Framing A Better Way Up

At The Glade we used to use the kitchen door (marked #1 below) to enter from the driveway.

New Entrance

In order to go upstairs from there you must walk through the living room then up the stairs. The steps outlined in brown above are 2 steps up, a landing, then 2 steps down.  We’ve found that friends with mobility issues find this difficult to manage.

The stairs and landing to the powder room.

I proposed cutting a door (marked #2 above) from the old kitchen (new mudroom) through to the front stairs which will also access the downstairs powder room (Le Bibliotheque).

The kitchen has been removed and a doorway to the front of the house is in progress.

This small modification will allow access to the powder room without using any steps and entrance to the upstairs without circumnavigating the entire downstairs.

This opening will connect the front and back of the house.

Reframing the doorway is a little trickier than expected due to a tangle of plumbing and wiring.

The opening is crisscrossed with pipes and wires.

In a side note, #3 in the plan above is the current kitchen window which will become the new entrance from the driveway from the bluestone porch. The kitchen will become a sort of mudroom and pantry area.

Kitchen Window will become Mudroom Door to the driveway

Is there a doorway change that would make your life better?

What I Need Part 4: Better Way Up

New Entrance

At The Glade we always use the kitchen door (marked #1 above) to enter from the driveway. In order to go upstairs from there you must walk through the living room then up the stairs. The steps outlined in brown above are 2 steps up, a landing, then 2 steps down.  We’ve found that friends with mobility issues find this difficult to manage.

The stairs and landing to the powder room.

My proposal is to cut a door (marked #2 above) from the present kitchen in the approximate location of the current sink through to the front stairs which will also access the downstairs powder room (Le Bibliotheque). Below is an approximation of where the door will be after the renovation. The cabinets and appliances will be relocated. (Pardon the fact that I’m a beginner at using the computer’s paint box.)

Doorway through Kitchen to Front of House

This small modification will allow access to the powder room without using any steps and entrance to the upstairs without circumnavigating the entire downstairs.

We’re planning a doorway into the front hall from the mud room (which is now the kitchen).

In a side note, #3 in the plan above is the current kitchen window which I believe will become the new entrance from the driveway. The kitchen will become a sort of mudroom and pantry area.

Kitchen Window

Thanks for walking through this detail with me.  I’ve run this idea by the architects I’ve interviewed and so far nobody has come up with an objection so I’m fairly sure it’s possible. I love this part of the process where I think of and picture the possibilities. I may not be able to move a wall but there are people who can, I just have to imagine it. Is there a doorway change that would make your life better?