The economy has forced us to modify our current and future plans for our homes.

Rather than downsize, many empty-nesters are opting to modify their homes to stay, and have room for returning children. That entails creating spaces that accommodate for first (or main) floor living.

PROBLEM

These homeowners love their home. They like the location, the wooded view out the back, and the large open kitchen, dining and family room (A) that had been added. I suspect that the laundry and half-bath (B) had been the former, small kitchen.

Since the new kitchen and family rooms were added, the remainder of the first floor was under-used. The living room (C), although bright and spacious, was almost never used. The dining room (D) is used occasionally, but most meals are used in the more casual spot in the family room addition (A).

The semi-formal foyer (E) was appropriate for this house. The office (F) was full of office stuff, and also the least desirable room on the first floor.

All of the upstairs bedrooms and baths (2) (G) work well. Their basement (also not shown) is furnished as an apartment for the wife’s elderly parents.

When one of their parents had health problems, the homeowners really wished that they had a bathing facility on the first floor.



SOLUTION

Some modifications were made to the laundry and half bath (B) to add a curb-less shower, making the room the laundry and three-quarters bath (H). This is what the homeowners plan to do initially as Phase One.

They wanted some good planning for the future for when they want to live on one floor, so we developed a Phase Two plan. It is fairly simple, and actually helps all spaces on the first floor.

The concept is to claim living room (C) space for the master bedroom (I). Two closets (J) serve as a sound buffer in addition to the obvious clothing storage.

It was determined that in Phase Two, the couple would like to use separate bathrooms. The phase one laundry and three-quarters bath (H) will serve as one bathroom, and we created a second three-quarters bath (K) for the other partner. A second, walk-in closet (L) completes the ‘separate but equal’ spaces.

A bonus came with the possibility to add a closet (M) off the foyer for storage of the vacuum and other things you don’t want to store in the coat closet.

The living room (N) moved over and made more viable being closet to the kitchen. The dormant fireplace was eliminated, and one bank of three windows moved. A glass door (O) was added to access a new deck (P) that connects with the existing deck.

The homeowners want more connective-ness from the kitchen (A), yet wanted a way to close it off. The solution came with the addition of sliding shoji screens (Q).

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. Got a remodeling project you would like tackled? You may contact her at Marcia@creatingspaces.net or at 515-991-8880 at set up a consultation.