Make your addition really work for you

It is folly to just take a number, let’s say 16 feet to add at the back and cut the new space up like a pizza. The size you add depends on the rooms you need, including the traffic to get to them. Don’t forget a new back entrance if your addition destroys what you had. PROBLEM

This fairly boxy traditional house of the late 1950s in Allen Park had the required rooms, although most of them minimal size. The entry (A) was un-workable when the coat closet was needed. The living room (B) was adequate, but the dining room (C) was too small for the table they had. The eat-in kitchen was dated and not terribly efficient. The back door was on the landing to the basement stairs. The central location of the basement stair (F) was the limiting factor in adding to this home. Three modest bedrooms (GSOLUTION

By eliminating the basement stairway from the existing house, and consuming the bedroom (G), there was room to not only add closets to bedroom (H), but to add a spacious dining room with a recessed niche for a buffet. We took the remainder of the space plus the old kitchen (D) and created a new, efficient and beautiful kitchen, complete with a corner pantry and center island with a vegetable sink. Now, all of this kitchen/ dining space is open and ready to entertain in. The former dining area (C) was actually reduced, to give more room to the entry (A) so we could move the coat closet horizontally and add windows. The space that was left became a built-in desk for the computer, with opaque glass pocket doors to conceal. Now for the new square footage. A door (N) off the dining room leads to the new master bedroom (O) and master bath (P). This bathroom has a closet for towels, a bench, and a huge walk-in shower. The large space on the right is for the new family room (Q). We interjected an angled wall for interest. It likely will be the best wall for a large flat screen TV. You’ll notice we have incorporated a new side door (R) with recessed back covered porch (S).