We can get into the details later.  Let’s talk basics.  Here are the changes we’d like to make to the overall layout of the house.  Here’s a very amateur drawing of the current floorplan, thanks to Floor Planner.  I love this site, and it’s free!!  Score!  It’s not exactly right and I’m sure some dimensions are off, but this will give you a general idea of the layout:

Here’s our rough plans for the renovation:

 Let’s start with the first floor.  The kitchen is incredibly cramped and outdated.  We would like to extend cabinets all the way around the kitchen and add a large island to the center.  I would love to have a two-tier island so I can have a gas range on the lower side and still have room for a breakfast bar on the other.  I’ll get to the kitchen details in a later post.  For now, I’ll just show you what the kitchen looks like today.

We would also like to update the bathroom on the first floor.  Charles’ grandmother used the family den as a bedroom and this bathroom as her master bathroom.  But since we are changing that up, we don’t see the need to have a full bath off of the den.  I would like to rip out the atrocious green 1970s tub and build in extra storage.  Then we just need to update the 1970s vanity and it will be a nice guest half bathroom.

Upstairs is where we are making some bigger changes.  In the 1930s, the house was converted to a two-family house.  The front two bedrooms remained part of the main house, and the back two bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a full bathroom were turned into an apartment.  We have no plans of sharing our home, so this kitchenette has got to go!  The good part is: because there’s a kitchen up there, we know the room is already set up with plumbing.  Our plan is to rip out the kitchen and convert it into a glamorous master bathroom.  I dream of a clawfoot tub, tile shower, massive separate vanities…and, wait for it…a BIG closet!!!  Our plan is to knock out the wall between the existing kitchen pantry and the master closet and create one large room for all my shoes, clothes, bags, coats, scarves, and jewelry.  Oh, and I guess Charles can have a corner too.  :)  Aren’t I the good wife?

 Lastly, we have to make some major changes to the bathrooms upstairs.  The back bathroom is very odd.  There is a classic tub with a corner sink, and they are practically touching.  Seriously, I can wash my hands while taking a bath.  And then the toilet is in a separate closet.  I propose switching the location of the toilet and tub (and installing a traditional shower/tub combo), which will give us room for a proper vanity.  We’ll see what the contractor has to say about that.

 Here’s the toughie.  There’s this little bathroom in what was originally the “attic closet.”  It’s a room hall that is about 3′ x 8′ and someone decided to install a shower, sink, and toilet, all of which you have to walk past to get to the stairs to the attic.  We’ve already decided we are gutting that bad boy!  But we’re not sure what to do with it.  Of course we could use it for storage, or, as I suggested, a gift wrap closet.  But Charles laughed endlessly at me for thinking that I need a gift wrap closet (little does he know!).  I also feel like we will want an extra bathroom at some point…kids, guests, etc.

Any suggestions?