Sorry, I thought the other door was the front door. What about keeping the original foot print, putting the kitchen in the bottom right space, dining room in the top right space, taking the old kitchen walls down and using that entire center space as a living room? You could put a door up that could be closed between the kitchen and the living room.

Can you not put the kitchen in the back nook where the DR is in option 3?

Honestly, none of these layouts appeal to me.

If it were me, I would go for option 1 except I would put the kitchen in the back nook and leave the sitting/family room as one big open space.

To be very frank I am not very good at reading architectural structures. Forgive me for this. All that I can say is if you are using rugs and runners near kitchen prefer to have naturally fire retardant rugs there. Also ascertain that there is enough sunshine or it can be east facing also.

Option 3 in a new york minute.

I'm with HerrDoktor and some others, Option 3 by a landslide. I like a big open floor plan. OP Jade objected to this floor plan because "everyone will see my messy kitchen", so that's a personal preference. I'm not a particularly messy cook, I rinse and stack as I go. What I'm bad at is being stuck in the kitchen and unable to participate in conversation with guests. If it's all open, I can still be part of the party while working in the kitchen.

I think the problem with Option 3 is that it gives you a great kitchen at the expense of Almost Everything Else.

Weird undefined space with random sitting area near the front door.

Odd LR layout that give you a prime focal point of the basement stairs and a hall with a linen closet

Dining area where you squeeze between the corner of the sofa and the island to get to, and then a table and chair arrangement that essentially hides the fireplace and makes it useless. No one is going to want to sit at that end of the table if the fireplace is lit, unless the windows are open.

I think this is a problem with the concept the "center of it all kitchen" --sometimes they are the centerpiece of a bunch of leftover spaces.

Have you explored at all Kitchen Here:

Something like this. The kitchen layout would need to be reworked but this location gives you two rectangular spaces to work with for living and dining

cutting and pasting from your own schematics I would tend to do something like this so the people who are eating at the lower left corner of the table don't feel like they are eating in the front vestibule.

I live in a house where you walk right into the dining room without any separation and people must find the reality of this rather unpleasant because of the four houses designed this way , two appear to have divided it a bit more, and we are currently using the entire dining area as a defacto entryway (which is what the previous owners did) until we close it off a bit from the front door, and the fourth house has a side door that they walk in rather than ever using the front door. (Theirs has the only side door, it is in a vestibule and they use that entry exclusively). I have come to the conclusion that people don't like walking right into a room that starts inches from the door.

You need an entry closet and a walk in pantry.

If you use option 3 and you don't want them to see your kitchen mess, a two level island is one way to hide most of it.

I don't like the open front entry in option 3. I like the option 2 entry and dining space is best. But, it needs some work.

I have a keeping room with fireplace adjacent to the kitchen. If I had anywhere else to put the kitchen table, I would. The fireplace is too hot to use when we are seated at the table. The table blocks the fireplace at other times. It would be a much nicer area if it was only used for lounging as illustrated in options 1 and 2.

My answer would be none of them. There is still work to do.

Or, with a closet

I think I wouldn't take any of them. I would put the seating / living room area across the entire front of the house, from the door ove to the right hand wall ( with the Addison as in layout 2). I would tuck the kitchen in the back right corner, and the dining are central on the back wall. I would nix a second seating area all together. Seems repetitive for such a small space.

The front door is THE entrance for family as well as guests, so you need a foyer. Can you do the following:

Assume most interior walls are gone.
Add a wall across the front, from about halfway along the stair wall, extending to the corner on the right. Add a cased opening into the rest of the house.

Place a closet on the right-hand end of this new foyer. Now you have a place to corral shoes, hang coats and drop backpacks, and transition to the house.

Place the kitchen in the old dining room, and depending on where you place the cased opening, extend across to the left. It could be a wide U, with an island if you like. You won't see it as you enter the front door.

The dining room is the old living room, in front of the windows. What a nice spot for a meal, or afternoon snack, or homework.

The fireplace anchors the living room.

I can't draw it out on this iPad, but does that make sense?

Options 1 & 2 give you two 'living' spaces. I'd rather have that than one large room. Two living spaces give the residents options, 2 places to watch different tv programs, or a separate place to read, listen to music, be on the computer in quiet. With one big room, whoever is watching tv dominates the ambiance. There is nowhere to go to get away except the bedrooms.

Think about how you actually live before giving up extra rooms.

Are you open to moving the front door? It seems like it'll be a hassle, when you come home the kids have to wait for everyone to get in and close the door before they can go up to their rooms!

You don't want a narrow hallway extending before you coming in, it's a real choke point and not at all welcoming.

Oh wow! You guys and gals are really great!!! So helpful! Thanks!!!!

Palimpsets: I really like your idea, however I don't want to lose the great windows I have in that back wall where you draw the sinks. That wall is currently almost all windows (low sill). It brings great light into the house and provides a great view of the backyard/deck.

Regarding the "foyer" I really like your idea of the little wall to the right to protect the dining area or living area (still undecided).

Bpathome - where would be the living room? Where Palimpset put the kitchen?

I do like the idea of the foyer as well.

Also, what about the living room where is currently the kitchen, Kitchen where is currently dining room (bottom right box) opening to a small family room where is the fireplace. And dining table where Palimpset drew the kitchen.

Thanks again guys!!

Something between options 1 & 2; they give the cozy "keeping room with fireplace" thing, which I really like. In #2, I do not see any advantage to the extra opening in the dividing wall from Gt Rm to Din Rm; DR does not need three entrances. Close that opening, more furniture flexibility. That would be my choice; I'm not an "open plan" guy.
Casey

Until I understand what the views are out the various windows I cannot recommend any changes to the floor plan. Another possibility is that you keep the existing floor plan, but move the kitchen one room to the right so that it is now in the corner spot. That way your kitchen would not be immediately visible when you walked into the house and it would be a pleasant room to work in that could open onto both the living room and dining room as well as have windows on two sides. How do you intend to use the other living spaces? The original plan appears to have a living room, family room, dining room and kitchen-do you intend to use the rooms that way when you are done? My problem with option three is that when there is no official hallway the entire space becomes a hallway, people will walk in the direct line between the bottom of the stairs and the kitchen all of the time and furniture placement becomes quite a problem. They will also walk from all of the downstairs rooms to the powder room all of the time. Option three leaves really awkward space that functions as a gigantic hallway. I think that Palmipest is onto something as by adding that closet she is directing the flow of traffic in the room. Is there a whole closet under the stair case? If not you will want to add a front hall closet somewhere.

This is not a good kitchen layout but I cut and paste just to show it in another position. You would have to sort the layout and the window placement but it gets you a front hallway etc.

My idea was like this, with just suggestions for placements. You could make the foyer shallower, if you wanted, which could make space for a broom closet for the kitchen. I shifted the front door over to where the window was (maybe it has room for sidelights?), and made the door into a window. This allows easier passage to the stairs if the door is opened.

Or, if you wanted to even out the front as in one of your first options, you could add an entry to the kitchen from the foyer, nice for kids coming down for breakfast (or hollering up the stairs to TELL them to come down lol!) but not too visible from the front door. On the other side of the foyer wall, you could put in a pantry? or a sitting area? There's plenty of open space to work with.

I just can't get away from the idea of the table in front of the windows in the middle, overlooking the back yard. We use our table for so much more than company! But that could also be a secondary sitting area, especially if you add a bit of wall to separate it from the gathering space by the hearth, and then the dining table could be between the kitchen and the gathering spaces.

My prejudices are shown in my plan: I like a foyer, I like it to lead to two places, and I like a front-facing kitchen :)

I'd prefer option 2 but move the dining table to the back, where the sectional seat is shown. The room at the front could be for TV, or a more formal room. I'd consider stained glass sliding doors for this room both b/w the entry and the kitchen, maybe a third door at the top right, you may wish to open when hossting large groups. Coat closet can be next to this door (since it would be in the DR I'd try to make the closet similar to the other furniture in the room.

I'd remove the wall b/w DR and the room with the fire place and have an entry to kitchen on the fridge wall.

I'm not sure if you have room for it, but at the front wall of the kitchen, I'd consider a window seat and a small table, maybe just for 2 (you'll probably have to move the window to the left and center it with cabs after the corner).

{{gwi:2142893}}

Wow, you guys really have great ideas! I am so thankful to the person who directed me to this website!!

The house already has a powder room where is also the laundry closet. Currently I live in a condo and have a laundry closet in my kitchen and I never felt the need to have more space for laundry so I am used to certain "space constrains."

That little "linen closet near the powder room is actually the coat closet. It is very small and as you can see, it takes space away from what will be my husband's closet in the MB. Other drawback is the fact that it is located far from the entrance of the house.

That shared wall between sitting area and laundry closet - there is a built in bookcase there that I would like to keep if possible.

A big problem with this house are the low sill windows. They are all like that on the main floor and it makes difficult to design a space, especially kitchen which requires counters.

About my family: As I said we currently live in a condo with great living space (3 big bedrooms, 2 great bathrooms, GREAT walk in closets, and a kitchen the same size of the house's kitchen, but better layout). We have a preschooler and a 5m old infant and the reason we decided to buy a house is the fact that my MIL came to live with us.

She is in her 90's and has dementia. She also requires daily care from diapers to dressing, etc. She can walk fine and can feed herself though. But she will have a space for her in the basement with a bedroom and full bathroom without bathtub. Plus, my husband's "office" where he spends most of his free time is going to be there. Also a TV and playroom for the kids.

My preschooler loves to "help me" and I anticipate the baby will follow on her steps:)

I am not sure that info about the family should change the layouts suggested much. Maybe I am mistaken though. You guys seem to have lots of helpful insights about those things….

I will try to post some pics of the house as is now (the listing is still up) but I would rather not post the listing itself due to privacy reasons…

Thanks again A LOT!

I think I managed to copy the pics of the original listing…

I posted pics of the front of the house, entrance hall, kitchen (it doesn't picture the windows though, but looking at the front of the house, it is the one without shutters. There is also another low sill window on the side wall to the right side, since the dining room is recessed a little bit)

Posted pics of the dining room, fireplace room, "family" room with big windows and built in bookcase and small hall.

I hope it helps to give an idea of all the windows and what is the view from them, etc.

I love the front windows and think the fact that they are all the same height give the front of the house a "cohesive" look, don't' you think?

But in the end, I think I won't have other option but to alter that in order to get continuous counter space…sigh

I will research that after I set on a specific layout though. One step at the time.

Here is a link that might be useful: new house

Jade, it's a lovely house! From the pictures the rooms appear to be a decent size. The windows are lovely and I think an attribute. It's wonderful your Mom can spend her waining years with you. It is a very special time for your family.

Can you let us know what you do not like about the current layout and what you'd like to accomplish? Do you want a completely open layout so long as there is separation from the entrance? Do you want a front foyer, mudroom, closet? Do you want to basically restructure the space to allow for a great kitchen? Or do you want to be minimally invasive with the current layout to create a functional kitchen? What do you see as your ideal kitchen? Since you've hired an architect, you must have given him guidelines. It looks like the house has good bones. Let us know your wish list/priorities.

bbtrix - To tell you the truth I really like the house, I think it is very "cozy." My big and only issue is the kitchen. As you can see from the pics I have very little working space, very little storage for "stuff" and, most importantly, pantry. I could even compromise and keep the kitchen gadgets not used regularly stored in the basement, but need a good working space for prepping AND a good pantry.

A mud room would be wonderful but I am realistic and I don't think it is feasible since it is a small house. However, a small defined foyer with (if possible) a coats closet near the entrance would be great, but my big thing is really a more functional kitchen.

Ideally we would not build an addition because it will be tremendously expensive (everything in this area is expensive) for the small space added, and we have a very intrusive HOA to deal with. But we are open to it if it is the best solution to get a great kitchen (not at expense of everything else though).

I am open to redesigning the space, moving gas line, breaking walls, etc… but I really want to keep the fireplace room as a sitting area/family room - a place to cozy up with a glass of wine, a book and enjoy the fire:) I don't want to use that room as kitchen or dining room.

I also would rather not lose the windows in the back room with the blue wall because they bring great light into the house.

That is pretty much it - a nice kitchen with good working space and storage, especially pantry. That is the most important thing in this reno. A small foyer would be a bonus.

After seeing the pic's of the interior of the house, I like it as is. I could live there easily. :) Love the sitting room with the fireplace and the one with the bookcase - I wouldn't want to give up either one.

What is in the corner of the kitchen with the 2 windows? Fitting that corner out with upper and lower cabs adjusted to the size of the windows might give you more storage for the things you would store in a pantry and you would have continuous counter space wrapped around that corner.

Is the room adjacent to the kitchen the dining room? Is it big enough to expand the kitchen into without too much sacrifice of space? Perhaps you could 'push out' a bit and reconfigure the current kitchen to include a pantry.

If you are set on moving the kitchen entirely, option 2 looks the best to me.

Is it possible to build a coat closet under the stairs?

Oh, that is a charming house! Funny how seeing the pictures changes how I feel about the layouts.

What about "just" moving the kitchen to the dining room, make it a galley which lets you keep the pretty front windows. I won't give up on the DR by the back windows, and bookcase in a dining room works for me! I know, moving the plumbing isn't so simple, but it moves the Everest walls.

The existing kitchen can be a den like in Sena's layout. You could move or widen doorways around in there and steal some space for a closet, and even in the den you could have a basket for shoes.

I agree, the house is very charming as it is, and while I can understand wanting to enlarge the kitchen and have it in a location more central to the action, on the other hand I think a great deal of the charm could be lost by converting the entire thing to one open plan. I think you will have to tread carefully.

I love your house the way it is, but if you think the kitchen needs more room, perhaps you could bump out the area in front of the dining room, add a matching window to the right (or replace window so it is centered with the island) and add a pantry in the corner.

I wasn't a fan of Plan 3 above and after seeing pics of your charming home, I am even less of a fan of that wide open plan.

IMO, you have 2 ways to go about this.

The first is to work within your home's existing footprint. The pros are that the budget is manageable, as is the stress, a big plus when you're dealing with young children and caregiving duties, and the timeline will be shorter from start to finish.

(I took care of my dad for the last 1 1/2 yrs of his life so I know how incredibly stressful and exhausting being a caregiver is. And he didn't live with me nor was his Alzheimer's very advanced; he died of lung cancer complicated by pneumonia. But I'd make the same decision again even though I know exactly what I'd be undertaking).

But I digress.

The cons of working within the existing footprint are no new coat closet and a shared powder room/laundry closet. Yes, I know you're used to that but you won't believe how much laundry kids generate, especially if they get involved in sports. There may come a time when you'll wish these 2 facilities had their own space.

The 2nd option is to build an addition. That would get you a coat closet and a larger kitchen but at a larger overall cost and a longer project timeline.

I didn't play with an addition but I did play with your existing footprint, tackling 2 things you're not keen about with your current kitchen: the view from the front door and the lack of decent counter and storage space.

To fix this, I swapped DR and kitchen.

{{gwi:2142894}}

The current DR is wider but shorter but otherwise, the spaces appear to be fairly equal in size. As long as you don't crowd the DR with additional furniture, as shown in the listing, you should still have a nice sized DR.

The entries to the kitchen are along the top and left walls so there's room to create an L with island lay-out. I did need to shift the DR/kitchen entry (up on the plan) to make room for a run of cabs along the front wall but that's the only interior structural change.

You will need to alter the 2 existing DR windows. As noted in the plan, the one over the sink needs to be replaced with a counter height window. You'll need to either eliminate or replace the single window at the front of the house with 2 counter height windows on each side of the range.

I didn't add it but there should be room for a pull-out pantry cab at the end of the range run.

Because the window changes are in the stepped back portion of the house, I think changing these windows to counter height will look just fine. Here's an example:

[{{gwi:2142895}}[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/classic-hyannisport-residence-traditional-exterior-boston-phvw-vp~34803)

[Traditional Exterior[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2107) by Cambridge Architects & Building Designers LDa Architecture & Interiors
The windows to the left are shorter than the windows to the right.

If you don't want to change out the front window, then consider a galley style lay-out with the island placed in front of the low window, like this:

[{{gwi:2142896}}[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/total-renovation-intown-atlanta-transitional-kitchen-atlanta-phvw-vp~15346575)

[Transitional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2112) by Atlanta Interior Designers & Decorators beth kooby design

Here's what that lay-out would look like:

{{gwi:2142897}}

You will need to eliminate or replace the existing low window on the side with 2 counter height windows on each side of the range. That's the only structural change. The existing doorway to the DR remains as is.

This plan doesn't offer as much counter or storage as Plan B.

As with my earlier plan, cab and appliance locations are suggestions only. I can't give you more detailed plans without dimensions. The photos are helpful but there's no way to determine how much room you have to work with from photos.

I've linked to NKBA's kitchen planning guidelines for you. This will help you know whether either of the above two plans are workable.

However, if you were to provide dimensions of each space, marking where windows and doorways are, we could give you more detailed lay-outs, including determining if there's a way to add a coat closet in the entry.

Here is a link that might be useful: NKBA kitchen Guidelines

I like Karen's plan, look at that fabulous pantry! This one simply puts the kitchen to the right without an addition, opens some walls in the old kitchen so it can be a den or dining. If you did pony walls, or full walls with openings, around the kitchen, and have the corner cabinets accessible from the other side, would it work? You could maybe steal some space from the den/dining for a closet, or just do hooks on the stair landing.

Are you able to access the area under the stairs in the entry? It can be utilized for a coat closet at the tall end and shoe/hat/umbrella/backpacks etc in the shorter pull outs.

[{{gwi:2142898}}[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/2013-coastal-living-showhouse-transitional-staircase-charleston-phvw-vp~6329320)

[Transitional Staircase[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-staircase-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_745~s_2112) by Peachtree City Architects & Building Designers Our Town Plans

alex9179, the OP's house has a basement so the space under the upstairs stairs is already being used. ;-)

Jade, I'd like to emphasize Lisa_a's request for complete dimensions. It really is necessary. A few more questions, do you need two sitting areas on the main floor? You stated that you have a TV room and play area downstairs, so would the fireplace/family room suffice? Do you know which walls are load bearing?

We've seen on GW a few kitchens where the window dips below the countertop, usually in a remodel in a vintage house. I've also seen this in real life. But I can't find them, my search skills are abysmal. Does anyone remember whose kitchens did this?

How about this?

{{gwi:2142899}}

The main big change that I made here was I moved the entrance to your house. On the outside, it would now look like this:

{{gwi:2142900}}

The benefits of this are:

1) Because I'm just swapping the current front door for a window and the current window for a front door, you can potentially keep and reuse the door, window, and shutters in the opposite locations. That is saved money, and the windows stay the same size/height for that cohesiveness you like.

2) Your old entrance had no storage or mudroom area and was a long, narrow tunnel. Your new entrance will have a window, a closet, and a bench under the window to sit on when taking your shoes on and off. The new entrance hallway will also be wider (which is nice when multiple people enter at once and stop there all together to take off coats, shoes, etc.).

3) You had mentioned wanting to maintain the fireplace room as a sitting room rather than a kitchen or dining because you thought the fireplace worked best with a sitting room, and I think most people agree with that. Certainly I do.

The problem with that was the fireplace room was a little small to be your only living room. It was fine as a smaller den off the big living room, but that set-up left you with a dining room that shouldn't be smaller (it's a good size, but there's no room to spare) and a kitchen that you already felt was too small. So in that context, expending all that space on having a redundant sitting room doesn't make sense when you're unhappy with how much space you have in the kitchen. And though you like the rest of the house, you simply can't get more space for the kitchen without moving/changing anything else. It just makes sense to switch from two sitting rooms to one in order to have a bigger kitchen.

In addition to greatly improving the entrance itself, since entrances (even roomy ones with storage and seating) are smaller than kitchens or dining rooms, moving the entrance to the bottom right of the floor plan allowed me to expand the fireplace room into a full-size living room that is big enough to be your only sitting room. It is actually now bigger than your original biggest sitting room (the blue room with the big window). (You also now see the fireplace immediately when you walk in the front door, which is a lovely first impression.)

Presumably if the fireplace room is your only sitting room, you'll need a place in there to put a TV, so I also eliminated one of the two deck doors and extended the wall the deck door is on a bit to give you a place for a TV. If you don't need a TV, ignore this part.

If you do need a TV and eliminate a deck door and the light it brings in, you might also consider adding a second window on the right wall, placed to symmetrically to the other window on the same wall, so they flank the couch. I picture a nice piece of art between the windows, centered on the couch. Like this:

{{gwi:2142901}}

Adding second window is optional. It would be nice, but if the budget requires trimming some fat, this would be an obvious thing to cut.

4) Moving the entrance also means that I can put the kitchen where the original big living room was (since that room is no longer in view from the front entrance) and the dining room where the old kitchen was (that room is nicely accessible to the new kitchen and, since it is a little thinner and longer than the old dining room, the old kitchen is a slightly better shape for a dining room). This gives you a much larger new kitchen with a gloriously huge window. And because of how the entrance was moved, I was also able to give you a humongous pantry to go with it. And because the kitchen is on the back of the house, none of the front windows need to be shorter than any of the other front windows.

I am a little concerned about how adequate the walkways are around the island because I don't have exact measurements, so you should double-check that. The kitchen layout itself might need adjusting, although I'm sure the general location and size will be good.

I know you were concerned about losing that big window, but this really isn't a loss. Counter height is very similar to the height of the red sofa that is currently in front of that window, so I would be astonished (ASTONISHED) if you even notice a difference in the amount of light coming in. Aside from the bottom edge of the window rising to counter height, all other parts of the window dimensions would stay the same (with the large pantry, you don't need uppers on that wall). "Natural light" is my middle name, and even I wouldn't notice the difference in brightness between that window with a couch in front of it vs a counter in front of it.

What I would notice and be VERY excited about is a kitchen with That. Window. I think you will LOVE working in a kitchen with all that light and the view of the back yard. Both the island seating and the sink will face all that, and it will be just splendid.

Like so:

{{gwi:2142902}}

{{gwi:2142903}}

{{gwi:2142904}}

{{gwi:2142905}}

{{gwi:2142906}}

5) The passbar is now a doorway, and that should be cheap because the header can stay the same. It also means more light from the big now-kitchen window getting into the now-dining room.

6) I also added a doorway between the new dining room and the old entrance hallway to make both areas feel bigger. (This can also be optional. It would be nice, but if budget required trimming some other fat, this would be another obvious thing to cut.)

The fact that old entrance hallway has to stay so you can access the stairs is the only thing I don't like about this plan, but that seems minor compared to what you gain. I'd install a big gallery wall in the old entrance hallway, which will show prettily through the big doorway to the dining room.

Like the gallery wall showing through this doorway:
{{gwi:2142907}}

In conclusion, without the cost of an addition, you get the kitchen and sitting room that you want, a still-good dining room, a bonus much-better entrance, and you lose only a couple inches from the bottom of a window that I am sure you won't miss and a built-in bookshelf. Every remodel is a compromise, and that is a pretty good deal.

P.S. I am unfortunately trying out a new photo editing program, and for some reason I can't make the text in my suggested floor plan legible. Clockwise from the top, the red text says:

a) double doors made single and wall extended to have place for TV
b) window added
c) wall moved
d) bench with shoe storage underneath
e) closet
f) entrance moved here
g) doorway added to make hall less like a tunnel and dining room feel larger
h) door made into window

This post was edited by Jillius on Sun, Dec 14, 14 at 22:57

As Jillius's plan adds a front coat closet, the small closet in the current living room could be combined with the master closet.

The existing bookcase would be lost, but perhaps it could be reinstalled in the basement or one of the bedrooms.

I love threads like this. When I see the first post, I just know that the brainiacs here on GardenWeb will create something 10x better.

With Jillius' plan, I would:

- Expand the Dining Room so that it includes the Hallway to the left

- Use that Hallway space to create a combo Library - Dining Room.

http://www.simplybeautifulhouse.com/2012/09/a-library-dining-room.html

http://vmburkhardt.tumblr.com/post/23930974354/vmburkhardt-suzanne-slesins-library-dining-room

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/96827460710064882/

My Library - Dining room would have these features:

- 1 or 2 framed pieces of art or photos from trips
- Lighting for the art or photos
- Lighting on the vertical separator rails
- LED lighting for the shelves
- Electrical outlets symmetrically around the art for a 7 or 9" photo viewer. (Yes, my biggest regret in the cabinetry for books I've had built is not planning for the lighting that I want now. Even if I had just put in the electricity for later lighting choices that would have made it a lot easier now. If I ever added open shelves to a kitchen, I'd add an outlet behind where a photo LED viewer could be placed.)

- And of course lots of space for books. But not *only* a sea of books.

I remember growing up I loved to study in the family dining room. It was separate but still kind of in the middle of things.

Jillius' idea looks like it makes for a plan that keeps the character of the house, works, and I like reusing materials when possible. But the exterior wouldn't quite look like that, because it doesn't show the DR bump out and the fact that the front door would be recessed. It would still look nice, though, and the front door could have a nice entry courtyard and a pergola for a little protection from the elements.

Would your HOA allow moving the door?

If you love the the bookcases by the back window, perhaps the kitchen and DR could swap in this plan: since you don't need the old entry way, you can take over that space for the kitchen. You could still have a nook by the bump out, and how easy for the little ones coming down for breakfast.

bpathome -- I don't think the dining room window actually bumps out. It looks as if it does in the floor plan, but in the actually picture of the house exterior, it doesn't seem to?

This is the original house exterior:

{{gwi:2142908}}

That window is definitely a different style from the others, but it appears to flat against the house. Given that, I swapped it for one that looks the same as the other flat ones because I think that would look better when the door is moved.

And as for not having the front door recessed, I am not sure what you mean. That part of the front of the house is clearly farther back than the middle section in both the original picture and in my mock-up picture and in the original floor plan and in my suggested floor plan. I didn't change anything about the recession -- I just put a door where the window was.

Jillius, I also believe that the window to the right of the front door is bumped out and not flush with the exterior, rather like this

[{{gwi:2142909}}[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/lake-grove-new-constructon-craftsman-exterior-portland-phvw-vp~11326842)

[Craftsman Exterior[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2116) by Sherwood Home Builders Ridgecrest Homes

It's not bumped out a lot but it is bumped out so to implement your plan, either the window replacing the door would need to be treated the same way or the existing window would need to be redone and placed flush with the exterior as you show in your altered exterior image above.

Wow, lots of answers over the weekend! I didn't have an opportunity to check them before but I will go over it tonight. Meanwhile, I asked my husband to go to the house and get some measurements of the kitchen as it is now since some of the poster are asking for it.

I drew it to the best of my abilities….

the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen measurements

Ha, Lisa, your example window looks flat to me too, but I believe you that it is a bump out. What does such an odd bump-out look like from the inside? What is the purpose of bumping something out so negligibly?

Jade, I meant that we need wall and all opening measurements for the existing floorplan in your initial post. This should include the hall, kitchen, dining, family, and living room. Your architect would have that.

Now that I zoom in the window, I see what you mean. Hard to tell since the plan shows a box, pic looks flat, and there's no interior shot. How to deal with it? Maybe leave that window as it is; The former front door could be a round or octagonal window, which would suit the house, and not put the stair hall on display lol!

What I ment by recessed front door is, that part is stepped back from the front build line. Your "photoshop" looked like it was all even across the front on my screen, maybe it's must my screen (or eyes). Either way, I think it's a great idea :) I like some protection for a front door, and I suspect that the front door as originally built is right at the permitted build line, and adding an overhang wouldn't be allowed. So where you suggest it allows for an overhang of some kind, even if it's just a pergola.

"Ha, Lisa, your example window looks flat to me too, but I believe you that it is a bump out. What does such an odd bump-out look like from the inside? What is the purpose of bumping something out so negligibly?"

A deeper sill like this:

[{{gwi:2142910}}[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/tunbridge-residence-traditional-staircase-philadelphia-phvw-vp~1489446)

[Traditional Staircase[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-staircase-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_745~s_2107) by Narberth Architects & Building Designers Philip Ivory Architects

I've seen homes with shallow bump-outs like the one I posted above in my area so I had insider info that the window was bumped out.

Oh, interesting! Thanks, Lisa!

bpathome,

"I like some protection for a front door, and I suspect that the front door as originally built is right at the permitted build line, and adding an overhang wouldn't be allowed. So where you suggest it allows for an overhang of some kind, even if it's just a pergola."

I like this aspect of it too! In addition to the functional aspect, it makes an entrance feel more entrance-y. Like you're being welcomed by the house before even walking inside.

Jillius, if you look at the pic of the OP's home, you can see a shadow line beneath the bumped out window. That was also a give-away for me.

This treatment has been on my radar because we're bumping out our DR window 6"-12" to gain more elbow room around the table in our DR.

And you're welcome!