There are some adjustments and new ideas regarding the new house layout in our design proposal that we developed based on your initial requirements as follows:
Ground Floor:
a. We swapped positions of pantry and bathroom, with a purpose to create a better circulation flow while optimizing the spaces. Now the pantry is located exactly behind the kitchen and larger, with a sliding glass door towards there; while the bathroom is pushed to the right closer to hallway that leads to formal living/dining and library (the library can serve as occasional guest room as well). The hallway now has a clean-cut space distribution.
b. We create a ‘transparent’ hallways by creating steel frame glass partition and doors at both sides of the kitchen – to enclose the kitchen while also creating a clear demarcation between service area and living rooms without eliminating the lighting quality. On the left side of kitchen, now people can go between pantry and mudroom/laundry without psychologically disturbing the people who are in the family room. On the right side, we open the wall in formal dining room, and instead placing a new glass partition on the kitchen side (so the hallways is open to formal dining area and making it more spacious and bright).
c. We made new structure for 4-season room, using white aluminum/steel frame windows, with 2 accesses towards the indoor formal dining and backyard deck.
Upper Floor:
d. We modify the layout as requested, and also made the hallway and circulation more effective, simplify some closet rooms, and still keeping the 4 bedrooms – apart from the additional bathroom, laundry & attic storage.
Basement:
e. Generally we propose a layout that is quite different than yours, with an idea to create a continuous living area from the point where you land from the staircase towards the backyard / garden. The art workshop is located behind the staircase, and the bedroom and new bathroom is located at backyard side. In the middle, there is a hallway that connects all rooms and still keeps the maintenance access to mechanical room and crawl space (we reserve the area for workshop expansion or new storage, when needed). To make the new hallway less cramped, we propose to have the same steel frame glass partition at the art workshop side (can be an open workshop, slide-able or occasionally closed). The doors to bathroom and bedroom are located in this hallway.
Generally, furniture and lighting selections both in the 3D rendering images and the list are not binding, can be substituted with other contemporary furniture that has the same wooden/white/greyish/metal scheme. There are also some additional notes on our drawings.
Lastly, thank you for this contest opportunity and we hope that our design proposal will provide you with more fresh ideas in the process of renovating your house. All the best!
