RenovationsAddition Floor Plan July 9, 2018 Well, friends, something in our kitchen has changed. Yes, that plywood door means we are moving full speed ahead on this addition! Thank you all so much for your kind comments and messages about the video last week. It can be hard to be so vulnerable, but it’s already so worth it when I hear about so many of you on similar journeys who this inspired AND I’ve connected with and learned from so many of your stories already. I absolutely love when that happens! As I’ve said in that video, I’ve had to come to terms with doing this addition. We’ve had the long-term vision I laid out in the video for awhile…the one that hinges on us renovating another house, moving, and renting our current one to pay for itself and the other. SO our monthly expenses would be less than they are now because all mortgage expenses would be paid for. Then, we have that long-term source of residual income that’s continuing to appreciate. And if we need to sell it or just want to one day, it’ll make more than if we sold it now. Once God revealed this plan and we put all of this together in our minds, we’ve been so excited. Living freer and radically different as a family was feeling close and possible. And as much as I’ve loved this house, that vision of what life could be for our family is more valuable than any specific house. In the spring, we started looking for the next place and getting the finances lined up. We weren’t ready to move on, but our hope whenever we do the next project is that for the first time, we can do it really slowly and enjoy the process. This will make for a less crazy season and one that lets us treasure the planning and reno season. Because we love that! So our thought was to find one in the spring/summer and take a full year to renovate it. I can’t tell you how excited I am about a long, slower reno period. We’ve always had to do them so quickly in the past that we’ve been in complete survival mode. Remember in the past, we couldn’t fund the next without selling our current one first and God’s worked it out every time for us to rent back, so our family has only had to move once each time. It still blows my mind how that’s been laid out. But that means we’ve always been on a tight deadline. Design decisions are made on the fly without thinking them through and I have no time and energy to blog about the process as we go because we’re flying fast and furious as we count down to move-in day. I’m thrilled that, for the first time, we’ll be able to do the next one without selling our current, allowing us to keep it as a rental AND to not put a deadline on ourselves. I’m so excited to be able to take my time designing and share progress in real-time. I’ve gotten so excited about this. So when we realized that we couldn’t do this financially without adding on to increase our home’s current appraisal value and equity line (that will fund the next project – it’s complicated, I know), I took time to adjust. While we knew that future houses likely wouldn’t be quite this small because our family will continue to grow, we have loved this season. And not to lie, I didn’t want to deal with the upheaval I knew it would cause. But just like I’ve adjusted to moving so much, I adjusted to this because the vision is worth it. So we’re adjusting, getting excited, and making plans! Today, I want to share with y’all exactly what we’ll be adding on. Before we get there, let’s quickly look back at where we’re starting. As a reminder, here’s the before and after floor plan from when we renovated this time last year. We decided not to add on immediately, but knew it would happen one day after we moved out so this was the best investment possible for our family. The laundry room on the back of the house was not original. It had been an addition at some point and was very poorly built. We knew it needed to be rebuilt, but decided to wait knowing an addition was likely a few years out. We did as little as we could to it to move in. And after living here, the condition of it has been way worse than we thought. There’s extensive water damage, sagging floors making the door not able to securely close and the floor has felt like it’s caving in. So, ripping it off now as a part of this addition was welcome and needed. So the first step of this addition was ripping the laundry off the house and building from the kitchen wall back. We had a few main goals for this addition considering our wants, but mainly resale/renting potential: *ADD BACK A LAUNDRY (that provided access to the backyard) *ADD STORAGE (the existing house does not have one closet beyond two tiny, non-functional bedroom closets) *ADD A MASTER SUITE (we need the house to appraise as a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, so our goal was to get there as cheaply as possible with a concise master suite) Here’s the new floor plan. ADDITION BREAKDOWN: *This addition will put our house at 1400 square feet, 3 beds and 2 baths. It’ll still be the smallest house we’ve ever lived in, but will feel huge to us I think after living without that extra bed and bath for awhile. *We started creating this plan by drawing a box. Keeping the addition as a box with no jut-outs saves a ton of money. We knew the rough size of what we wanted to build cost-wise. Then, we started playing with how we could fit all the needed pieces into the square and then we adjusted sizes of rooms and the size of the overall footprint where needed. *We will have a good size laundry room that will have a utility closet/pantry/storage…whatever we and future renters or homeowners want to use it for. It’ll also have the washer and dryer, the door to our bedroom, and the exterior door to our backyard. (The little gap between the shower and the laundry room will be our air return.) *Our master is not huge by any means, but it is a decent size. There’ll be two smaller his and hers closets. They will not be walk-in to save floor space, but living without a walk-in closet during this season and just having the wardrobes in our current master bedroom has shown me I don’t really need much space and that often, a walk-in has wasted space. And we’ll make these closets really functional storage-wise! *The bath is a great size and we really are excited about that. That’s a big want for buyers/renters and it’s one we’ll really enjoy. It’ll have a double vanity, a tiled walk-in shower (which we love, but is the neighborhood standard to have one in the master), and a closed off toilet room. We’ve never had that and I’m pretty excited about that piece. As far as the design goes, I haven’t even given it much thought, you guys. It’s been a bit of a crazy summer and getting this rolling has taken most of my energy. Chris keeps asking, “So, do you think I’m going to have to design this?” I’ll get it together, honey, don’t worry. I’m starting to toss around ideas and I’m excited to design it with the rest of the existing house color scheme and finishes in mind. ***** My hope is to share this addition coming together in real-time as much as possible! I plan to do a progress post here periodically, but will share updates more often in my Instagram stories, so make sure you’re following there to see it really come together! We’re headed off for a family week at the lake today, so I’ll put a progress post together as soon as we return. But check Insta-stories before then for a look at where we are so far! We’re just starting, but it’s rolling fast!
Kris says July 9, 2018 at 3:57 pm It looks like a perfect addition to your home! I love how intentionaly you live! In so many aspects of life. Spiritually, financially, parenting, simplifying and Im sure even more ways! Im older than you (52) and I enjoy your posts and videos very much! Im happy and content with how my husband and my life unfolded! And there are many areas that we took leaps of faith! And Ive always enjoyed being more spontaneous and a nonplanner! Maybe even prideful of being a nonplanner and laid back. Ha But seeing you maneuver life intentionally but also as a faithful servant to Gods will makes me think maybe i should have been more intentional on a few home fronts! And that being intentional and a over planner are two different things. (And not that being a planner is bad…I just dont have the skill set to be) This has actually been on my heart lately and I have gently been hit with these thoughts many times lately! And I have been thinking maybe I didnt raise our children how I should have or spiritually grown how I should have or just many other ways where I havent been intentional in the past. And Im realizing that God actually isnt talking about the past. But about the future!!! That he would have put this on my heart 20-30 years ago if this was about the past! So your post last week was just another gentle reminder to me! So thank you Linsay for being brave and speaking your truth! Being fearless with your story!! I love this!! Im not sure what living intentionally looks like for me yet. But im open and excited for the plans that God has for me! And as someone older than yourself I applaude you for coming to the realization that you will not apologize for being you and not feel weird! I have been at that place and Im here to tell you it is freeing! I know women that never get to that point! So I believe its a blessing to have that freedom of self! I look forward to seeing the posts on the new addition and seeing how being fearless with your story translates in your future!!! Reply
Lindsay says September 20, 2018 at 6:56 am Kris, I just came across this old comment – forgive my extreme delay! Wow. This was such an encouragement to read, I can’t even tell you! And do you know what’s so funny? Just this week (maybe that’s why God held this comment in my to-approve folder and I missed it until now!), Chris and I were talking about how we need to be more spontaneous in areas, how we’re going to have to just “Jump” in some areas -we could plan forever 🙂 I love how you said that God is talking about the future!!! He brings us the convictions, etc. as we need them! And there’s such beauty in how we’re all created so differently and fulfill different needs, raise different types of children to meet different needs, etc. Oh it’s so beautiful! Reply
AmandaKB says July 9, 2018 at 6:16 pm This is so great for you guys! I’m excited to follow along. Enjoy the lake 🙂 Reply
Sandie says July 9, 2018 at 10:12 pm Oh boy! I bet this will feel like living in a mansion! That bathroom looks so roomy and from my experience, you will LOVE having the separate potty room, aka water closet. One question..are you going to have to go through the laundry room to get to your bedroom? I was Curious if you considered moving that right sided master closet over and making 1 big closet. Then put up a wall to the laundry room…so that it makes a small hallway to your bedroom. Maybe a barn door or pocket door for the laundry room door??? I’m sure you and your husband hashed this over 100’s of times and know what is best for your family. I have Absolutely zero experience designing floor plans, so I’m sure my thoughts are way off and make zero sense. I’m so excited to see your addition come to fruition. I also love your dependence on God and His timing. ALWAYS PERFECT! Reply
Lindsay says July 10, 2018 at 2:59 pm Thank you so much, Sandie! It will feel so big I think! It’s so funny how quickly we adjust! We have thought of so many different options, but I love a combo mudroom/laundry as the exterior entry. We’re going to do a lot in here to add mudroom function. The exterior door has to be on that side bc that’s where our patio/outdoor living area is. And I really don’t mind at all having the master entry off that! I’m treating it more like a hallway that has a pretty laundry section than a laundry ? One thing we really want is seperate closets in the master – that’s a big preference of my husbands haha! It just tends to work best for us to have two smaller, seperate closet spaces. And adding that big storage closet is huge for us for resale/future owners. We’ve streamlined our stuff so much, we don’t feel like we need that much space at all, but many others will struggle with the house not having a single closet. Plus for us, Gracie’s crate will go in there ? Reply
Christie says July 10, 2018 at 10:40 am I wondered the same thing as the comment above, about the laundry room access to your bedroom. I know you want that storage closet to the right side, but if you could fit the laundry over there even if it means shrinking the master bathroom a bit, it makes more sense to leave the hallway and door to outside without the laundry. I like the idea of the back hallway being a pretty second entrance. Not sure if you have a garage or shed, but even a simple outdoor shed could provide some of the storage you seek. Reply
Lindsay says July 10, 2018 at 3:14 pm Thanks for your ideas, Christie! I do love hearing others opinions! For us, that closet is much more about resale/future owners. The existing house doesn’t have a single non-bedroom closet which is something most will want. We’ll use it for Gracie’s crate which will be really helpful for us! We do have an exterior shed we use for yard and holiday storage ? But adding some storage to the house will be a desirable thing for most…it’s always a tough battle for us weighing investment/resale demands with our own. I’ve actually love the idea of a pretty laundry/mudroom combo leading into the backyard or a garage. Plus for us, we have to have function in every inch and are trying to minimize hallways or extra spaces. And for me, I don’t mine having that hallway to our bedroom at all even with the laundry in it. That hallway has to be big to fit the existing kitchen door and am exterior door to the patio, so putting the laundry and some mudroom hooks and function there will make that big space work really hard for us. Reply
Sarah says July 11, 2018 at 12:34 am I can’t wait to see what the rest of your home will look like! I sort of love the idea of a back hallway/laundry/mudroom with the master off the side. It kind of tucks the bedroom away off the back for privacy and gives you a bunch of extra storage behind the kitchen. I’m looking forward to seeing your design for the new rooms! We also have a private toilet room for the first time in our new house and it’s pretty awesome 🙂 Never knew what I was missing! Reply
Annie says July 11, 2018 at 9:03 pm Oh wow I’m so excited for you guys – how fun! I look forward to seeing your designs come together! Reply
Jenna says July 14, 2018 at 12:29 am So exciting! I’ve loved reading about your journey. It’s been an inspiration to me the past few years. We’re in a similar life situation with two young kids and a huge dog, and I feel like God is taking us on a similar journey. So your story has given me much needed courage and excitement about the future. My husband and I are looking to downsize in the next year to reach some financial goals & we have looked at some houses that need additions to really be functional long term. Will you be sharing the financial side of this addition? We’ve renovated in the past but never done an addition. Even just ballpark numbers would be super helpful and/or any tips of what to do or not do with additions (like what to hire out/not hire out, etc). Thanks so much! Reply
Oona says July 21, 2018 at 3:22 am I so love your design for the new addition! The buffer zone of the laundry/pantry/mudroom seems ideal to me (I know others may not see it that way, but you have my vote). Not only is it great for parents to have a getaway corner, but this makes perfect sense to me as a guest suite if/when the need arises. I also like the way you’ve worked in a closet for Dax’s new room. Finally, I love it that you’re sticking to a smaller house concept. Can’t wait to see the in-progress updates! Reply
Sean Mahan says August 13, 2018 at 5:40 pm Your plans seem great. I’m so excited to see how that’ll be happening! Reply