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emptynesteralmost

Shook Hill Plan Modifications -- input please!

Emptynesteralmost
10 years ago

Hi -- We are just sitting down to the drawing board with Mitch Ginn Associates to make changes to the Shook Hill house plan. I would love to get some feedback on these changes, especially from people who have built a Shook Hill, but any input is fantastic.

We are building in the Northeast -- anyone know of any Shook Hill's near Boston?

� Enlarge Family room. Would like at least 24�x 25� range. Also all windows in room.
� Center fireplace in family with shelves on each side
� Windows, not doors in dining room.
� Enlarge mudroom to accommodate a staircase to the garage loft area.
� Put pantry where powder room is. (Hopefully enough room for a second fridge too?)
� Put powder room where pantry is in between dining room and kitchen
� Gas fireplace or built in dining room
� Enlarge master bedroom to end of porch and to bathroom wall (if looks okay and feasible)
� Widen kitchen to accommodate a bigger island.
� If possible, would like a corner professional style range.
� Wainscoting master, dining room and study.
� Walkout basement taking advantage of land contour
� House facing eastward � maximize sunlight for summer and winter seasons and angle of sun
� Should garage stay on right-hand side for maximum sun and view?
� Transom window above sink window for more light if room
� Enlarge bedroom above mudroom ?
� Add shed dormer to this bedroom to maximize view in back
� Extra storage upstairs? In forum
� Gas fireplace in master br.
� Want to make sure back porch doesn�t make family room too dark�.angle of sun prevents this?
� Is the upstairs maximum use of space? Little round top window in front � incorporate into closet? I read something on one of the house building forums and it was suggested that the upstairs space could utilize some of the extra area.
� Is there attic/storage space upstairs too?
� No windows in upstairs bathrooms � can we put a little round top window on the side above master bath for upstairs bath. Also would adding single, narrow dormer(s) in back for back bathroom � is this possible while maintaining the architectural balance of house? Or any other ideas?

Thanks!

Comments (102)

  • leendqueen
    9 years ago

    almostemptynester- love the pics of your house! Looks amazing. My husband and I are thinking about building this plan but are still looking for land. would love to see more pictures as your house comes along. Thanks for sharing! :)

  • Al Otto
    9 years ago

    almostemptynester, Im an almost empty nester, as well, and we are looking at possibly building the Shook on our land in the PA countryside. I know you must be crazy busy, but I would love it if you kept us posted on the progress of your home. Looks like it is off to a great start! Hope your building experience is a happy one.

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    aliotto I'm more than happy to post photos here. I've put up a few in the Building a Home "It's March or whatever month how is your new building going/" Forum, but after a few weeks that forum becomes rather unwieldy because there are so many posts and you can't directly respond to a post. I'll post some in a few minutes as long as I can post here from my phone because everything is still on the phone

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    After lots of delays due to an incredible amount of snow and freezing temperatures, the framers were able to install a lot of windows and just about finish the roof yesterday. The weather looks great next week so we should have lots of progress!


  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    The interior from the foyer looking toward the living room....

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    I love the wall of windows in the living room -- there's still plastic on the windows but the view is beautiful.

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    aliotto let me know if you have any questions if you are considering building this plan.

  • leendqueen
    9 years ago

    almostemptynester- love seeing your pictures! your house looks amazing. what square footage did you finally decide on?

  • Al Otto
    9 years ago

    almostemptynester...I was wondering how you feel about the amount of natural light you are getting in your house. This is a concern to me because I live in PA and I love a sunny house. We don't get enough of it around here! On the other hand, I love the porches....

  • Al Otto
    9 years ago

    BTW can someone tell me what Chilibeans is???

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    Aliotto -- Chilibeans is a Shook Hill -- she has a lot of pictures posted of it.


    As far as natural light is concerned, I don't know quite yet because the house is still under construction but so far so good. However, I'm in New England and because of this, I decided to forgo the covered porch in the rear with the fireplace, although I LOVED this feature. Instead, our plan calls for an open deck with an outdoor fireplace. I thought this would be the best of both worlds and not make the living room too dark. There is another thread from GardenWeb where a helpful woman posted pics of her Shook Hill with the porch. She was in Georgia, or somewhere in the south and said that it does make the living room dark. If you do a search, you should be able to find it. The front porch for our new build is on the north side of the house -- I don't expect that much sun there anyway,, but this will affect primarily the dining room. I can let you know as our build progresses and take some photos of the sunlight if that's helpful.



  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    leeandqueen -- I had the plans for Shook Hill modified slightly to shrink the square footage to just about 2900 -- it still seems like a rather big house for what will be two people most of the time but it'll be a great house to have grandchildren and visiting kids. Meanwhile, we can live on the first floor most of the time....


  • Al Otto
    9 years ago

    Thanks almostemptynester that is helpful

  • almostemptynester
    9 years ago

    Aliotto it's actually this thread that has the photos of the living room with a back porch! Scroll up!

  • Dale Brubaker
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Almostemptynester, it's so great to see your pics! I'm so glad to have helped you along the way (I'm 2c2u...) and can't wait to see more pics, especially of the rooms you expanded. You may inspire me to trade my current Shook Hill for a modified one!

  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago

    After we get through the Air Seal Test or whatever they call it, we can proceed full steam ahead with the blueboard/plaster etc... I will post pictures soon. I'm hoping they can get the kitchen in within a week or so. I'm so tired of the delays. I will be happy to post pics of everything, although we did scale down a little from the expanded size. It's really just the two of us most of the time. Thanks for sharing all your pics and info, Karen Brubaker aka 2c2u!


  • leendqueen
    8 years ago

    almostemptynester- how's your shook hill coming? we would love to see more pictures if you have time! Thx.

  • almostemptynester
    8 years ago

    It's getting there!

  • almostemptynester
    8 years ago

  • almostemptynester
    8 years ago

    Once they finish the flooring, the oil finish goes on next week.

  • cvazqu
    8 years ago
    Almostemptynester- it looks BEAUTIFUL!
    Do you have plans for the big blank wall to the right of the cabinets on the sink side of the kitchen? I've never been able to figure out what to do there.
  • dtbicfy50
    8 years ago

    I everyone! We are in Richmond Va and are looking at building the Shook Hill ! It will be our emptynester house as well. I could use some help in the way of pictures ! Anyone want to share theirs? I would be most grateful !


  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago

    Cvazqu -- Sorry I've been busy with the house (what else!). I think I'm going to put a hutch there. I'll get you know if it looks okay there.


  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago

    I have photos to share with you. What are you interested in seeing? Ours is almost complete and it really is a gorgeous house plan.


  • dtbicfy50
    8 years ago

    Everything! We've only been dreaming about this for 10 years! Perhaps kitchen first!


  • ILoveRed
    8 years ago

    Did Almostemptynester finish her house? Loved the outside and really wanted to see it. Does anyone know?

  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago
    almost there! we are living there. painters are almost done. tiler lagging as is plumbing since he is waiting for the tile. I'll post pics soon! it is a beautiful house even half done!
  • ILoveRed
    8 years ago

    Would love to see another pic of the exterior. Loved the sneak peak above of your porch and yellow siding.

  • miastensrud
    8 years ago

    Almostemptynester Your home looks beautiful! We are building a modified Stone Creek home and I was wondering if you would share your Great Room window sizes? Would appreciate it. Hope you are enjoying your new home. Would love to see additional photos. Thanks in advance. Hope you receive this note. Maria

  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago

    (3) 20x62 with 24" transoms. Miastensrud -- Sorry I used to get notifications when this thread updated but haven't seen any. Have you started your building process yet? I will add updated photos soon, but I really need to find and charge a real camera with a wide angle lens in order to capture the house -- the phone camera is handy but I can't photograph the whole room.


  • miastensrud
    8 years ago

    Thanks for your response. Haven't started building yet; still tweaking the plan. We also have to sell our home in NY. Merry Christmas! Maria

  • miastensrud
    8 years ago

    When I re-read your comment it didn't make sense to me. Did you mean (6) 20 x 62" windows with 2' transoms? Thanks. Maria

  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago

    3 sets of two windows -- They came attached together, but that is how the plan specified. Does that make sense?


  • Kim Shockley
    8 years ago

    Getting ready to build Shook Hill, love to see everyone's pics and ideas.

  • doctorroo1
    8 years ago
    I'm excited for you Kim Skockley...we are just about done with ours.
  • Kim Shockley
    8 years ago

    This is the front porch view where we plan to build our Shook Hill House..please share your pics.

  • Kim Shockley
    8 years ago

    Has anyone in Missouri built the Shook Hill House? I would love to see the house in person.

  • brownel1973
    7 years ago

    I all, We are in Richmond Va. Anyone build a Shook Hill near us?

  • Vhalf
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    We are empty nesters looking at building the Shook Hill. Has anyone built this house in the past 3 years? Would also love to hear from those of you who built in 2015. Any major changes you would make?

  • Nikki Daughtry
    5 years ago
    Also Interested in building this house.... has anyone done this white white and stone? More of a farmhouse exterior?
  • Holly Herring
    4 years ago

    hi Shook Hill fans! Anyone willing to share pics of their finished home?

  • hkrollins
    4 years ago

    We just bought ten acres and are looking to build the Shook Hill. This thread has been amazing. Would love to see photos from recent builds.

  • 5 Pack
    4 years ago

    Has anyone re-positioned the stairs in the house? I would love to see your ideas.


  • Nikki Daughtry
    4 years ago

    @shelby packer we made some modifications and moved the stairs to the front door and opened the dinning area

  • 5 Pack
    4 years ago

    Nikki, what is your square footage?

  • Nikki Daughtry
    4 years ago

    2612 heated

  • A S
    3 years ago

    @Nikki Daughtry - I love the modifications you showed! Do you have any pictures you'd mind sharing? I'm seriously considering this lovely plan and I'm so in love when the changes you made. I just can't ever tell how anything looks without pics lol. Thanks :)

  • jessrush08
    2 years ago

    @nikki daughtry would you be willing to share the layout of your second floor? Love what you did to the main floor.

  • chadbpaulk
    2 years ago

    @Nikki Daughtry I love what you did with your modifications. Would you be willing to share or discuss? Do you have any final pictures?