Utilizing Your Space – Smart Layouts
For the blog today we want to touch on SMART LAYOUT DESIGN! I think we all can think of the odd misshapen layouts in a home we’ve been in. This usually stems from a poorly thought-out design or DIY job gone wrong! Whatever the case may be your home’s flow can be a make or break when it comes everyday function. A space should not only be beautiful but have a well-thought-out layout that accommodates your wants and needs. We have one home in particular where design was a crucial component to ensuring functionality.
The Stratford House was a glorious cottage built in the 1930’s with featuring strong brick stone and unique Tudor elements. The house had small rooms – the main floor featured a long living room, 2 bedrooms, a full bathroom, dining room with kitchen and 2 very small rooms off the back. Upstairs was an attic with 15-foot floor to ceiling pitch! There was also a daylight basement in the home. We knew by finishing out the attic space along with the basement we could add major square feet to the home making it much more desirable in the neighborhood. We took it from a 900-1000 square foot space to a 1900 square foot space!
David did an excellent job with the kitchen design. He utilized one of the small back rooms as an entry room meets mudroom meets laundry room and the other a pantry space complete with a small area which could be transformed into a built-in dog crate, coffee bar or desk space (Gott love all the options!). The kitchen was right off these 2 rooms which made it very functional.
The attic design was a bit tricky for us so we enlisted the help of another contractor friend (thanks, Brad!). He gave the suggestion of making the attic entire an entire master suite which wound up being a breathtaking design with the soaring ceiling heights, office nook, fun sliding door system that became a door for the stairs and the bathroom and complete master bath and closet space. What a GREAT use of the space!
For the basement design we opted to create a large living room space with additional full bathroom and mini bar with fridge. We put in French doors off the back to let in lots of light. We knew this space would be great because it had become a multiuse space and we all love those! You could use this space to hang out and watch TV, enjoy with family or friends over as a separate living quarters OR rent out this area as an AIRBNB rental. So many options!
The last great use of space in this home happened when we built a GIANT entertaining deck off the back room off the kitchen. We opted to turn this deck into a 2-car carport making it a dual use space with a great parking situation.
The ideas and options are endless when it comes to utilizing your space well. Our advice? Do what we did and phone an industry friend! It never hurts to get advice from someone else who’s been there and done that.
Make your house a home!
-With love, Home Made ™
