I’m excited to share my initial design sketches with you for the #anglinabode! These are the initial sketches I handed our contractor. I literally just drew them up over the listing photos and was like, “can you make this happen?!”. Haha, thankfully they have been great to work with and listened to all of my design concerns.
I mentioned in my first post about our new home that the first time we walked through it I was like
But then once I went home and had some time to really think about the layout, what I liked and hated about the house, a vision began to grow.
I started sketching and got really excited about the potential. Of course, everything was riding on the idea that we could renovate. Once I had a vision for the property, I couldn’t picture it working out for our family without the changes- and without the changes, I wasn’t interested in buying the home. So the reno was key. It had to happen.
Prepare yourselves, I’m feeling very GIFy today.
After talking it over with Shawn, we decided we’d want to re-do the kitchen and main living space, create a new laundry room, and re-do all the bathrooms. So yeah, pretty much the whole house- not to mention some exterior changes we’d like to make.
We decided to start with the kitchen, main living, and flooring and MOVE IN WITH MY PARENTS until those were done. Ya’ll, my parents might be the most patient and gracious people I know. We’ve been living with them for about a month now and I know they have earned some extra crowns in Heaven these past few weeks. :)
Let’s walk through some of the pain points and potential solutions:
Problem: SO MANY different types of flooring. There were original hardwoods in some of the rooms, carpet in others, and laminate flooring. Having so many different flooring types is a pet peeve of mine- and I don’t like carpet, either. In our last home, we ripped up all the carpet and installed laminate which made a huge difference.
Solution: Tile and refinishing the original hardwood, putting in new hardwood. Since I’m not a fan of carpet (rugs allll the way for me! Washable, replaceable, and hard flooring lasts way longer), I decided to do tile in the main entry hallway and kitchen/main living area, along with the new laundry room. 2 of the 4 bedrooms did not have the original hardwoods that the others did, so we planned to install matching hardwoods there. Flooring consistency achieved.
Problem: Kitchen was too closed off. The kitchen in this home had undergone a renovation not too many years ago, but it just wasn’t our style, and I didn’t feel it would function very well for us the way it was. Originally it must have been a closed in room, but had been opened up a bit to create a u-shaped layout with a bar. It wasn’t bad, but I really wanted to see it with a standalone island. So, I drew up this sketch:
Solution: Knock those walls down and create a 1-wall kitchen with an island. Here, we are getting rid of the wall that connects to the main hallway, and converting the current bar area into an island. This part of my plan was the thing I was most nervous about- we wouldn’t know whether this wall was load-bearing (which it likely was) until after we purchased the home. If it was, a beam would have to be put in and could be a large budget item.
I was pretty adamant on making the walls disappear so that the overall space would be a lot more functional and inviting for us, as we’d have more seating around a bar and the flow of the kitchen would work better. As it was, there was only room for 2 people, and 1 way in and out of the space.
Here’s a more updated sketch of the kitchen- in this sketch the island is flipped around so you can see the appliances- the side that is showing will actually be facing the kitchen wall. I’ve already changed my mind on a couple of things, so there will be tweaks.
You can see the pantry here to the left of the fridge.
Problem: TINY pantry. Yall, this pantry space was wide, but only about 6 inches deep. It was laughable. There was NO way our family of 5 could contain all our snacks in there.
You can see the pantry already opened up to the closet behind it in this image.
Solution: Open up the pantry to include the closet from the front room. The pantry solution was wonderfully easy- there was a closet right behind it that opened into the front living room. We decided to close it up and use that space to make the pantry larger. Yay!
The laundry room is located through the right door in this photo.
Current laundry situation. That’s our Christmas tree, not a body bag, haha.
Problem: Laundry area was inefficient. Ya’ll, I don’t love laundry, but I especially don’t love laundry if I feel like I am in exile while doing it. The placement of the laundry room had been moved a couple of times, it seemed, as this home has been added onto (we can count at least 3 renovations this poor home has already endured!), and currently, the laundry room was off the master bedroom. It had an exterior door- why? Who knows. No storage. Behind that door is the water heater. And to get to it, you have to go through the master bedroom. Plus, it took up space. If we moved it, we could DOUBLE the size of our master bathroom. Yes, please!
Current sitting area off the master- future laundry room!
The other side of the new laundry room. This bookshelf will be made into a doorway that opens to the main hallway, so now you don’t have to go through the master to get there.
Solution: Move the laundry room. Am I crazy? Yes. Right off of the master bedroom, there was a little sitting area. Initially I imagined using it as space for a vanity or comfy chair- but then I realized it would be a perfect laundry room. If we were able to open it up to the hallway, it would be easily accessible but wouldn’t require a trip through my bedroom. And, it would be more centralized in the home. Plus, I’d be able to add storage and a sink. Having a sink in my laundry room is something I have always looked for- since I do so much painting and other creative projects, I like having a sink to wash out brushes, etc. that isn’t the same sink I do dishes in. A caveat to this is that our master closet is connected to this room, but not our master bedroom, so we’d have to also have a door to our master bedroom. I am excited about this, however, because I think it will actually make doing laundry easier since our closet is right off the laundry!
This area of our house which I am calling the main living area is actually an old patio that was enclosed. Because of that, there is no attic space here nor overhead lighting.
The old owners installed these very interesting light fixtures (you can see them over the windows and the door) that I couldn’t wait to see go. I also felt this back corner really needed something to define the space.
Problem: Lots of space with no function. I love a well-designed home, and if you don’t know by now, I care A LOT about the function of the home, as well as the visual style. So, in envisioning our main living area, I saw a lot of space without a lot of function. It was missing overhead lighting, and I wasn’t sure what the furniture configuration would look like.
Solution: Add cabinets to create storage and define the space. Because we were losing some cabinet space when we opened up the kitchen, I thought it would be fun to add some cabinetry to the back corner of this main room. You see this corner upon entering the home, and it would help designate a dining space for the room. So our “beverage bar” was born! My sketch here includes L-shaped cabinets, open shelving, outlets for coffee makers, etc. and a small sink. We also got a little bougie and included a nugget ice maker and refrigerator drawers for sodas, beer, etc. I am really excited about this little area and hope it becomes an easy entertaining space for us and our kids. I plan to put our dining table in this corner.
Problem: No mudroom/inefficient shelving. When we first toured the home, I loved the built in shelving that was at the end of the main hallway. However, I didn’t love it as much as I loved the concept of a more open kitchen. In order to open up the kitchen we had to lose the shelves on the right side. The other side of shelving had one bookcase-style shelf, and one magazine-rack style shelf. I am sure I could have come up with a creative solution for those magazine racks- but I really wanted them to be more useful.
Solution: Make them into storage/Mudroom type shelves! I designed 2 symmetrical areas on either side of the new laundry room door. They will have an enclosed cabinet up top, hooks in the middle, and cubbies for shoes in the bottom. So excited to see these come together!
Problem: Ugly fireplace area. I loved the storage, shelving, and fireplace here, just not really anything else. The fireplace insert is not one I would have chosen, nor is the mantle or cabinetry style. So, this area is going to get some cosmetic touch ups.
Solution: Lengthen the mantle and reconfigure the shelves. I love a good mid-century mantle, so I have a 10’ one planned for this space. I am hoping to adjust the middle shelving unit so that I can put a TV over the middle and still get to decorate over the fireplace.
There are lots of other little changes happening within these BIG changes, so I’m hoping to do some close-ups on them as they get completed. Tell me- what do you think of my plans? Which solution is your favorite? I can’t wait to see this home look cohesive, beautiful, and functional.