Have you ever been in the process of creating something, stepped away and thought "now...it's perfect" only to come back 3 minutes later with just one last minute change?
Yes? - Welcome to the club and the exciting, overwhelming and totally all encompassing process of mentally deciding whether or not a small scale black and white rendering of a home can actually work in real life!
Now that we were armed with the information that we needed about the positioning of the house on the land, how to maximize natural light and the changes with the seasons, as well as the amount of space we might require for each room in the house depending on its purpose - it was time to start defining each space within the house, what its purpose would be, the size requirements and how I wanted each room to feel for its occupants.
While this seems like it would be a relatively straightforward process, the overall flow of the home, how you entered, and where the rooms were located within the house seemed like a difficult prospect to design from scratch.
Enter - Pinterest!
I'd be willing to guess that the number of hours I logged on Pinterest in the design phase of the home alone would equate to that of a full-time job or better! However, as the kids would say "If you know - you know", but if you aren't familiar with Pinterest, what an amazing tool! It's endless search results and guided suggestions not only helped me to hone in on a design style but also to the characteristics I loved most about different spaces within a home. For example, I knew that I wanted a home that embraced open concept living, but this is not exactly the guiding principle for the historic homes that I love (Monticello, Mount Vernon, etc.). I learned that the transitional design style is a melding of modern with traditional techniques. While it seems like the need for this information would come much later once the house was being furnished, it actually guided the design process from the outset as the definition of space included things like where the furniture would go, how much space they would need, where would the walls be, how it would be lit for window placement, how is the natural light hindered by these choices and what materials would be used once construction got underway.
After searching through hundreds of interior floor plans and exterior designs we finally settled on a ranch, under 3,000 square feet, symmetrical with a center entrance, side loading garage, with varied ceiling heights for definition of space, lots of windows, large kitchen and much to the dismay of the framers, then the drywallers, the plumber, electricians and well everybody - lots of pocket doors. Rather than starting from scratch, we found a design that was far too large for what we needed and began the revision process from there.
Without further ado, after a year of revising, this is what we ended up with!
Let me walk you through some of the key features that were must haves!
Symmetrical windows on the front/back (East/West) to let in a great cross-breeze out of the west.
Large windows with three transoms across the back of the house to blend indoor with outdoor living.
Large kitchen island with seating for 6.
2 access staircases for the basement --- of main import is the fact that I have access directly from the garage which essentially means that I can bring in a full-size (4x8) sheet of plywood down into my workshop without making a single turn...it's the little things folks!
Double ovens/extra wide rangetop.
Cozy nooks for the coffee area/breakfast room as well as one for our cabinet grand piano in a music nook.
Large dining area with room to extend our table to seat over 20 guests.
Laundry room/after school drop zone that is out of sight.
4 frosted glass pocket doors to provide privacy but also allow light to travel through to what would be dark spaces to maximize the natural light hitting the house.
Walk up access to the attic/bonus space above the garage.
Large front porch to take in the sunrise.
Large back patio to blend indoor/outdoor living and watch the sunset.
While those are most of the highlights there were still revisions and "happy accidents" that happened along the way. To be honest, some of the changes that occurred during the construction process are the ones I'm most proud of as we used our plans as a guide but really let the land and light guide some of the alterations that we wouldn't have been able to think of until they happened. For example, we moved the location of the window in the laundry room which ended up giving me one spot toward the back/middle section of the house where I can stand and look out windows on all four sides of the house at the same time...pretty neat.
These plans are tough to read and quite honestly, I know I've left quite a bit out. But, there's a reason for that. I'm so excited for you to continue following the journey as next I take you room by room, share the inspiration and initial designs in a fun before/after format!
First up? My favorite place to be - the kitchen! Subscribe below to stay tuned in for the next chapter!
Just for fun - here are a couple "after" pics for comparison to the rendering in the header.
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