Obsession: Entryways

After pondering the Option A floor plans while we were in Las Vegas, we were ready to regroup with our architect to discuss what we loved and what we'd change. We had an awesome meeting last night and discussed some really fun ideas. Paul (our architect) already had an Option B prepared which had some beautiful features (hello gorgeous kitchen island!) Both A and B has the entirely new master suite in the back of the house which we love, but will cost big $$. The tentative plan is to come up with an alternate A/B floor plan that incorporates what we discussed last night, and an Option C plan that keeps the master where it is now but adds in as much of our wish list as possible. Unfortunately the most logical design plan that will be the best for the long run is an option the moves the master, but we'll have to see if we want to spend that kind of money. After we have the two new floor plans I think we will get very very very preliminary estimates to see what the general cost difference would be between the two. If it is a marginal difference, then it will be a no-brainer for us! If it's a big cost difference, then I'm sure there will be lots of late night discussions in our future :)

That discussion aside, we're starting to discover that our main entrance to the house will probably be the front door. The house has a long driveway that opens up a bit in the back. Because of impervious cover rules (which I'll discuss in a future post!) it looks like we are going to take out a good chunk of concrete and replace it with grass. We'll essentially be giving up the ability to use the garage as a "garage" by grassing in the concrete in front of it, but as it stands now it isn't really a viable garage anyway. One day down the road we'll probably turn it into a studio or pool table room or something, but for now it's just a space for storage. (Side note- the current location of the garage is against code but it is grandfathered in. If we were to renovate it into a real, usable garage for cars we would have to move it to the proper location, thus giving up three feet of the yard. Anyway, another topic for another phase of renovations haha.)

Having decided that our main entrance to the house will in fact be the front of the house, having a "mudroom" or backpack storage area in the back of the house won't really be a good use of space. Instead I'm hoping we can utilize space by the front door for back packs, jackets, purses etc. I'm hoping we can create something beautiful, even if it will be a landing area for all of the kid's junk! Here are some ideas: