A 3D fly-by movie of the planned house

This is some video that Joe generated from Google Earth, with the house modeled using Google Sketchup.

You can also look at ten still images taken from Sketchup in this PDF document: 3D photos

New plan

We looked at two ideas to add on a master bedroom+bathroom.  One, to build a second story above the current bedroom, two to expand on the ground behind the garage.  The going up looked pretty cool, but it would probably cost more, and if we want to age in place, then we would eventually come to the point where we couldn't get up the stairs.  We also just liked the flow with option two.  Here's what it looks like.

The current house

Here are the as-built house plan and the as-built site plan. In case you forgot. :-)

Back on track

Well, it just didn't work out with Main Street Kitchens.  After many iterations and dead-ends, we got to the end of the conceptual design and got an estimate that was twice any number previously given!  I think they were just in over their heads, and wanted a way out without having to return the $3,000.  I thought they could handle a whole house remodel (they claimed they could) and would tell us if it was too much for them.  Unfortunately they never spoke up.  Maybe they thought they could do it, I don't know.  They're the nicest people though, and would probably be fine for a kitchen or bath remodel.

We didn't do much about the project for several months, and then started interviewing architects.  After about half a dozen, we found one we really like: Joseph Remick.  Previously Joe had worked for Michelle Kaufmann Designs (now out of business) on a friend's house, and they really liked him.

He also worked on this house: Tiburon Bay House.

Here's his web site: projectNORTH.

We're in the first phase, "discovery". This week Joe is measuring the house and drawing up the "as built" plans, which the city will need.

I can't wait to start kicking around ideas.  Here are some photos of things I like on Houzz.

Creeping featurism

We have a phrase in the software industry--"Creeping Featurism". This happens when the scope of a project slowly enlarges over time, until it devours you whole, like a monster from an old movie.

This week, the scope creeped a bit.  When I visited the Crichtons last week, I described our plans to Alex to re-arrange the bathrooms, expanding into the family room.  Alex said, "Why not just push out the end of the house near the master bedroom to create more room in the middle?"  Hmm--how much would that cost?

So when Scott and Kelly came to measure the house, I asked them about that.  Turns out it wouldn't cost that much, since we're already re-roofing and re-siding.  It would add about 500 square feet, which would bring us up to about 2,750.  This would be more what a buyer expects in this neighborhood and for the price would have to ask.  People also expect a fairly large master bedroom.

It enables so many possibilities for the bathrooms.  We can have some good-sized bathrooms, and even bring the laundry facilities to nearer the bedrooms.  By adding an outer door, the kids can go directly from the pool to the bathroom, so they don't trail water through the house.

It leaves more room in the family/kitchen area.  We've even thought about making what is currently the dining room into the TV room, and moving the dining closer to the kitchen.

And of course Claire will be happy when she gets a much larger bedroom.

Now that we've reset the parameters, we should be getting some really interesting designs from them in the next few weeks. I just hope we can afford it.  I guess we just have to look at it as an "opportunity"!

A floor plan, round 1

This is my current thinking on laying out the kitchen and "media" room. The back of the house is at the top. The kitchen moves from the interior to the outside to get more light in. It is composed of three parallel runs of cabinets. The middle is an island with seating. On the left is the main cooking area. On the right is where Greg cleans up.

Below the kitchen is a pantry, and a blank area to which the bathroom will move. This will create more space in the master bathroom.

To the right of the kitchen is a craft table.

The media room is better interior where it is darker for the television and projector. At the left end of the media room are shelves and a desk.

You have to use your imagination a bit to overcome the limits of the IKEA software. It's not the easiest or most complete, but it is FREE!

Signed a contract

On Friday, 2010 04 30, we signed a project retainer agreement with Main Street Kitchens. Yea! I'm really looking forward to working with Scott, Kelly, and Carol. They seem to understand what we want and are knowledgeable and responsive.

Scott gave us a ballpark estimate with a range of +- 13%. It was a bit higher than we were shooting for, so we may have to make some choices. There's still college and retirement to think of! Maybe we can forgo the diesel generator...yeah, that should about do it. :-)