Our Determination Relating to The Addition (Plus, One Ultimate Undecided Design Determination)

After studying your whole solutions and enter, and speaking with Matt in regards to the execs and cons of ready vs. not ready on the addition, we’ve determined to place the wheels in movement proper originally of 2023.

A variety of you introduced up some actually good factors. First, contractors are by no means going to be obtainable instantly once we determine we’re prepared to maneuver ahead. We may very well 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 a lot 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 pal of mine additionally introduced up an excellent level. As she was leaving our home the opposite day, she stated, “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 facet of the home will get actually muddy to the purpose that I’ve gotten my automobile caught within the mud over there on a number of events. So if it rains actually exhausting, Matt is caught at dwelling as a result of I’ve no method to drive to the again since we now have no driveway but.

She stated, “Nicely, that alone looks as if a great purpose to get the addition, after which the driveway, finished ASAP.” She was proper. I hadn’t thought-about that.

And one ultimate level that so a lot 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 actually, the chances are the costs will go up. So it makes little sense to attend.

With all of that stated, I’m very excited to get the ball rolling originally of the yr. I do should handle my expectations, as a result of now that I’m in “ASAP mode“, I need it finished NOW! 😀 However greater than seemingly, this will probably be a really slow-rolling ball. We’ll make preparations, after which should do a complete 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 anticipate to have the contractor portion of the addition finished till the tip 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 total addition completed till mid- to late-2024.

Anyway, that’s the plan. So naturally, I’m excited, and I’ve been wanting over the ground plan that I got here up with to make certain that it’s precisely what I need, and that I don’t wish to make any important 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 put up (in 2018, I imagine), however I’m nonetheless undecided about whether or not or not I need 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 means of the music room doorways. The music room is correct subsequent to the kitchen, as you possibly can see by means of the cased opening on the proper within the image beneath.

Right here’s what the ground plan appears like if I maintain the kitchen as is. The addition will embody the master suite, 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 fast response might be going to be, “However you’ll lose a lot storage!”

I actually wouldn’t, although.

Should you have been round again once I did the kitchen rework, you may do not forget 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 have 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 an ordinary depth kitchen cupboard (or near it), the within of these cupboards is barely 12 inches deep.

On prime of that, eight of the cupboards are solely 12 inches large. 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 received’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 perform of those cupboards in any respect. I’ve realized to stay with them, and I’m so grateful that I’ve the massive pantry to retailer overflow kitchen gadgets in. However in hindsight, I want I had made some drastically totally different design choices 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. 😀 )

Such a 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? Nicely, these embody (1) having my now-finished kitchen below development…once more, (2) dropping what I believe is the prettiest wall of my kitchen (and that I actually have realized to stay with), (3) arranging furnishings within the household room with an extra 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 means of the lounge, by means of the kitchen, and into the household room.

That final one is the most important difficulty for me. I actually like the concept of the household room being tucked away in the back of the home and never seen from the road, particularly if we’re in there at night time. (Sure, I notice I may shut my entrance lounge shades 😀 , however I by no means do, and I in all probability received’t begin now.) But in addition, now that we’re having individuals in our dwelling extra usually, the concept 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 huge resolution I have to make earlier than passing off the design to a contractor.