Jenny for breaking your rule asking us to leave your studio alone. You seemed to take bits and pieces of many of our ideas and incorporate them your own plan.
I was surprised to see in the end that except for doorways, and no addition in front, you used my basic idea for the kitchen, dining, and living rooms with the ingenious addition of Jenny’s idea.
Even though the dining room wall that is next to the new family room is, I’m sure, load bearing, I would definitely want a doorway or some kind of opening there. Otherwise, I think your dining room might feel too closed in and dark. Even just a way to get the light from the new family room into the dining space would make for a much more pleasant space.
Love that you’re keeping the music room and living room. They’re so beautiful. One way to save a bit is to eliminate the doors from the gym and guest room to the backyard. Those are two more doors to secure and two more ways for Texas bugs to enter. Also, you could move the guest closet forward a tad and put a pocket door that creates an ensuite for the guest bedroom. It would be in the shared closet/family room wall and pull across the hall opening when you have an overnight guest, but stay in the wall the rest of the time.
I have just one small thought…I was just wondering if there was any special reason why the doorway from the music room to the dining room is located on the wall towards the back of the house…at least on the plan is seems like it would be easier to navigate in a wheelchair if that doorway slid towards the front of the house. This would provide a straight shot into the kitchen without the need to weave in and out around the dining table or through the living room. (But… I haven’t looked at the kitchen design or furniture placement yet.)
I believe having a half bath in the studio area is a good idea and will be missed.
It hasn’t been used in a year, and I haven’t missed it yet.