Thursday, May 18, 2017

Introducing the Master Suite Project

So, as I last posted, we are finally moving forward with both the kitchen and master suite projects. Because we installed skylights based on our planned changes to the floorplan, they are in awkward spots in the current floorplan, forcing us to complete the project. Adding plumbing and electrical for this new upstairs bathroom will involve knocking some holes in the kitchen below, so we are doing both projects at the same time. Here's the story on the master suite part of the project:

Work Done So Far:
First, a look at how this space got to where it is now.
  • When we first moved in, there was a big closet in the spare room next to our bedroom, and the sleeping porch was a disgusting mess because it was surrounded with the crankable windows made of lots of small panes of glass.
original sleeping porch
  • In the big renovation of 2014, they closed in the sleeping porch with real windows and siding. They also installed the washer/dryer in the closet of the spare room, moving the closet door so that it could be accessed from the hall. 
closet getting prepped for new W/D

 sleeping porch gets closed in
  • Last spring, I got frustrated with the crappy master closet and hung some shelves and a closet rod in the spare room, where the walk-in closet should be. 
I take over the spare room
  • Last fall, we put up sheetrock in the sleeping porch, but stopped short of actually finishing it. 
sheetrock going up

this is as far as we got
  • Then, just a couple weeks ago, we had new skylights installed based on the final layout, which are in awkward spots in the current layout. We can't actually see them because the ceiling is still in the way.  
see look - there's a skylight up there! 

Layout
The reason we want to create a master suite is partially because the current layout is awkward and wasted. The spare room is too small to be a real bedroom, and no longer has a closet. The sleeping porch is also long, narrow, and useless. Speaking of long, narrow, and useless, the current master closet is a total waste of space because you can't see what's in it. Also, we only have one full bath in the house that we share with guests and the kiddo - so we thought having a second one would really add value to the house.

The new layout creates a new walk-in closet and demolishes the old, current one to make the master bedroom bigger. In the remaining part of the spare room, we add a double vanity and the toilet. Then we open up the current window into a door, and put a shower and bath tub out on the sleeping porch. The other half of the sleeping porch becomes an office.



Design
The current style of this space is pretty lacking. I have tried to fix up the bedroom before, but it always looks pretty lame, mostly due to the lack of natural light, which should be fixed by the new skylights. The sleeping porch/office obviously, is still not finished, so there is no style speak of at all. I would like one cohesive space that feels calm and pulled together. And the spare room is basically just a big mess, with my closet exposed and piles of other stuff that seem to accumulate.

I have previously posted my design plans for the bedroom and the new office - but now I'm trying to shift to thinking about this as one cohesive space, instead of a couple awkward rooms. So the general plan is similar to the kitchen, with greys and blues, white marble in the bathroom, lots of walnut wood accents.

  1. This is our current grey-blue wall color
  2. New curtains for the windows
  3. A small desk with storage
  4. A comfy reading chair that ideally folds out into a twin bed
  5. Pretty pillow
  6. A real headboard
  7. Our current blue/grey quilt
  8. New fancy sheets with bluish trim
  9. I love this dresser for either the bedroom or bath vanity
  10. Bronze fixtures and faucets 
  11. Freestanding bathroom storage
  12. Marble hex tile for the floor and big tiles for the shower walls
  13. Blue towels!
The Work Plan
As I mentioned before, the plan is not to use a general contractor, but to hire the subs directly and do some of the work ourselves to reduce cost. We will hire out the demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock - then we'll take over and do the paint, installing fixtures and finishes.

Having both projects going at the same time is going to save us money and time, but it will make it even more miserable to live with. Thankfully, we can simply move over to the guest bedroom and use the current bathroom and generally stay clear of this area while the work happens. 

No comments:

Post a Comment