That's a great house, by the way. We would have the same problem, although I love both styles (we went from 1924 bungalow to 1913 Foursquare type thing, but would love a MCM house).
anyone have recommendations for an outdoor swing/playset? one that'll need to be very sturdy since we're in south louisiana, it'll be in the backyard
I’ve used one. She was in MN and was just fine (sometimes hit the mark perfectly, sometimes was out of left field) so not sure of it helps in anyway or what you’re looking for.
Anyone here ever done an extensive addition/renovation and was it worth it or do you regret not just going and getting a new home instead? We bought our home in 2019 for $250k. The area we live in has exploded in popularity over the last four years. It’s a suburb of a mid sized metro that’s extremely walkable and hosts festivals pretty much every weekend from May through the first week of December. Our house is on the street festivals take place and as a result if we listed today we probably could sell for around $450k. Our house was built in 1863 and it’s gorgeous, but unfortunately is not very functional. Especially since we’ve gone from the two of us when we moved in, to having three boys now. There’s almost no storage in this house since they didn’t have as much stuff 150 years ago. The most functional bathroom is on the first floor while all bedrooms are on the second floor. So we’re trying to decide whether to stay, hold on to our 2.6% mortgage, take out about $200k-$300k to add around 1000 sqft and do a bunch of updates like roof, reside the house, etc. It would take the house from being a 3-2 to a 5-3 and increase sqft by 40%. The home would be worth about $650k-$700k after renovations and we’d likely stay in the house until the kids go off to college. Or do we take the proceeds and build a new place? We’re not tied to the area as I work remote and will always. My wife stays at home with our sons. So we could move somewhere cheaper and make our dollar go further too. Renovating scares me. We’ll have significant contingency saved up to handle unexpected issues but I’m worried about adding onto the house and then still not being satisfied with the house as there are certain limitations to what can be accomplished and there are things that we’ll never get that we could if we build new. Plus the whole having to go rent a place for the duration of the renovation too. But on the flip side we’d be giving up an ideal location.
We did an extensive basement renovation. I love it. It’s the nicest part of our house. I would like to do the rest but that would likely require moving out for 8-12 months. I don’t know if that helps in any way.
If you like the location and enjoy all the stuff nearby, amenities festivals schools etc, then you stay and renovate You move, you get shiny new stuff that still is going to have issues with breaking/going wrong and things you never thought of that you wish you had done different And every time one of those things come up you will get to think about how you could have put up with this same shit in that cool old house where you really liked to live
I've always been team move because I couldn't fathom being displaced or living in a warzone for 6 months with kids. But I've also never been attached to a house or location, so ymmv
we are in a near identical situation as you and are going the renovation route. our location is too good to give up and we like our neighborhood. meeting with an architect in 3 weeks.
We expanded the upstairs in 2005 and renovated the downstairs in 2008, cost around $270k total. Third son had just been born in 2005. Transaction cost of moving was too high, and not enough larger home options in the immediate area that we didn't want to leave. We're still here and can't seem to get rid of the kids
there’s a firm that has done a few houses on our street. going to start with them and see what happens.
were in the same boat. First step is to drive around to other neighborhoods with larger houses that would roughly be comparable... to get a better feel for the current market.
I haven't, but my dad watches some YT channel of a guy and his wife in Idaho who DIY everything, and I saw the part about the MrCool over the holiday. Looked pretty slick and easy to set up.
I think the other thing in the equation here is whether or not you like old homes (and 1860s is old by any American definition) or whether they piss you off. I love them, and seeing how you can work within the "confines" is always kinda cool, I think. Related to this, I'd want an architect who's got some sort of track record working with what I assume is a Federal-style place and adding on. You can have very functional "t" additions that look great inside but look like shit outside, etc. I think, if you've got the cheddar, stay. Doing a reno/addition is pretty cool if you don't mind nagging contractors and being home for appointments...but if you work remote, then the latter isn't an issue.
I generally defer to the better location if you’re on the fence. Plus old houses rule. Got to think an updated old house is going to be a better investment than a suburban new build.
I'm having a hard time designing my kitchen. Architect and design fees are creeping up, and I want the home to be fully custom, so trying to find some tasks I can do. Have spent the morning learning about the "kitchen triangle." Anyone heard of this? Spoiler 'The kitchen work triangle is based on the three main work areas: the sink, the refrigerator, and the stove,' says Adrian Bergman, Senior Designer at British Standard by Plain English. 'According to the rule, these should be laid out to loosely form a triangle, enabling you to perform day to day tasks with relative ease and without obstruction.' According to the kitchen triangle rule, each side of the triangle should measure no less than four feet and no more than nine feet and, ideally, the perimeter of the triangle should be no less than 13 feet and no more than 26 feet. Current layout: Spoiler Things I'm hoping to change: Big range on L wall, with oven Butchers block cutting board on island Main prep sink in island Second sink on bottom, looking out window Because this will be my cleaning sink, I'm thinking the DW should stay where it currently is? My concerns are that if I put a big range on the L wall, it will be right next to the fridge, which would be inconvenient. But, I would think the range wants to be centered with the island? So, I'm having trouble moving these pieces around to have fridge/pantry/range/two sinks/DW.
kitchen triagle, supposed to be able to get to sink/stove/fridge with few steps; right? guess i could have read the first spoiler, lol. triangle was discussed when we redid our kitchen. your sink does seem pretty far away from the rest. do like all the countertop space.
Why wouldn’t you separate the fridge and oven/range with some counterspace. Not having the sink facing the window seems suboptimal but I’m not huge on an island containing the sink unless necessary.
That's what I'm trying to do -- so, if the range goes on the wall, where the oven currently is, I'd have to move the fridge. I don't want the stovetop/range on the island because I don't want a huge range coming down in the middle of the kitchen. So, I feel like a sink is the only other option. I like sinks on the island, though. Think if I can prep on the island and then turn around and put it on the stove, that'd be pretty optimal?
Don’t they make the hood vents that come out of the islands? You can also just not have anything on the island except for counterspace I would definitely not move the sink from under the window
Sink under the window is staying, and the stovetop will be on the wall instead of the island. I want two sinks, though. Cannot mix-and-match the fridge/range/pantry/dishwasher. I'm playing around with some goofy online tool, but they're pretty limited.
If you’re for sure planning on having a prep sink on the island, I’d use that location for the ‘triangle’ math, and ignore the distance to the larger sink. I actually think I like having the other larger/cleaning sink and dishwasher a little further removed from the meal prep area. The only suggestion is moving the range to a wall, maybe near where the oven is. It could be centered with the island, with a visual draw for whatever is to the right of the island. We have our range on the island and hate that we don’t have a functional hood. Even one of the pop up hoods doesn’t pull enough air to handle searing a steak.
That's what I think. The island is positioned so, when you're at the island sink, you're looking at the TV (or, the conversation pit if you're nasty). Range is definitely going on the wall. I'm just worried about the area to the right of the range/left of the fridge on the L wall.
What are you worried about? Especially if you do those fancy panel fronts you can hide the fridge. Depending on what your concern is, you could separate them. Do a freezer at the top of the left side, and a fridge at the bottom of the left side to balance where your stove is. Though, this will really cut down on your counter space there.
Concern is cooking on a stove with a big wall/area to the immediate right. Or, just like a 8-10" area that'd be tough to utilize. Could make the island a bit bigger to make sure stove is centered on island + ample space to the right Other option is moving the fridge, but not sure where.
didn't read the thread, but a secondary small handwashing sink should be considered if you're going full custom.
It’s getting better but I was doing so many dishes just six months ago between pumping stuff, bottles, kid cups/plates, adult cups/plates, etc and none of it fit well all together. If I took a day off I was behind.
as someone who is married to a woman who doesn't like to cook but loves to get in my way while I'm cooking I'd consider installing a TikTok viewing booth where she can still be near the action but out of my way
Do ppl really do garbage disposals anymore? I read somewhere that they're going out of style because they're always needing repair -- just get a food catcher
Actually dont even get any lower cabinets, just have them all be dishwashers. That way you can store your pots and pans in there AND you can wash everything in your kitchen at once.
what if... Move stovetop/range to wall Put dishwasher in island Move fridge to where DW currently is, right next to pantry - could move sink + window to the left as needed to accomodate I want modern, hipster floating shelves, so this could give me enough wall space on either side of the range to have it symmetrical. Kinda like this Spoiler