Reworking a Two-Story House for Single-Floor Living
An architect helps his clients redesign their home of more than 50 years to make it comfortable for aging in place
Architect John Conroy sat down with a New Jersey couple to discuss renovating the kitchen in their midcentury Cape Cod-style home. But after listening carefully to them during an initial meeting, he realized there were bigger issues with the way they used their entire house, not just the kitchen. They had rooms they never used, they didn’t have enough room for their children and grandchildren to sleep when they visited overnight and they wanted to be able to age in place. They also had lovingly worked on major home improvements and wanted to retain elements of those projects to preserve their personal history while updating the overall look.
By the time the renovations were completed, the couple had gone from two-story living to having everything they needed on the first floor, including a new master bedroom and bathroom and a laundry room.
By the time the renovations were completed, the couple had gone from two-story living to having everything they needed on the first floor, including a new master bedroom and bathroom and a laundry room.
Before. The first floor included a living room, an office, a family room, a 10-by-10-foot kitchen, a dining room and a small full bathroom. The second floor contained two bedrooms and a bathroom and the laundry room was in the basement.
“While talking to our clients about how they live and what their needs were, we discovered that the two main activities in the living and dining rooms were dusting and vacuuming,” Conroy says. Also, with frequent visits from their grown children and their grandchildren, two bedrooms were not sufficient. The designers also realized that whoever was cooking felt isolated in the small kitchen while everyone else gathered in the family room, and that the couple tended to eat most of their meals in the family room.
The clients were in their 70s, so having their bedroom on the second floor and the laundry in the basement was not a good plan for aging in place. “They had decided if one of them ever needed a wheelchair, they would move to a retirement home, but we wanted to cut down on having to use the stairs so much and make it walker-friendly,” Conroy says. But adding on to the home was cost-prohibitive for their budget.
“While talking to our clients about how they live and what their needs were, we discovered that the two main activities in the living and dining rooms were dusting and vacuuming,” Conroy says. Also, with frequent visits from their grown children and their grandchildren, two bedrooms were not sufficient. The designers also realized that whoever was cooking felt isolated in the small kitchen while everyone else gathered in the family room, and that the couple tended to eat most of their meals in the family room.
The clients were in their 70s, so having their bedroom on the second floor and the laundry in the basement was not a good plan for aging in place. “They had decided if one of them ever needed a wheelchair, they would move to a retirement home, but we wanted to cut down on having to use the stairs so much and make it walker-friendly,” Conroy says. But adding on to the home was cost-prohibitive for their budget.
In order for the couple to be able to age in place, the designers reworked the entire first level’s floor plan for single-floor living.
The living room became the kitchen, the kitchen became a laundry room-mudroom, the dining room became the master bedroom and the bathroom was extended and made more accessible. This freed up the entire second floor for guest rooms when their children and grandchildren visit and cut down on all the daily trips up and down the stairs for the couple. They also added a more casual eating area between the kitchen and the family room, and now those three spaces are open to each other.
Conroy assembled the design-build team while he was crafting the proposal to ensure they could complete the scope of work within the couple’s budget. This included remodeler Michael Kaiser, Tucker Distinctive Kitchens and Mrs. G Appliances. By doing the planning together, Conroy was able to keep the cost under $200,000. Renovating the first floor came in at around $186 per square foot, which included all of the expenses — design fees, labor, appliances, interior design and furnishings. In contrast, Conroy estimates that adding on to the house to achieve these aims would have run at least $300 per square foot.
The living room became the kitchen, the kitchen became a laundry room-mudroom, the dining room became the master bedroom and the bathroom was extended and made more accessible. This freed up the entire second floor for guest rooms when their children and grandchildren visit and cut down on all the daily trips up and down the stairs for the couple. They also added a more casual eating area between the kitchen and the family room, and now those three spaces are open to each other.
Conroy assembled the design-build team while he was crafting the proposal to ensure they could complete the scope of work within the couple’s budget. This included remodeler Michael Kaiser, Tucker Distinctive Kitchens and Mrs. G Appliances. By doing the planning together, Conroy was able to keep the cost under $200,000. Renovating the first floor came in at around $186 per square foot, which included all of the expenses — design fees, labor, appliances, interior design and furnishings. In contrast, Conroy estimates that adding on to the house to achieve these aims would have run at least $300 per square foot.
Kitchen. That wasted space of a living room now serves as a kitchen where no one ever feels lonely. The kitchen was a down-to-the-studs renovation, though they were able to restore the original oak floors. This photo was taken from the new laundry room-mudroom where the kitchen used to be.
The paneled portion of the opening in the foreground of this photo used to be a load-bearing wall between the living room and family room. In the remodeling process, the public spaces on the first floor lost square footage overall, but changing the layout to a more open floor plan makes them feel bigger.
When it came to aesthetics, the couple was ready for an updated look that worked with existing elements in the house. For example, to create cohesion, the design team played off the family room’s existing wood paneling by using a mix of wood and painted finishes in the kitchen. The cabinets are hickory, the perimeter countertops are quartz and the backsplash is a marble mosaic.
The large island and work-triangle strategy work well for the couple while cooking and visiting with one another and with guests. One of the homeowners loves to bake, so the island has a budget-saving butcher block counter from Ikea finished with a high-performance coating. And the island contains a pull-out shelf for the mixer.
The large island and work-triangle strategy work well for the couple while cooking and visiting with one another and with guests. One of the homeowners loves to bake, so the island has a budget-saving butcher block counter from Ikea finished with a high-performance coating. And the island contains a pull-out shelf for the mixer.
Family room. Here’s a good view of how large the remodeled space feels, with the kitchen, eating area and family room all open all the way from the front of the house to the back.
The wood paneling was one of the elements the architects wanted to help the couple preserve as part of their history. It had to come down during construction, so they took it down carefully. This not only saved a piece of the couple’s history, it reduced construction waste and helped them save on costs.
The wood paneling was one of the elements the architects wanted to help the couple preserve as part of their history. It had to come down during construction, so they took it down carefully. This not only saved a piece of the couple’s history, it reduced construction waste and helped them save on costs.
Dining area. Another project the couple had worked on years ago was this brick fireplace with the wood stove insert. “We blended the new kitchen with the existing family room by adding painted cabinets on each side of the fireplace and adding a new reclaimed lumber fireplace mantel,” Conroy says. They also were able to restore the original oak floors. The dining table and chairs, the china cabinet and the china had been handed down through the family, so the design team helped the couple integrate these pieces into the new design.
The rug in the dining area is a patchwork of FLOR carpet tiles that nods to midcentury modern style. “We blended the new kitchen with the existing family room by adding painted cabinets to each side of the fireplace and a new reclaimed lumber fireplace mantel,” Conroy says.
Browse carpet tiles
The rug in the dining area is a patchwork of FLOR carpet tiles that nods to midcentury modern style. “We blended the new kitchen with the existing family room by adding painted cabinets to each side of the fireplace and a new reclaimed lumber fireplace mantel,” Conroy says.
Browse carpet tiles
Family room. When it came to furniture and accessories, the couple wanted a new look throughout the house to go with their renovation. The designers helped them choose contemporary furniture that fit in with their existing pieces.
Mudroom. The former kitchen space now serves as a mudroom-laundry room. More budget-friendly Ikea butcher block forms a waterfall counter over the machines. Another big budget-saver is the cork flooring, which cost about $2 per square foot. A built-in bench provides a spot to put on and remove shoes and boots, and it has storage underneath.
There is plenty of storage around the corner as well. In another budget-saving and waste-reducing move, they were able to repurpose the original oak cabinets from the kitchen and use them in here. The homeowners painted the cabinets themselves.
In addition to salvaging existing materials for repurposing, other sustainable moves throughout the project included using LED lighting, cork flooring and non-VOC paints and floor coatings. They also installed a Nest thermostat with integrated smoke-carbon monoxide detectors.
In addition to salvaging existing materials for repurposing, other sustainable moves throughout the project included using LED lighting, cork flooring and non-VOC paints and floor coatings. They also installed a Nest thermostat with integrated smoke-carbon monoxide detectors.
Bedroom side of the house. This photo was taken from the hallway that divides the public spaces (kitchen, dining room and family room) from the private bedroom side of the house. Using the same FLOR tiles they used in the dining area creates a connection from one side to the other. They used all the original doors except the one to the remodeled bathroom, which now has a wider opening than it previously did.
Bathroom. The designers completely renovated the existing dated bathroom. If you refer back to the floor plan, you can see where the designers took some space from the existing kitchen to make room for a generous shower stall. Also, the old bathroom was windowless, so they added two windows for natural light. The windows are Marvin Ultrex. “These are high-performing windows that came in at a good price point,” Conroy says. “They are also fiberglass, which is great to use around the moisture of a bathroom.” He used Integrity’s obscure glass for privacy.
Universal design elements include a curbless transition into the shower stall, a shower bench and a grab bar.
The vanity is semicustom with a quartz waterfall counter. The bench and window sills are the same quartz used on the counter. The large-format floor and shower tile is porcelain and came in at about $2.50 per square foot. The backsplash is a porcelain mosaic.
Tile: Dal; check out more large-format tile
The vanity is semicustom with a quartz waterfall counter. The bench and window sills are the same quartz used on the counter. The large-format floor and shower tile is porcelain and came in at about $2.50 per square foot. The backsplash is a porcelain mosaic.
Tile: Dal; check out more large-format tile
Since they don’t have a linen closet, Conroy gave the couple a linen cupboard in the bathroom. The cabinetry is the same hickory they used in the kitchen.
Recently the owners held their first holiday family function since the renovations were complete, and they were so happy to have the kitchen open and plenty of room for everyone to sleep comfortably.
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Recently the owners held their first holiday family function since the renovations were complete, and they were so happy to have the kitchen open and plenty of room for everyone to sleep comfortably.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple of active empty nesters in their 70s who wanted to age in place in their home of over 50 years
Location: Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Size: 1,072 square feet (100 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Princeton Design Collaborative (architecture and interior design)
The clients knew their house very well. They had been in it for more than 50 years and had been avid DIYers during that time, actively participating in large home projects through the years as their family grew. Now that they were empty nesters, their needs had changed again.