Before and After Photos

Often, it’s possible to rearrange spaces within an existing house and make it work much better than before. By opening up floor plans, moving stairs, even moving bedrooms and living spaces, it’s possible to create a plan that is appropriate for today’s living.

Let go of preconceived ideas

By thinking flexibly about how rooms should be arranged, you may be able to arrive at a solution that you couldn’t imagine otherwise. That may mean that the master bedroom needs to go where the living room is. Or, that moving the kitchen may solve many layout problems. While the project is still early in the design phase it’s easy to test bold ideas, so allow yourself the freedom arrive at the best solution for your project.

Move the stairs and get rid of the fireplaces

It seems, more often than not, that stairs and fireplaces are just in the wrong spot. Stairs are often too tight and dangerous to navigate. By moving the stair, it can often be designed to better connect different floor levels and also be a more comfortable dimension and safer to use.

Old masonry fireplaces are often located where it would be much nicer to have large windows or french doors to the exterior. Also, they are usually just far more massive than they need to be, and eat up valuable floor space. With the availability of modern, prefabricated metal fireplaces, it’s possible to remove an old masonry fireplace, and replace it (possibly in a new location) with a smaller and more efficient unit.

Reclaim the hallways

Look at turning hallways into part of the space of the adjacent rooms. This is not always possible, but hallways don’t make a house feel larger or more expansive– more often, they are perceived as being wasted space. By connecting rooms to each other without hallways, you’ll end up with a space that feels larger and flows better.

Consider green materials

A large benefit of a whole house remodel is being able to select new finishes. Consider green materials such as low VOC paints, sustainably harvested wood floors, natural carpets, and other materials that do not off-gas. Using the remodel as an opportunity to incorporate as many of these materials as possible will result in a better interior air quality, and will be better overall for our environment.

Don’t forget the outside

When the interior of your home needs a major overhaul, often the exterior does, as well. Consider new paint colors, new windows, doors, roof, and siding. When adding new doors and windows, don’t be constrained by existing openings. It can be easy to lower sill heights or even add french doors where a window was once located. Also consider adding architectural features such as dormers, or an interesting entry canopy.

A whole house remodel is an exciting project to undertake because the result is often a new, fresh design that doesn’t have any resemblance to the old building. By making bold design moves, rearranging spaces, and upgrading and renewing materials, an old house can be given new purpose, along with many more years of useful life.