After studying your whole solutions and enter, and speaking with Matt concerning the professionals and cons of ready vs. not ready on the addition, we’ve determined to place the wheels in movement proper at the start of 2023.
A whole lot of you introduced up some actually good factors. First, contractors are by no means going to be obtainable instantly after we determine we’re prepared to maneuver ahead. We might be on a ready record for six months or longer. They might not even be capable of begin till June and even later within the yr.
And in addition, as so lots of you identified, simply because the addition is constructed and prepared for me so as to add the ending touches, that doesn’t imply that I’m obligated to begin on it ASAP. If I’m not prepared, I can wait till I’m prepared.
However a good friend of mine additionally introduced up an excellent level. As she was leaving our home the opposite day, she mentioned, “Kristi, why do you park the van in entrance of your studio when it’s a must to drive round to the again to place Matt within the van?” I defined that when it rains (and it had poured down rain that very morning), the aspect of the home will get actually muddy to the purpose that I’ve gotten my automotive caught within the mud over there on a couple of events. So if it rains actually onerous, Matt is caught at dwelling as a result of I’ve no strategy to drive to the again since we’ve got no driveway but.
She mentioned, “Effectively, that alone looks as if a great motive to get the addition, after which the driveway, carried out ASAP.” She was proper. I hadn’t thought of that.
And one last level that so lots of you introduced up that stood out to me is that it’s extremely unlikely that the price of constructing provides goes to go down. And in reality, the chances are high that the costs will go up. So it makes little sense to attend.
With all of that mentioned, I’m very excited to get the ball rolling at the start of the yr. I do must handle my expectations, as a result of now that I’m in “ASAP mode“, I would like it carried out NOW! ? However greater than seemingly, this will probably be a really slow-rolling ball. We’ll make preparations, after which must do an entire lot of ready — ready for our flip with the contractor, ready for plans to be drawn up and submitted to the town, ready for permits, ready for constructing provides, ready, ready, ready.
So even with our new plan of getting this ball rolling ASAP, I nonetheless don’t count on to have the contractor portion of the addition carried out till the top of 2023 and even the start of 2024. Then I can take over and do my half till every room is completed. So in my thoughts, we’re nonetheless not having the complete addition completed till mid- to late-2024.
Anyway, that’s the plan. So naturally, I’m excited, and I’ve been trying over the ground plan that I got here up with to make certain that it’s precisely what I would like, and that I don’t wish to make any vital modifications earlier than passing them off to a contractor.
The one query that also stays in my thoughts is that this wall within the kitchen. I’ve introduced this up in a earlier weblog submit (in 2018, I consider), however I’m nonetheless undecided about whether or not or not I desire a cased opening into the brand new household room on this wall.
As issues stand on the ground plan I’ve drawn up, the one entrance into the household room could be by the music room doorways. The music room is true subsequent to the kitchen, as you may see by the cased opening on the suitable within the image beneath.
Right here’s what the ground plan appears to be like like if I maintain the kitchen as is. The addition will embody the main bedroom, walk-in closet, laundry room, and household room.
However I’m nonetheless questioning if I wish to put that cased opening on that again wall of the kitchen. Right here’s how it might look on the ground plan.
I do know that the rapid response might be going to be, “However you’ll lose a lot storage!”
I actually wouldn’t, although.
Should you had been round again once I did the kitchen transform, you may keep in mind that I used inventory higher cupboards for the decrease cupboards. Again then, I had by no means constructed cupboards earlier than, and I wasn’t assured sufficient to attempt to construct the cupboards for the kitchen. So I used to be caught making an attempt to make it work with the inventory cupboards that had been obtainable.
To make higher wall cupboards work as base cupboards, and never have them look skimpy and disproportionate in a kitchen, I not solely constructed a base to set them on, however I additionally set them away from the wall fairly a bit.
So whereas these completed cupboards could appear to be a regular depth kitchen cupboard (or near it), the within of these cupboards is simply 12 inches deep.
On high of that, eight of the cupboards are solely 12 inches broad. That was a design mistake I’ll by no means make once more, as a result of 12-inch-wide cupboards are too small to be helpful for many issues. Dinner plates gained’t even slot in these cupboards. I’m not even joking or exaggerating.
So whereas I completely love the look of this wall, I don’t just like the operate of those cupboards in any respect. I’ve discovered to stay with them, and I’m so grateful that I’ve the big pantry to retailer overflow kitchen objects in. However in hindsight, I want I had made some drastically completely different design selections for this wall.
Placing a cased opening on that wall would give me the chance to redo the storage and proper my errors from eight years in the past. I did a really fast (and never so nice) mock up of what I’m considering. I’d have two tall storage cupboards flanking the cased opening into the household room. (And no, our household room would look nothing like that. ? )
This sort of storage, which might be deeper and have pull-out cabinets, could be far more sensible than the eight 12″ x 12″ cupboards that I’ve now that may’t even maintain a dinner plate.
The drawbacks? Effectively, these embody (1) having my now-finished kitchen underneath building…once more, (2) shedding what I believe is the prettiest wall of my kitchen (and that I actually have discovered to stay with), (3) arranging furnishings within the household room with a further doorway (the extra doorways right into a room, the tougher furnishings association turns into) and (3) opening up the road of sight from the road straight by the lounge, by the kitchen, and into the household room.
That final one is the most important difficulty for me. I actually like the thought of the household room being tucked away behind the home and never seen from the road, particularly if we’re in there at night time. (Sure, I notice I might shut my entrance front room shades ? , however I by no means do, and I in all probability gained’t begin now.) But in addition, now that we’re having folks in our dwelling extra usually, the thought of opening up that wall appears extra sensible and crowd-friendly.
I’m nonetheless undecided and weighting the professionals and cons of every design. That is the final large resolution I have to make earlier than passing off the design to a contractor.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You’ll be able to study extra about me right here.
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