Change approved!

After nearly a year of making up our minds about how best to tackle our attic renovation, and finding an architect to work with, and going through several drafts and iterations of designs, we finally narrowed it down to one (voila!) in December, and took our plans to the commission in January for final approval (yay!). After some deliberation and material substitutions to ensure we're keeping with the overall historic aesthetic of our 'hood, we received approval (change approved!) and are moving forward.

After (lit'rally) years pondering our choices, we ultimately decided to create our master suite upstairs. We went back and forth on whether or not to expand on the main level (which would actually be cheaper, ugh), but we really want to maintain as much of the granite exterior as possible, and the thought of encroaching into our already limited yard space made me cringe. So up we go!

As a refresher, remember the scale of our home is quite small. Which we love, but also means limited storage and elbow-bashing bathroom. We have two bedrooms and one bathroom on the main level, and permanent stairs to the attic (which run through the center of our house, as does our chimney). The attic has two bedrooms and a bathroom (in a small rear dormer which was added in the 50s or 60s we think), but because of the peak of the roof, and the way the stairs and chimney are situated, it's not a really usable layout. There are currently two small dormer windows on front, but given their depth, and the way they sit in the upstairs rooms, they unfortunately don't let in a lot of light.

We really wanted to maximize our space and have a nice-sized bathroom, but we also wanted to keep with the overall scale of our small house, so we relied heavily on the expertise of our fabulous architect (more here) to accomplish the daunting task of going up and not out. And since we're now tackling a major renovation and removing the roof, we also took this opportunity to get rid of the odd-sized dormers and create more of a cottage look for our little house. So, what are we doing? We're tearing the roof off this place y'all! Seriously, though. The changes include:

• A master suite (imagine an L-shape starting on the left side (if looking at the front of the house) and across the back of the house), including bedroom with small sitting area, a bathroom with shower and tub, and a master closet (yippeee!);
• An open area nestled in the opposing A frame from the  master bedroom, which we're thinking will be a nice office/library space and will be the first space you walk into when coming up the stairs (which is why we're leaving it open);
• To accomplish this, we'll add a shed dormer across the back of the house to allow for ample head height in our master closet, bathroom and small sitting area;
• We're not bumping the ridgeline of the roof up much (if at all), but we are expanding the left front dormer to maximize the light upstairs, and balancing the right front side with a larger gable to mirror the smaller one over the sunporch;
• We're also removing the old louvred windows from the sunporch (we know, we know!) and closing it in a bit more. Its dimensions will remain, and it'll get a nice new gable and great wood windows to let in lots of light, and will still be an unconditioned sunroom, which we loooove;

Before we can tackle upstairs, we're addressing some basement issues (namely drainage and grading issues, and taking this opportunity to reinforce the foundation since we're upping the load up top) which will take some time. So we're patiently working our way down the prep list and can't wait to break ground on upstairs. Stay tuned!