Why Remodel

The primary motivator for this remodel is to reconfigure a bizarre layout downstairs, the result of various additions over the years. A small dark kitchen was left in the center of the house, that doubled as a hallway between the stairs and the living room and front entry. There was no easy fix for the fundamental flow problems, and it took the imagination and skill of a talented architect to come up with a very nice solution to a tough problem.

This remodel entails:

* Additions on two sides of the downstairs, about 400 sq.ft. total
* New kitchen in new location
* Moving the lower section of a staircase
* New flooring, windows, doors, trim throughout most of downstairs
* Redone wood fireplace, new gas fireplace
* New guest suite downstairs
* Three completely new bathrooms
* A ton of new closets
* Small addition upstairs

In the end, we'll have a 6BR/4BA 3100 sq.ft. house with a knockout kitchen!

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

How much is this going to cost? A lot. At least $500K; even more when you add in all direct expenses (rental house, moving, and the big one: unexpected problems, and changes along the way) and indirect expenses (take-out food, childcare).

Is it worth it? Probably, since we plan to live here until our kids go to college, and odds are good the house value will pay for the remodel in 15 years. But, I'll like it a lot more, and that makes the project worth it right there.

Why didn't we move instead? We seriously considered it. But, just to get what we already have (2700 sq.ft, 5BR/3BA, large lot), would cost at least $1.6M note: this is pre-recession 2007 reasoning). We can't get nearly as much as that for our house, largely because the kitchen sucks! Also, much of what we've already done here we really like (huge garage, floor heat, my PERFECT bathroom), and every house we saw would need some remodeling or had some major drawbacks anyway.

So financially, it's about a wash to remodel vs. move. Hassle: no question, moving wins. Satisfaction: remodeling wins. Though I still have some regrets about the lack of a walking neighborhood, the house itself will suit us perfectly.

Aren't you being just a little bit spoiled? Yeah..., well, sort of. On paper, this house sounds big enough, but in practice, the funky layout makes it very hard to use that space. It's dark and weird and impossible to improve the awful kitchen. It's intangible but powerful: the strange layout inhibits natural family dynamics, and it's just not enjoyable being here. The whole house will work much, much better after the remodel -- for us, and the future owners.

Old downstairs layout:


New downstairs layout:


The key that unlocked the flow problem was changing the staircase from an upside-down L to an upside-down J, by relocating the lower section of staircase. Now the kitchen didn't have to be Grand Central Station to get to the upstairs. We still have some odd paths in the house, but, after all, this is an odd house.