Sometimes Adding Walls Is A Good Thing

Like so many others, this family of five experienced five emotional stages during the pandemic as they adjusted to working at home, schooling at home, doing everything at home:

• Hoping that Covid would only be a temporary disruption
• Realizing restrictions would not be short-term
• Making the best of working, schooling, and isolating at home
• Experiencing a deeper familiarity with their home and family interactions as the months passed
• Deciding to remodel

Design Objectives

They knew they wanted specific changes not only to make Covid restrictions more bearable. They also wanted to enrich their post-Covid lives as well.

One priority was making modification to facilitate their pre-teen boys as they grew. They also wanted designated rooms to cordon off quiet activities from play and give the grown-ups room for a bit of solitude.

We worked with them to develop a plan addressing both current and future needs in the family room, study and office areas, master suite, and kitchen.

How We Did It: The Plan

We recognized that the best and most cost-efficient way to meet all their criteria was to capture space within the existing footprint and put it to good use.

A BRAND NEW MEDIA AND GAME ROOM

The existing living room had a soaring two-story ceiling with an open loft overlooking.  We walled in the loft and built new cabinets in that area for office and workspace.

We captured the space above the living room by building a second story floor above the living room. This became a new media and game room with one TV for gaming and the other framed to look like a piece of art. Abundant closed storage keeps everything close at hand but not in constant visual contact.

With this new designated game room, video games are played in one room of the house instead of being spread throughout. As intended, now the bedrooms, living, dining, and workspaces feel like the bedrooms, living, dining, and workspaces they were intended to be.

FAMILY MUDROOM AND STORAGE

The existing downstairs office was spacious enough that we could claim part of it as a family mudroom with storage. New office built-in cabinets take full advantage of the remaining space.

KITCHEN UPDATE

The kitchen had a good layout with solid cabinets and new appliances. To bring it up to date, we simply painted the cabinets then installed new hardware throughout. A beautiful tile backsplash makes it look like a brand-new kitchen.

MASTER BATHROOM RETREAT

We updated the upstairs master bathroom to create a relaxing retreat for Mom and Dad. This new bathroom includes amenities that accommodate the ‘away’ time most parents crave.

A new vanity, countertop, backsplash, and tile shower in soothing colors add a calming effect. No doubt, the chandelier-style light fixture and free standing tub give this master bathroom a true spa allure.

A Fabulous Result

The homeowners are absolutely delighted with the remodel. By creatively re-imagining and re-purposing existing space in the home, we were able to meet all their needs without adding one square inch to the footprint.

In an era where opening up one room to another is all the rage, sometimes creating walls can turn out to be the best thing.