Interior Design: Floor Plan - Before & After

Before & After floor Plans of a Whole Home Renovation

Floor Plan - Before | Carol Reed Interior Design Inc.

The before & after plans of this past project are a great example of how effective it can be to assess and make thoughtful changes to a floor plan.  This important step is the catalyst to achieving a successful home design or renovation - its also my favourite part of the design process because its when the potential is revealed and solutions are realized. The objective for this plan was to update an 80's suburban home for a busy young family of 4 who love to cozy up for movie nights and also host large family gatherings.  The most pressing issue was the need for a more functional kitchen and so the renovation planning started and extended from there. (See plan above and the key issues to be addressed.)

The house had none of the builder upgrades (like hardwood or crown mouldings or granite counters) and so not only was it in need of aesthetic updates the layout didn't function well for their lifestyle.  The hard working spaces like the kitchen, entry and laundry areas were inefficient. This put them in a dilemma many home owners face….endure a top to bottom renovation… or.... begin a search for another house that better suited their needs. Both can be equally daunting choices for a busy young family, ultimately they chose to undergo a full renovation but in the hands of a professional team and with the intent that the project wouldn't become an extensive gut-reno.   I came on board to re-design the floor plan plus all the new details and finishes that would transform the home - featuring a luxurious new kitchen (which by design, would not be the typical open concept configuration).

Floor Plan - After | Carol Reed Interior Design Inc.

The “after” version of the floor plan shown above and below with notations of some of the key changes.  Although the changes to the layout were not drastic from a construction stand-point,  the combination of those layout improvements with the added functionality and all new materials, finishes and details resulted in a dramatic transformation.  

Floor Plan - After (showing proposed furniture placement)

Design by: Carol Reed Interior Design Inc.

My East Coast House: Kitchen Before & After Plans

Before - the dining area of the old kitchen

The Kitchen in my new old house

on the East Coast is the second last room in the house to be renovated, today its near completion except for a ceiling light fixture and some furniture for the eating area. Renovating this kitchen was a long and painful process that has taken more than a year to complete thus far. This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house and how it remained until the ktichen reno started last year. (Dining area seen above, kitchen area below)

The kitchen was ugly to say the least. It came with no appliances other than an old electric stove. The exhaust hood was not vented nor recirculating (thus useless), the dishwasher didn’t work, the water was not drinkable and the sink leaked out the bottom of the cabinet when the faucet was turned on. The plastic coating on the cabinets was peeling off in large sections held in place in some spots with shipping tape. The floor was covered in peel and stick vinyl tiles which were broken in places and mis-matched patched in others. The ceiling like the rest of the main floor was acoustical tile, complete with stains. 

Before & After Floor Plans

When we purchased the house I had re-designed the kitchen as part of an overall master plan that we would implement in 2 phases. The kitchen would be in the second phase about a year after phase 1. Over the course of that year while the second floor and front part of the house were being renovated I continued to re-think the new kitchen. The biggest challenge is the space itself, I really hated the old placement of it in the centre of the house.  Like most old houses the kitchen had so many doorways it was like being in a hallway.  One thing I knew for certain is I wanted to flip the kitchen to the other side of the room so it would be on an exterior wall with windows.  

My first kitchen design plan involved moving windows and adding double french doors to the deck and incorporating a wood stove. More than a year later, far behind schedule and already over budget before phase 2 started,,,,,the priority became to re-work the kitchen without changing any of the window locations or putting in new patio doors. There were a lot of unexpected but necessary ‘blow-outs” in phase one so minimizing the work and costs for phase two was critical but I was ok with that because i felt ‘the simpler the better’ approach suited my vision for the kitchen anyway.   A week before the new wood stove was to be delivered I decided to have it installed in the back sun room (family room) which would make that room useable all year and still provide heat for the kitchen.  Without the wood stove in the kitchen I was left with ample room for a seating area which currently is planned as a built-in banquette. 

Looking at the rest of the ground floor, the other change I made was creating separate dining and living rooms.  I intentionally wanted to keep individual rooms, having lived in an open concept space once before I definitely prefer not having my living or dining room open to the kitchen, however, I do love an eat-in kitchen and open concept family rooms.  I intentionally didn't build any cabinetry on the wall between the kitchen and dining room so that it could easily be opened up should any future owner want an open concept.  As it is the separate dining room maintains the flexibility of becoming an office, or a bedroom if not used for dining.  Figuring out what to do with the existing laundry and bathroom was key in determining my new kitchen layout.  In the end moving the laundry or bathroom was not an option for many reasons besides budget, so those rooms will stay where they are and will be the next room(s) to be renovated after the kitchen.

The old combined laundry and bathroom will be divided into separate rooms, the laundry room will get a new exterior glass door to what will be a patio on the sunny west lawn of the house with views over a meadow to the beach beyond.  The washer and dryer will be under counter and behind a fabric skirt, with a sink and wall cabinets this area will also function as a servery/pantry which will be convenient between the kitchen and patio area (future screened in porch).  Being able to come directly into the laundry and bathroom from the yard is also a great bonus feature when you have more than an acre of lawn to mow each week - tick control means stripping down and showering after yard work.  : /

The family room at the back is a single story addition to the original house, its concrete foundation has no insulation and even with ducted heating in the space it was an extremely cold room, unbearable in winter.  The new wood stove keeps it toasty warm and was the best addition ever because this is not only the biggest room in the house but it also has the best views and the most sunlight - now its useable all year long.  

Despite the numerous kitchen layouts I came up with none of them were ideally what I wanted and it became a very frustrating cycle of trying to decide which layout I hated the least rather than loved the most. Very. frustrating.  I have piles of scrapped plans like this one.

I'm happy with the plan I decided on and know that a new layout wasn't worth making drastic or extensive changes for.  I struggled with the fridge placement the most, debating over putting it to the right of the dishwasher but I just didn't want the large bulkiness of a fridge blocking the openness of the kitchen directly as you entered it.  The back door is the main in/out entrance where everyone enters the house (no one uses the front door here).  The compromise was to put the fridge away from the cooking/prep area but add under counter fridge drawers to the island.  

With those agonizing decisions over with we moved forward in clearing out the old kitchen and putting in all new finishes.  The ceiling, like the dining and living room had the original wood beams which we  uncovered from under layers of tile and plaster.  The floor is another story which I'll post about next…...

Kitchen reno progress.

The kitchen really is the heart of the home,  I have to say that renovating this one has given me a new perspective on renovating and the reality of what is truly necessary, what matters and what doesn't matter, what brings you joy in its day to day use.  A make-shift kitchen with no running water and no large appliances for months on end while endlessly waiting for trades to show up (like waiting 3 months for the electrician and 6 weeks for a plumber) was enough to make me never want to renovate again, ever. At least this house. ; ) But it also was truly revealing in many ways.  For the most part, when we were here we ate as well as we did with a full functioning kitchen, and even had lots of house guests and visitors - I just had to shop very selectively and plan meals more creatively.  Having survived all of that, I'll confess I'm finding the new kitchen to have an excessive amount of space compared to what I'd become use to, but for now that's one problem I'll happily enjoy living with.

For more post on my East Coast house Reno progress:

Dining Room Before & After

Staircase Before & After

Framing Pressed Leaves

All Photos & Drawings by:   Carol Reed

The Australia Project - The Evolution of a Space Plan

Design Plans and Kitchen Concept for the Australia Project, by Carol Reed Interior Design

While its not out of the ordinary

for me to travel a few hours drive to a clients weekend retreat or summer cottage, or even have the opportunity to fly back and forth to work on a project in Manhattan… being asked to design a whole home renovation on the other side of the world is not a request I get every day.  In addition to my full-service projects I've always oferred a selection of limited e-design services for homeowners across North America but I limit this type of consulting to single rooms only.  Last year I made an exception when I took on the whole home re-design of a residence in Australia, as a hybrid full-scope/e-design.

One of the homeowners whom I knew from Toronto is an expat now living in North South Wales, Australia.  She’s a newlywed (married an Aussie!) they're first time homeowners of an older style bungalow in need of a modern overhaul. They both travel a great deal for work so embarking on a home renovation would require the ability to do much of the consulting virtually - and this is where I came.  We knew each other when she lived in Toronto and she has been in some homes that I had designed, there was the comfort level of working with someone from home, and knowing I had experience in long distance projects.  They reached out and a couple of skype meetings later we began the process of re-designing their forever home.

Kitchen and Dining Before.

Before we could delve into new finish materials, design details or furniture, we had to start with reworking the floor plan.  Here’s a look at the floor plan I started with. Its single storey, with no basement, and an attached garage (to the left side of the house), the back of the house and balcony overlook a beautiful green conservation area.  The windows across the front and sides of the house are partial height, the windows across the back extend to the floor.  Lengthways from one end of the house to the other, the ceiling slopes up to a centre peak.

The house was very divided with lots of interior doors and there is no basement or attic space.  The main objective was to update all the fixtures and finishes as well as create a more open concept  living, dining, cooking space. A dedicated storage room had to remain as well as a home office large enough to accommodate two workspaces.  Lastly a new master suite was on the must have list.  As for finishes, they wanted sleek, modern, all white, and natural wood floors with the addition of colourful artwork and accessories.  

When I first reviewed the plan and the exterior photos, my instinct was to move the kitchen and dining areas to the back part of the house so they could enjoy the view and direct indoor/outdoor access.  Below is a look at the final layout we arrived at….

The new plan provides them with a long open concept great room, with slope cathedral ceiling and views overlooking the conservation area.  New retractable doors will allow them to have an expansive opening to the exterior and new sliding doors directly off the kitchen so they can access the bar-b.   The den has ample room for both of them, an oversize sliding glass pocket door allows them to close it off when they have company.   The laundry is combined with the storage room and will have a futon for overflow guests who need a place to crash (beyond the two spare bedrooms).   The main hall bath gains a vanity with storage and a tub shower combo, the master ensuite gets a sleek walkin shower with trough drain and floating vanity and the 4th bedroom was converted into a maser walk-in closet.

I know from experience often the first reaction people have when they see floor plan is to critique it, and often wonder "why is that so big, or why is that so small" or think "what if we move this here and that there?".  I think that's natural and expected, especially if you weren't part of the planning process in getting from a to b.  Its the reason I don't ever present a client with just one layout - because even if they love it, they'll wonder if they are overlooking any other possibilities. There are some Designers who believe its best to present one solution only, but this method never served well for me despite how confident I might be with any given plan, I believe clients have expectations of being offered choices.  I like to present only the best options and let them be involved in making choices from there.  There is never just one way to slice up a space and the possibilities can vary greatly in budget and personal preference.  Below is a glimpse of where I started reviewing layouts with them and where we ended up at the final new layout. 

_ _ _

The first concepts were based on their idea of moving the laundry out of the kitchen and into the main hall bathroom (stacked units) in lieu of the existing shower stall.  Besides the obvious disadvantages to this placement, it had some benefits worth considering.  (At this point we weren't exploring the master bedroom changes until the living areas were determined.)

This concept was the least amount of change, but still offered lots of improvement with a new centre island kitchen opened up to the living room.  Initially this was the extent of the renovation they had envisioned before contacting me - a new kitchen with a bigger opening to the living room.

Some more walls came down in this layout to further open up the kitchen, dining and living rooms and get more exposure to exterior views and light.

Next even more walls came down.  Sections of the centre wall needed to remain as its the main supporting wall.  Although not noted in this sketch the laundry would again be in the bathroom. What was lacking at this point was a larger home office (Study) and the laundry situation was still being debated.

The next three concepts explored the idea of placing a stacked washer dryer to replace the hallway linen closet, allowing us to add a larger vanity with storage into the main hall bathroom with the tub/shower combo. 

This one was getting there but the main concern was still the Study was too small, and ideally I wanted to explore the idea of putting the kitchen along the back of the house instead of the storage room….

This was getting really close to where we finally ended up but the need for a larger laundry area was being realized. 

And this was the

almost

final layout.  The laundry was combined with the storage room, and also a futon for the occasional overflow of guests. When we began the space planning the intent was that all the windows and exterior doors in the house were being replaced and the exterior re-clad in a new finish.  We intended to work with all the existing window locations as is but the homeowners were also investigating if they could increase the amount of windows across the back living room wall.  But because of the bush fire hazards in their area, their local by-laws (and property insurance) restricted them from changing their window configurations/sizes at all.  Which meant this kitchen plan, requiring modifying a window to work with the fridge,,,was out.    

So one more round of tweaks led to this final layout below (also shown earlier in the post)…...  

 The final kitchen layout ended up being a U shape with centre island.  After the engineer's review, we had to also incorporate a supporting stud wall immediately to the left of the sliding doors beside the fridge so this area got squeezed a bit smaller.  This new plan gives them one large living and entertaining space with cathedral ceiling, direct access to the balcony and wonderful views.  The double office has lots of natural light, and its wide entrance flows off the main room, and their bathrooms and closet space were upsized and enhanced. 

So I hope you enjoyed this peek into the space planning process and how we arrive at any particular final floor plan with a client.  Taking the client thru this process assures them they have made the best possible decisions and they move forward with confidence, even if the scope of the renovation doubled (!).   Following this space planning we developed the details for the kitchen and baths and selected all the new interior finish materials and fixtures compiled into a set of working drawings (which involved working in metric and learning some new jargon!).  I''ll share more of the design concepts in another post.

 G'day ; )

All drawings and images by:  Carol Reed Interior Design Inc.