Sarah & Greg

Lifestyle problem They Faced

This couple had fallen in love with a cute two-bedroom home early in their marriage. As their family began to grow, and their work team they managed out of their home grew as well, they new something had to be done.

What we helped them achieve

When we sat down, they had a pretty reasonable, simple solution, which would simply convert their mud-room into part of their kitchen. As we discussed their life-style we realized what they really needed was a great room connected to their kitchen. This would allow them to dedicate their separate family room to quieter or private activities like the children’s play area or one-on-one meetings, and use the great room for high-activity purposes like social events and weekly staff meetings.

We discussed how this would double the square footage of their addition, but the incremental cost would be minor, based on the efficiencies of the configuration. We proved that out with a contractor who was a family friend, and we were off to the races.

How we coached them through it

During excavation they found that their house was not just built upon a rock… but that rock took up most of the area they planned on adding the addition! Given the concealed condition, their contractor recommended an alternate method to pouring the foundation.

Never having negotiated a field-change to a foundation before, the couple wisely ran this by us. We gave them the feedback they needed to feel confident in how they would approve this request— including what to insist upon as essential elements, and what aspects could be modified to suit the site conditions.