Isn’t it amazing how a house with decent square footage can feel cramped and out-of-space? The allocation of space for postage stamp sized rooms is a major culprit, but the traffic issues compound the problems.

PROBLEM

This ranch home with no basement and an attached one car garage (A) had too many small rooms and not enough larger, open rooms. The homeowner wanted more closet space for the master bedroom (B) and an improved master bath (C) with a large shower. Somewhere in this house’s history, stairs were added to gain access to a “Loft” (D), which was essentially a finished attic space. The bedroom that the stair was built in was opened up and became a family room (E), primarily because the living room (F) was too small and actually a walk-thru room. The single car garage (A) had no direct access to the house, therefore, parking the car and also laundry (G) activities had to be accessed by going outdoors. The homeowner planned to add a detached two-car garage with much more space. She wanted indoor laundry facilities. The kitchen (H) and dining (I) were confining and not conductive to cooking out or using the backyard. SOLUTION

The easy solution to adding space was to take over the attached garage. That entailed building up to floor to be level with the house, and to add insulation. Since the wall dividing the garage from the house was not bearing, we didn’t need a beam. The master bedroom (B) and bath (C) spaces stayed the same, but with added amenities - more closet space and an updated bathroom. The poorly located family room (E) turned into the office (J). The bedroom (K) expanded by cantilevering the joists, making it a better bedroom. Bedroom (L) expanded partway into the office (M). The balance of the office (M) became a real foyer (N). A sidelight and a front porch were added to enhance the entrance. The new, expanded living room (O), complete with built-ins, is now twice the size and no longer a walk-thru room. This room has a connection with the kitchen (P) with the raised, column flanked opening above the counter. A large island and French doors greatly improve the new kitchen space. A closet style pantry adds to the storage for the kitchen. Now, we have a direct entrance into the screened porch. A laundry room (Q) was added in the corner of the former garage. A new family entry (R) was created to handle traffic from the new detached garage.

Marcia Lyon is a professional remodeling designer and freelance writer, producing projects locally and several other areas across the United States and Canada. Her new E-book on remodeling design is available at www.creatingspaces.net. Reach her at Marcia@creatingspaces.net or at 515-991-8880.