Design
Consider Adding a Dormer for Economical Space
One of the most common reasons for selling an old house is the need for more space. But there are often ways to expand old homes without loosing character and adding a dormer is usually one of the most cost-effective. Since dormers don’t require the foundation that a new addition would, they usually cost less [...]
Appliance Strategies for the Old House Kitchen
Kitchens have seen more changes than any other room in the house. Originally merely service spaces for cooking, kitchens were strictly functional and contained little in the way of cabinets. Unlike today, the stoves, sinks, and eventually cabinets of early kitchens had legs and were much more like furniture. While kitchens overall have changed dramatically, [...]
The Importance of Kitchen Design
When most people think about remodeling their kitchen their focus is on products and features but not on design. Design can be the difference needed to make a kitchen special or solve a problem. Certainly aspects of design such as layout are essential to creating a successful kitchen. This week I started working on building-out [...]
The Key to Successfully Adding to a Vintage Home
What is the key to successfully adding to a vintage home? Is it the materials? The building form? The arrangement of spaces? All of these depend on something more basic. The key to success in all these areas is first understanding a home’s underlying rules. Just what are these rules? Every home is designed based [...]
Balancing Cost and Happiness
What’s the cost of happiness? After realizing I wasn’t happy with my kitchen design I’ve been reworking it yet again even though changes are sure to add cost. I liked the simplicity and efficiency of the design I previously came up with so much that I had decided to give up the idea of hiding [...]
The Design Evolves
I’ve been working on the design in more detail using a computer model. I’ve modeled the actual cabinet sizes IKEA has available and have been playing around with how I could use them. It’s a bit frustrating that certain things I want to do I can’t do because of the limited sizes available. For example, [...]
A Kitchen Layout That Works
I’ve been playing around with ideas for laying out my kitchen and have finally designed a layout that meets almost all my criteria. The design involves moving two non-bearing walls to enlarge the space for the kitchen slightly and move it toward the front of the house by a couple feet. This widens the rear [...]
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