Main Floor Layout

    The layout plans are in!  We had the architectural design firm we usually use on our projects come in and make a set of plans showing the existing house.  This way, the four partners on the project could each take a copy and play around with different layouts.  Soon, we will be meeting and combining all the best ideas.  The firm we are using on this project is Dutot Design Services.
     First, I'll show you the existing layout of the house.  There are a bunch of small rooms and an awkward hallway towards the back of the house that causes some traffic flow problems.  The main floor has a den, office and dining room. Each of these rooms is small and inefficiently laid out. However, the worst of the problem is with the kitchen.  The kitchen is simply too small for the house.  Not enough cabinetry, counter-space, etc.  Also, we need a good flow from the attached garage at the rear of the house.  In this neighborhood, the homes are older.  It is rare to even have a garage, much less an attached garage.

So from the layout picture above, you can see  that there are too many doorways in the centre of the house and that the rooms are too choppy for good flow.  Have a look at a proposed new layout:

   You can see that opening up the wall between the kitchen and existing dining room really makes the space work more efficiently.  We have also added a garden door at the far end of the kitchen allowing for flow out to the garden for entertaining.  And finally, the powder room has been re-configured.

    The next thing I'm working on is the layout of the kitchen.  This drawing is really just a mock-up the architect did, and is probably not the way the kitchen will look down the line.  One thing I'd like to keep is the island but I am wondering about adding a window seat or additional cabinetry under the window to create a U-shaped area around the island.  The space is a little bit tricky because it is so long and narrow.  Any ideas?