Awkward flow; you must walk through a bedroom or the dining room and den to get to a bathroom.
Small bedroom has two entry doors: one next to the front door and the other in the back hall.
Large closet/dressing area is part of the original bathroom; too much humidity on clothes.
Kitchen, dinette, and laundry rooms are small, nonfunctional, and lacking in storage and counter space.
The enclosed patio in the rear is unsightly; it darkens the den and master bedroom.
The front porch is too small to serve as anything but a walkway.
Though the front yard is large, it lacks function, style, and privacy.
Create a central hallway. Demolish the closet between the dining room and the small bedroom. Move the dining room north wall about one foot to enlarge the hallway.
From the central hallway, have one entry to the small bedroom.
Reconfigure the original bath and part of the original hallway to create a private bath and walk-in closet for the small bedroom.
Combine the kitchen, dinette, and laundry into one large kitchen. On the east wall, surround the window with cabinets. Deepen the counter enough to accommodate two chairs or barstools. On the west side, incorporate a stacked washer/dryer into the kitchen.
Remove the enclosure on the back patio. Build an outdoor fireplace/barbecue into a half-wall on the south side of the patio.
Convert the den into a bedroom by closing it off from the kitchen and dining room. Install French doors on the west wall of the bedroom to give light and patio access.
Extend the front porch (but not the roof) so it becomes large enough to hold furniture, transforming it into an outdoor room and extension of the house. Raise the height of the porch floor to just below the interior floor height.
Replace the dining room window with a French door (opening out) or a sliding door to give access to the front porch.
Add a half-wall extending south from the east wall of the living room to create a private front yard. Place a fountain in the enclosed garden to create ambiance. Add an electric gate for privacy and security.
A slightly bigger budget could give this house a grand master.
Open up the original master bath and closet as a sitting room.
An arched alcove would define the new space. French doors with side lights would open up the master bedroom to the back yard. A new master bath would be carved out of the original closet attached to the large bathroom in the existing floorplan.
To create a larger master suite, the east bathroom would become a ¾ bath and the public bath would become a ½ bath.
You give a little in one area to get more in another. It all comes down to personal preferences.
This neglected house could benefit from a major renovation. Why not make a relatively small additional investment to make it spectacular?
It's currently a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom plus den with awkward flow and nonfunctional spaces. With a little extra demolition and construction, it could be transformed into a 3 bedroom, 2¾ (or 2½) bathroom home with much better flow – and all of this could be accomplished within the existing footprint.
In this redesign, the master and the east bedrooms both get private bathrooms. The master and the south bedrooms get French doors opening onto a private patio with a fireplace/barbecue. All three bedrooms are now separated from the “public” rooms for better privacy.
The kitchen is greatly enlarged, with vastly increased counter and cabinet space.
The expanded front porch and garden enclosed with a half-wall extend the living space and make the home seem much larger.
These changes – none of them difficult to implement – will not only create more functional, inviting, and livable space, but also substantially increase the home's resale value.