This month, I’m sharing some of the floorplans I’ve worked through in the four years since we’ve owned the farm.
Last week you saw my first idea, which I eventually realized was more house than we needed.
The second floorplan is the one that’s been in my head the longest. Really, this floorplan preceded my decision not to add a second storey. I realized I could get pretty much everything I wanted almost within the bounds of the current house.
And just a reminder, here’s the plan for the current house.
Plan #2 was about the master suite, the attached garage and the front porch. So there are some similarities and some differences between this plan and the one you saw last week.
Highlights:
- Like in the last plan, the current mudroom comes off and the front entrance shifts so that my office becomes the front foyer. Yes, this means the view as you come in is of the bathroom, but I think I can deal with that.
- The back door in the kitchen is closed in, the window is expanded and the wall pushes out about 5 feet, just to give us a wee bit more space.
- The mudroom and garage follow the same layout as Plan #1 on the south side of the house.
- The bulk of the indoor pool area becomes the master suite.
- A modest addition behind the garage houses our walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom.
- The mudroom and master bedroom are still about 6 steps down from the kitchen.
- We would still upgrade all of the doors and trim and add a metal roof.
Pros:
- Most of the renovation is confined to one area of the house. The two bedrooms on the north side of the house are pretty much undisturbed.
- The utility room is under the fireplace, making running HVAC, electrical and plumbing to the master bedroom easier–and likely less expensive.
- The kitchen expansion gives us a bigger window for more natural light, a better view of the pond (I’m all about my view), a bit more counter space and room for bigger appliances.
- We get our garage and the little nook I love at the person entrance (as opposed to the car entrance). It may sound silly, but the space behind the garage would also be good for the firewood pile, and I even love how the back door of the garage would be a convenient path to the (future) chicken coop.
- I get my mudroom and the long uninterrupted wall up against the master bedroom gives lots of space for benches, cubbies and hooks.
- The master bedroom would be a beautiful room with lots of windows and my favourite view down to the pond. The steps down to the doorway could be cute.
Cons:
- The steps down to the master bedroom could be weird.
- The master bedroom is separated from the other bedrooms, which I don’t love.
- Like in plan #1, the garage would take over the lawn south of the house, one of the best lawn areas we have.
Losing the south lawn was a sticking point for me. With the way our property is configured, the garage would stretch nearly to the bank of the barn. Our largest southern exposure would be blocked by garage–not the best way to increase the sunlight that comes into our house. And our best lawn would be taken over.
Here’s a photo of the south side of the house taken last summer. The garage would extend from the same area as the sunroom. It would stretch to the tree that overhangs the left side of the picture. The driveway would be where the clump of bushes is in the middle ground. The weedy patio to the left of the sunroom would be the closet and bathroom.
Here’s the view of what would be the back of the garage to give you an idea of how much space there is between the house and the barn. (The barn’s at the right edge of the photo. The driveshed is in the middle. The tree would have to come out as it’s inside the future garage.)
I really didn’t like the idea of losing the lawn. So I continued to work on floorplans to come up with an option that preserved the lawn.
All along, Matt has advocated for the pool room becoming the garage. I could stomach the south lawn being a driveway better than I could handle it being garage. So that became the basis for floorplan #3, which is coming up next.
In the meantime, what do you think about plan #2? What would be your priority if the house was yours? Are you all about the garage, the master suite, the porch or something else entirely?
Home on 129 Acres 
I can see why you don’t want to lose that southern yard! But the plan looks very practical. I just noticed that your dining room is so far from your kitchen. Does that seem awkward? Or are you like us and rarely use the “dining room”?
My priorities are master suite, kitchen with storage and comfy family room. Those are the most used rooms in our house!
We actually use the dining room quite a bit. I’m a huge convert to the idea of not having an eat-in kitchen specifically because we have a great eating area in the dining room. I love eating breakfast there every morning overlooking the fields. The distance doesn’t seem super awkward. In fact, we often do buffets on the island in the kitchen and then everyone carries their own plates through the living room and into the dining room!
There’s lots to like about that second floorplan, but I totally see your point about losing the lawn and that lovely tree. I can’t fully see this in my mind, but I’d be curious as to what would happen if you took the garage off the side, then got your extra space by turning the house into a big square, adding the same front porch and a big chunk in that corner between the pool and your current master bedroom. I don’t know what that would mean for configuration. You’d probably have to move the kitchen, which would be a huge pain, or else you wouldn’t have a view from the kitchen and that would be pretty unthinkable. But it would give you an equivalent amount of space, it looks like, in one big squarish rectangle. I can’t remember, are you pro- or anti-open floor plan?
Thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t thought too much about going back because I’m so protective of my view. Also the ground behind the house drops off pretty quickly. This post might give you an idea (the little deck is right off the kitchen): https://homeon129acres.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/over-thinking/. I feel like we’d have to bring in a lot of fill. Plus our septic bed is out that way, so I think it would be simpler to avoid it.
I like the openness of our current floorplan. I don’t feel like I’d go totally no walls, but I do like being able to see/shout through the kitchen and into the living room.
Yes, that makes sense. You could conceivably dig a basement there instead of filling it, but between that and moving the kitchen you might as well build that second floor! O_O I’m interested to see your next version of the floorplan.
No kidding!
I’ll be interested to hear your feedback on option #3.
Enjoy your weekend!
I probably missed the reasons why this isn’t possible: but what if you did the master reno like plan 2 to get the views and light, but instead of the garage on that side, put the garage in front of your house, basically in front of your office and current master bedroom, and to the right of your current mud room (and probably extending past the house a bit to be wide enough for 2 cars)? you would loose windows on the front, but the bedroom would still have one, and it depends how big of a deal that is to you to have a window in your office.
you could then have a door from the garage straight into your mud room, you could knock out the closets in there and nearby hall, and instead set a new closet that reaches into the new garage space so you have a wide entryway/foyer.
Feel free to disregard, my feelings won’t be hurt 🙂
I think my reservation with that is just that it disrupts the front of the house so much, Jess. Even though we don’t really need curb appeal, I want the front porch and the pretty facade. I don’t feel like putting the garage on the front would necessarily give me that–even though I know that’s a really common plan for a lot of houses.
I really appreciate the suggestions that you and everyone else are giving. You’re helping me to think about the house in a very different way… exactly what I was hoping to get out of these posts!
I get that. Seems like all of the homes in my area have the garage front and center, and so I know I don’t even notice anymore, but when I see an older home with no garage (or detached), most of the homes just looks so much more inviting.
It’s a really common plan, especially when people have smaller lots. We’re fortunate that property lines are far, far away so we can sprawl a little bit.