Remodel my livingroom area into my kitchen to make it bigger.
By
on
March 17th, 2008
I want to remodeling my kitchen to make it bigger so this means turning my living room area to make my kitchen Then adding on to the back will be my living area. This means people will be walking thru the kitchen to get to the the livingroom. Does this sound good or should i get a interior designer to help out.or even go buy a bigger house. Any suggestions.
Racheal B says:
Remolding a house is most likely a cheaper way to go verses buying a new house, in less you find exactly what you are looking for in the new house. by remodeling your existing house you are adding value to your home and you have it exactly the way you want it.
As far as people walking thru your kitchen to get to your living room, i would not want that, and would feel different if i had to do it at someone elses home. I would try to move the door into the new area some how to make the front door in the new living area.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Colanth says:
Depending on the walls, you might be able to knock down one or more and build new ones, so that people didn’t have to walk through the kitchen to get to the living room. You’d need professional help for that - at least to determine if any walls you want to knock down are load-bearing. (They’d be holding up the roof, so you can’t knock them completely down.) Maybe a hallway passing the kitchen, leading to the living room, if there’s enough room left for the kitchen.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Livia says:
Kitchen remodels are expensive. They get even more expensive when you start to move water, gas and electrical needed for sinks, ice-makers, stoves, etc. Since it sounds like you are open to buying different house (i.e. not hopelessly attached to the one you have now), I’d definitely get a realtor and/or real estate appraiser who can give you current numbers for what your house is worth today, what it would be worth if you made the improvements you mention. Then you need a contractor-type person who can accurately estimate the cost of the job PLUS 10%. (It always goes over.or it goes over often enough to protect yourself.). Once you see those numbers, it should help you make the decision to stay or shop for another place.
Consider shopping for a new house now, while you are wondering which is better (staying or going). When you shop for a new house, you may find a house that has a great layout, but just needs cosmetic changes to make it your dream place. As long as you stay within your budget by adding together both the cost of the house AND the cost of the changes you want to make, you should be fine.
Sometimes the shopping process is what you need to be sure you want to stay where you are, too. You’ll probably also see ideas you want to try, and ideas you’ll want to avoid. You’ll feel better about whatever decision you make if you have see your options.
If you decide to stay.well, it sounds like you aren’t sure about the whole issue of having people walking through your kitchen. There are some who agree that this could be a problem. According to Feng Shui, it is a significant problem requiring remediation.
I don’t recommend Feng Shui, necessarily, but it does point to a possible problem of being distracted or surprised while working with hot and sharp things, as one does in kitchens. Along those lines, FS suggests that the cook be facing doorways, so an island cooktop that allows this is considered a good thing. From an entertaining perspective, this is kind of a nice idea, too, as you cook and chat with your friends. And if your entertaining centers around the kitchen, and you don’t care about the effect of your plan on the future sale of your home, then it might be perfect for you to place your kitchen that way.
A realtor will probably have an idea whether that arrangement is likely to help or hurt the current/future value of the home, and a designer may be able to come up with creative solutions that can keep the space functional and possibly even “safely marketable.” There are plenty of kitchen remodelling places that have on-staff designers, I believe. Designers usually charge a hefty fee per hour, and a designer that doesn’t work for a retail place may be more honest with you than one who doesn’t. I’d definitely read all about kitchen remodeling using some of the books available at home improvements stores.many of these titles are also available at the library.
(P.S. None of us likes to think that disaster could fall on us, but it can (in an instant), and it is wise not to make changes to our homes that either make it slow to sell and/or put you “upside down” on the house, unable to clear house-related debts in case a quick sale is needed. )
March 18th, 2008 at 12:19 am