big plans

I've avoiding talking about why blogging hasn't been a priority for a couple of months. You see, my mind has been racing as we've discussed some big changes to our home. Below is our kitchen in all its 1926 expansiveness. Which is to say it's about 8' X 8' with enough room for one person to be in it at a time. The plan below doesn't show a pine cabinet that backs to the stairs, giving me a bit more storage. The mudroom had been functional as long as the weather didn't dip below freezing. In the winter, boots, coats and mittens just freeze rather than drying out. It's also gotten a bit "bouncy" on it's posts (which are no longer anywhere near proper building codes). Let's just say we try not to have too many people in there at once and I ask the kids not to slam the door for fear the thing will fall off the house.

After a lot of thinking - do we add on, do we just fix the mudroom and the seepage we're getting in the basement, do we move (the option I LEAST wanted)? We've decided to add on. Several months ago this was a much smaller project in our minds. I can hear all of you who've started that way in renovations laughing your heads off at me right now. Yes, the project has grown, much of it due to building codes, but the gist of it is below. (The lines in the drawings curve because I set the plans down on the grass to take the pictures. I assure you, our architect wasn't drunk when she rendered these.)

The kitchen will get much larger and will accommodate a very loved 8 foot pine table that we bought soon after we were married (it's been in my studio for the last 7 years because that's the only place it fit in this house). I'll also have a computer center where the kids can do homework and I can see what they're doing (it's next to the cabinet pantry in the plan). The mudroom will be warm in the winter AND have a bench with a place under it for boots and hooks above for jackets. I'll even have a dishwasher for the first time in nearly 20 years.

But wait, there's more! There will have to be a new foundation under this kitchen which gives us another basement room. I'm thinking playroom for the girls. We'll also be able to capture space above the addition for a larger master bedroom closet. Other less glamorous, but important changes include fixing leaks in the basement, putting in a new sewer and sanitation line(the original line failing is simply a disaster waiting to happen), adding a drain in the yard (due to the recent monsoons we currently have a lake back there) and upgrading the heating and cooling system in the house. All the basement work will involve gutting the whole area that's my studio and putting up drywall and new lighting.

I'm very excited and very overwhelmed already. I've spent the last several days purging and packing part of my studio. Every item must leave the basement, kitchen and dining room. I'm sure I'll eventually need to remove all the stuff from our closets upstairs as well when construction gets to that point.

For now, I'm putting the packing of the basement out of my mind because I have to pack my suitcase tonight. I'm headed to NYC early tomorrow morning to meet up with Susie Sunshine, Poppy, and blackbird. At the end of the weekend we'll head to the Hamptons courtesy of Jen with Carol joining the crew. I might get a few posts scheduled tonight. I might not. Doesn't matter, I'm going on vacation with girls.