These are very basic. I don't have all details on them yet. If you see the trim I drew on the front of the house (west side) imagine there is trim on all other windows and doors on other sides. Full of erasure marks, etc. But SO MUCH FUN! I will post them twice. Once without comments, then again with what is behind each window or door for rooms.
It's important to me that the front of the house look as much like the original as possible. I have tried to capture the molding, the big front door with its side lights (but I'm sure Phil will help me capture it more accurately from photos.) The living room is located where it was in the old house. The downstairs bedroom in the same spot. I want to have the stairwell and that wide front hallway open to the living room, doing away with the wall separation. There won't be the 3rd bedroom upstairs, but it will be saved as a Reading Nook/extra sleeping space (as suggested by Sara Tucker.).
The south side (below) was always the 'usual entry' for most visitors. Here the difference will be French doors at the entry (let in as much light as possible). I left space along the wall in the dining room for Grampa Cooley's (Harry's) desk, so it can be in its usual spot.
I have not drawn in the covered porch yet...I need help with that. Nice big deck area with room for company to sit out beside the dining room/living room and enjoy that view. Phil suggests a screened in porch for part of it (maybe along the dining room area?). Should I have the living room windows be French doors as well...a whole side of the house that opens to the deck/porch via doors? Or keep it more traditional with the living room windows as they were?
There will be a 'new' dormer along the back of the house to allow for an upstairs guest bathroom.
Here you can see new dining room windows (where the connection to the 2nd house/saltbox Fireplace room used to be on the far left of the drawing), the usual door into the kitchen area, the kitchen windows above the sink, then to the north of that- the matching 3-paned windows up high for the laundry and mudroom. (Note…I decided in a later post that this is not good aesthetically so see future changes.) We may have a garage along the north for entry into the mudroom.
On the north side of the house you can see the mudroom entryway (that will lead past the laundry and into the kitchen). (Note…this gets switched to the back of the house in a future post.) High windows in the 'master bath' and the master bedroom north windows. Upstairs the other of two guest bedrooms.
I always worry about that with porches too...why darken a room?! We love the deck we have here on the south side in Leverett but in the summer we do need umbrellas for shade. It's intense. We used to have a small balcony upstairs right over the deck (didn't stick out too far though) and weirdly enough it was perfect- in summer it gave a little respite from the sun (in the downstairs dining room) and in the winter the sun's angle was low enough to still come into the downstairs rooms without the balcony flooring above blocking it. So I am wondering if a fairly flat and 'short' porch roof (i.e. not deep) might work. Or maybe a s…
Love it. I have Gramps desk chair… I believe, which can go right back to where it belongs. Of course in the dining room. Maybe the entrance to the mud room would work better on the east side to keep the north side more original. You could build a carport or garage on the east side which would not be visible from the road.
I always thought a screened-in porch would be wonderful.
You are keeping the dream alive! I think I like the idea of the porch extending outside the living room windows, but I wonder if it would make the LR too dark, especially in winter. I’ll study your drawings more closely when I have time to give them a serious look. The idea of Gramp’s desk returning to its former spot is so typical of your thoughtful approach to this project. You seem to have thought through every detail!