Update to Design Meeting 2

Getting Closer!

Updated floor plans & elevations of concept 2D came in from the architect. 
(And these should look better on the screen, since they were sent to us as files, and aren't photos taken with my phone!)

First Floor addition





Second Floor addition

Rear Elevation



Side Elevation



Design Meeting 2

The second design meeting really threw us for a loop... 

There were too many good ideas to choose from!  By increasing the footprint just a few feet, there were so many more possibilities!

As expected, the second floor was the easy part, so we tackled that first.  The increase in square footage made a big difference to the size of the office.  It also allowed for some additional linen closets off the hallway (since our current linen closet is up on the third floor hallway). 

Here's where it now stands:

Now came the hard part...
We were presented with four new concepts for the first floor.  Each of them addressed the concerns we had with the first set of plans.   But there are other pluses & minuses to each, all quite minor, considering what we're currently working in! 

Here's a round-up:

Concept 2A

+1/2 bath is tucked away from the kitchen, & easy access from the outside (thinking BBQs, kids playing outside)

+Generous size powder room

-Kitchen "triangle" is too wide

-Walking from the family room, past the fridge seems weird

Concept 2B

+Provides nice view of back entry from family room
+Bathroom is tucked away from kitchen & easily accessible from outside & family room
-Kitchen area feels a little too compact

Concept 2C

+Kitchen area feels more open

+View of booth/eating area from family room
-1/2 bath will be viewable from kitchen, if bathroom door is left ajar (which my boys are bound to do)

Concept 2D

+Kitchen area is very open
+View of booth/eating area from family room
+More counter-space provided
+1/2 bath tucked away from kitchen, yet easy to access from outside & family room
+When entering the back door, you'll see through the kitchen to the Butler's Pantry display cabinet

We honestly could have been happy with ANY of the designs that were presented.  But we have to choose one!

I'm sure you can tell by the number of pluses, along with the pencil markings- we're going with Concept 2D.

This was actually a last minute brainstorm that the architect had the night before our meeting... so there weren't any exterior elevations drawn up yet, and we talked it through a bit more during our meeting.

There are few adjustments being made to Concept 2D before our third design meeting:

-Entryway to be covered porch, not just a stoop.

-Doorway from family room to be moved to the left, allowing for a larger pantry cabinet to be placed next to the fridge.

Now we turned our attention to the exterior.

Even though we didn't have exact drawings to match Concept 2D, we talked thru the other drawings since the window styles could be interchangable.

Didn't like



Liked, but wasn't sure about symetrical placement

of upstairs & downstairs windows



 



Balance of windows is better.
We sketched an entry options on this one.





This is the window design we're going with.  Lots of light!

  









So, another week and we should be finished with the design discussions.  Then the architect will work on the Construction Documents, so we'll be able to put the project out to bid!




Update!  Quick Links to our progress:
Design Meeting 2 Update
Design Meeting 3

Design Meeting 1

I'm falling behind already!
We're getting ready for our second design meeting, and I realized I didn't post the results of the first meeting.

For background, here's the floor plan of the existing first floor:

The sun room will be ripped down, and new construction will begin there.

Here are the design concepts that were presented in the 1st meeting.

Concept 1:                                                                                     

 Concept 2:

We feel Concept 2 is closer to what we're looking for.  My favorite part is the Butler's Pantry design!

There are a couple of items we've asked them to work on: 

 - Perhaps reduce the size of the mud room- it doesn't need to be an actual room, but just an area where the kids can take off their shoes and hang their jackets.

- We don't want the island to be the only eating area in the kitchen.  We like an island for food prep/serving, but prefer to have a breakfast nook, or built-in seating that we can sit together & eat as a family.

- We want the family room to connect thru to the kitchen, creating a circular & more open flow.

We know that's a lot to ask for in this modest space, but they are going to take that feedback & we'll see what they can do.

The upstairs plans are almost perfect!

The office & laundry room (at the bottom of this image) are the new items.

The only thing changing here is flipping the closet door from opening in the office to open in the laundry room). It's  necessary because our house's septic system is only for 4 BR & having a closet in the office makes it a fifth "bedroom". 

Once we expand the master bath into the room on top left of floor plan, we'll lose that "bedroom".  We could then switch the opening of the closet to the office side- IF we decided we needed a closet in there.

We feel really great about the exterior design:

Proposed Back of House



Proposed Profile of House



We did ask them to add a couple of windows to the profile.  But otherwise, we really liked how well it will look with the rest of the house.

So, now we're off to the second design meeting.  I can't wait! 

Update: Quick links to our progress!

Design Meeting 2

Design Meeting 2 continued! 

Design Meeting 3