Townhouse living can be a great, carefree way to live, especially if yardwork is not your thing. If a townhouse is designed right, it can create a feeling of privacy even though your neighbor is on the other side of the common wall.

Don’t buy a townhouse with remodeling in mind unless you have checked with the association for the complex. There are rules for uniformity and aesthetics. There are even rules if you want to simply replace the windows.

Sometimes older complexes are more liberal and might consider attractive modifications. I can almost guarantee that adding on would not be allowed on a townhouse, but “enclosing” existing space is another matter.

PROBLEM

This townhouse in Commerce Township had a strange inside/outside way in (A) from the garage (B) into the house. One would exit the garage onto a ground level balcony with a railing, and then the house door enters into the spacious, U shaped kitchen (C). No room was made available for coats, shoes, backpacks, or dog leashes. No mudroom or family entry, just BOOM and you’re there.

The outdoor entertaining area is a stone patio (D) just off the dining room (E). The path used from the kitchen to the patio is around the eat-on peninsula (F) and through the dining area (E).

The open floor plan has the dining area flowing into the bright living room (G).

This was a corner unit, allowing for lots of windows. The front porch (H) was covered and recessed. The front door opens up into a spacious yet strangely shaped foyer (I). The laundry closet (J) opens up off this foyer and is somewhat inconvenient. The half-bath (K) is well located. The stairs up (L) features a nice, open railing.

The basement stair (M) is enclosed. A fairly small den (N) is off this back hall. It could be considered an extra bedroom because it has a closet, but would only accommodate a twin-size bed. For the homeowners, this room was an easily forgotten junk room.

It was time to update the kitchen and so the homeowners thought they would like to re-think both entries. They really wanted to enclose the balcony between the garage and the house and started checking on their options.

SOLUTION

The homeowners did, indeed get permission to enclose the main floor balcony (O). Through a series of changes we were able to develop quite a nice family entry (P). A recessed “To Go” shelf is convenient for keys, etc., and takes up what would be a useless corner.

We took over the den (N) and created a new, separate laundry room not far from the kitchen (S). This new laundry room will use the two existing windows and is handily located under the hall bath, allowing us to install a laundry chute (T).

Another part of the den (N) is used for a walk-in coat closet, which handles shoes, umbrellas, backpacks as well as coats.

The re-designed kitchen (S) features an eat-on island in place of the peninsula. The counter with the range and refrigerator gained more room. The microwave (U) is installed on a shelf at eye level, next to the refrigerator. Now, we can install a real range hood ducted to the outside above the range. I am not in favor of the range hood/microwave oven combo. The new island makes the trip to the patio (V) more efficient and the kitchen more accessible.

The foyer (I) was modified when we removed the laundry closet. We actually built that closet bigger for bulk storage (W), and building the door wall perpendicular to the front door. The remaining foyer (I) is a better size (proportion) for this townhouse.

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Marcia Lyon will be in the Ann Arbor area in early August. You may contact her at Marcia@creatingspaces.net or at 515-991-8880 to set up a consultation.

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Marcia Lyon is a professional remodeling designer and freelance writer, producing projects locally and several other areas across the U.S. and Canada. Her new book on remodeling design, “The Essential Planner for Home Remodeling,” is available at www.creatingspaces.net. You may contact her at Marcia@creatingspaces.net or at 515-991-8880 to set up a consultation.