Instead of a trash pullout we left an open trash niche between sink and fridge. A convenient location — and everyone can find the trash can! There's a second can for recycling behind it.

The new kitchen was formerly a mish-mash of 2 small rooms and cut up by a basement stairway, 3 doors, and a chimney (the chimney is still there, behind the wall calendar). Additionally, the wall angled in about a foot where the 2 rooms met. Following the angle allowed for a long continuous counter run. Notice how the angle creates a well-placed little niche on the counter for the slow cooker. Using angled cabinets where the wall jogs makes for a smooth transition and maximizes storage.

This house had never had a good flow. Except for the rear bedroom (now a playroom), all the rooms were small to begin with. Door and window locations impeded furniture placement and made just walking through the house difficult. The kitchen was especially challenging. A chimney blocked one corner and a stairway bisected the already inadequate space — so inadequate that the refrigerator was located in the dining room because it wouldn't fit in the kitchen. Moving the basement stairway (rainbow colored steps in my drawings) and taking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room left open space for a large eat-in kosher kitchen. Removing the wall between the living room and closed in porch made for a much more pleasant and family-friendly living room-dining room. The small coat closet was lost to the new basement stairway. To replace it, a new, larger coat closet was carved out of the small "ell" in the closed-in porch area.

The family wanted a real master bedroom and 2 children's bedrooms on the second floor. Taking down the walls at the top of the stairway, co-opting a bit of the hallway, setting the door on an angle, and combining the 2 smallest rooms provided sufficient space for a master bedroom that fit the owners' needs — and their furniture. The extremely cramped children's bathroom was made much more useful by converting the existing linen closet space into an alcove to fit a vanity If you're wondering where the "Up" stairway is going, there are additional bedrooms on the 3rd floor. It was also an apartment at one point, and is now the family's guest suite.

We combined the dining room and the closed in porch to create a living space with generous room for a dining table, sofa, breakfront and bookcases. At the rear of this picture you can see the weekday table with seating for eight, and the kitchen pantry. The children's playroom is just beyond that. During the week the kids hang out in the kitchen and family room. The living/dining room is used mainly on the Sabbath and holidays.

The entry had originally been in front of the house. Long ago when the covered porch was turned into a sunroom, the front door moved to the side of the home. Due to budget limitations we did not consider moving the entry back to the front of the house.

This narrow space between the back wall of the entryway coat closet and the front wall of the house — about 18" wide — is just enough to hang some coat hooks for the children.

The 2nd story master suite combined a small bedroom and apartment kitchen, and got a new angled entryway. The bedroom is on average only about 12' x 13' but has room for two full beds, a large dresser, and an armoire. Please take a look at the 2nd story floor plan pic to see more of the layout.

The large-ish kosher kitchen was created by combining two rooms and moving the basement stairway. Out of camera range is a table with seating for 8 and a shallow pantry.

Instead of a trash pullout we left an open trash niche between sink and fridge. A convenient location — and everyone can find the trash can! There's a second can for recycling behind it.

The new kitchen was formerly a mish-mash of 2 small rooms and cut up by a basement stairway, 3 doors, and a chimney (the chimney is still there, behind the wall calendar). Additionally, the wall angled in about a foot where the 2 rooms met. Following the angle allowed for a long continuous counter run. Notice how the angle creates a well-placed little niche on the counter for the slow cooker. Using angled cabinets where the wall jogs makes for a smooth transition and maximizes storage.

This house had never had a good flow. Except for the rear bedroom (now a playroom), all the rooms were small to begin with. Door and window locations impeded furniture placement and made just walking through the house difficult. The kitchen was especially challenging. A chimney blocked one corner and a stairway bisected the already inadequate space — so inadequate that the refrigerator was located in the dining room because it wouldn't fit in the kitchen. Moving the basement stairway (rainbow colored steps in my drawings) and taking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room left open space for a large eat-in kosher kitchen. Removing the wall between the living room and closed in porch made for a much more pleasant and family-friendly living room-dining room. The small coat closet was lost to the new basement stairway. To replace it, a new, larger coat closet was carved out of the small "ell" in the closed-in porch area.

The family wanted a real master bedroom and 2 children's bedrooms on the second floor. Taking down the walls at the top of the stairway, co-opting a bit of the hallway, setting the door on an angle, and combining the 2 smallest rooms provided sufficient space for a master bedroom that fit the owners' needs — and their furniture. The extremely cramped children's bathroom was made much more useful by converting the existing linen closet space into an alcove to fit a vanity If you're wondering where the "Up" stairway is going, there are additional bedrooms on the 3rd floor. It was also an apartment at one point, and is now the family's guest suite.