You did say brutally honest:

You've been advised (quite correctly) that you won't recoup your remodel expenses in two years. And is that two years from now, or two years after a lengthy remodel process? I doubt you'll see a return in five. But you continue to press the idea of remodeling so I'm of a mind to believe that cost or time isn't a factor here.

You also don't address the main problem you point to a couple of times: Small bedrooms. In one proposed plan you nearly triple the kitchen/dining space but don't do anything about a space where 1/3 of our lives are spent.

A person looking through your home to potentially buy will never have the chance to feel any lack of air circulation, and chances are, even if they did, that would not be a deal-breaker.

It sounds to me like you're just itchin' to change something, knock down a wall or whatever. If that is what you want, I say go for it and don't stress over changes that buyers may or may not like. There is no crystal ball that can tell you what one buyer wants over another.

If anything I would knock out the small wall to the right of your fridge and make what is your "formal living" into a dining room. Problem solved. Minimal remodel cost.

{{!gwi}}

Yes, you are correct. I'm not concerned about the cost of it at this point, just what a buyer would think when they walk in the front door. That is the major thing I need to know before proceeding or stopping. And that is the one thing no one has really answered as yet.

We have thought of just putting an opening in that spot along with the door to the backyard. We could even put in the bay bumpout and do nothing else, which would give a small breakfast area, and then let buyers decide for themselves what to do with the room.

I am totally up in the air what to do here. I have never loved this house, but always figured I would go out feet first in the back of a coroner's wagon. Dh is perfectly happy here but he would be happy living in the garage too. We both know we need to have a dining area of some kind for this house to sell. We have one child in school for one more year, and then another year, possibly a bit longer, to recover from paying tuition, then dh wants to relocate if possible to be closer to our aging parents.

THAT is the big IF. Who knows what the economy and job market will be in 2 years. We might be better off staying put for a bit longer and living in a house with low payment.

"I'm not concerned about the cost of it at this point, just what a buyer would think when they walk in the front door."

None of us have a crystal ball. With the remodel, some potential buyers will love it and some will hate it. If you keep it the same without any further remodeling, some will love it and some will hate it.

I can't see going through the big mess involved and expense of remodeling if you are planning on moving in two years.

"We both know we need to have a dining area of some kind for this house to sell."

Not necessarily. My home does not have a dining room and I consider that a PLUS. I have an eat-in kitchen. Most small families that I know of, never use a formal dining room and it just becomes a space to walk through to get from the KIT to the LR and a catch-all place for junk to land. Of course every family is different.

"We have one child in school for one more year, and then another year, possibly a bit longer, to recover from paying tuition.......We might be better off staying put for a bit longer and living in a house with low payment."

Despite the 'money is no object' attitude with the proposed remodel, I see financial concerns here. I would not do a big remodel.

"That is the major thing I need to know before proceeding or stopping. And that is the one thing no one has really answered as yet."

And in fact, your question has been answered. Perhaps not to your satisfaction. But it has been answered: No one here on the boards can tell you what potential buyers for your home may like or dislike. You need to be speaking to realtors in your area for more localized information about the market, it's trends and what people look for.

Based on what you posted, marti, your questions have been answered and a viable, low-cost solution offered. Here's what I think you're really looking for:

"Oh, marti you're right, your layout really does need some work. I love option #__. It really opens things up. And the addition of the dining room is perfect. I can't imagine buying a home without a dining room. That is exactly what I would look for in a home. Thanks for sharing and keep us posted on the progress."

I read your linked thread earlier this morning, and I think you were mainly concerned about people entering the house with the kitchen/dining area right smack in front of them. I have to say I wouldn't care for that. I remember one of your plans sort of allowed for an entry area and I do think that would be better. I just don't think the larger expansion is necessary.

What I can say is that I love your plan for the bumpout in the kitchen and the patio area. I was thinking that was what you meant by dining area- more of an eating area, which you don't really have now, that would be in the kitchen. I think it will only enhance your quality of life (you said you were tiring of having to go to the den to eat) and make your house far better for resale. But, I think you could really stop there with the renovations for now. If you decide to stay, you can go from there.

If it suits your lifestyle (and when you go to sell you could stage it this way) you could put a small dining table in the formal living room, with an intimate seating area near the fireplace. Then your house will look great for small entertaining (and those doors leading to the patio from the LR would be great for that), as well as larger entertaining with the big table that you have in the den.

How nice that your husband can handle doing all the work!

All right, I'll answer as a buyer. Assuming all else in the house was what we wanted and needed, I would buy it, with a couple changes. I would have the DR right there by the kitchen, as you do, and it would be elegant DR. I would have a couple wingback chairs at that DR table because if I were going to sit in there and watch TV (that is a TV at the head of the table?) I'd want to be in a comfy chair. The only thing is that in order to please me, the kitchen would have to look fairly fabulous since it is right there by my living space. The kitchen seems a little light on cabinets and counter space. Just two straight lines... can you do anything to make it very interesting?

As I said, I'm different. In our last house we had the family room/kitchen as one big room. We remodeled the kitchen to be droolingly gorgeous and put our cherry DR set in the family room with two big wingback chairs, kicked all living room furniture out. Had the TV in there. It was the room in which we spent all our time and was a great room for parties as well. Warm, inviting, friendly.

So, in a nutshell, if I liked the way everything looked, I like the idea, and I'd buy it.

BUT, now, to be realistic, when we went to sell that house (and it was just over a year ago so was in the days of real estate decline), despite its gorgeous kitchen and the fact that the decorator had assured us that women would be begging their husbands to buy them the house because of it... nobody wanted it. We finally ended up selling it at a big loss to an investor.

So, others are right when they say there are no guarantees, and there is no accounting for or being assured of other peoples' taste.

Thank you cat_tail. I did want to know what anyone posting would think if they were the potential buyer. I know I don't like the same houses as a lot of people, and just wanted to know what the majority thought if they were a buyer. The more I've looked at it, the more I don't think I could live with the openness even for 2 years.

What we decided to do is the small breakfast bumpout, putting in a door opening in the far kitchen wall, and changing the exterior doors. It will require moving one cabinet around in the kitchen & replacing the formica, but that's not a biggie. Then, the living room can be a dining room for us, or a living room for someone else. In the long run, that is probably the best for resale since it is more versatile. We'll also make that patio into a covered courtyard.

I'm not going to say money isn't an issue, but we've had the money set back for a long time and have just been putting off doing anything. It is nice that dh can do the work, but there is still going to be a mess to live with but at least now there are only two of us who have to put up with the inconvenience.

I'm sorry bigdoglover, I guess I was writing my above reply when you were posting, and I didn't go back to see it. I appreciate your answer, and the amount of counter space & cabinets concerns me too. Right now, we have a lot of storage and counter space, but the bar will have to come out to put a door in beside it. If we opened everything up, I would lose a lot of top cabinets and a set of bottom cabinets plus all the counter space above them. I don't really know how to give it a fabulous look except to make the new breakfast area special.

This has a lot of WOW, but wouldn't fit with our little farmhouse type house.

conservatory style dining corner

I'm not sure what you are seeing as a tv in the dining area, but I do like the idea of putting wing chairs by the fireplace. We like to entertain too. I love to cook and have big meals with family and friends, which is why the big room works for us, and why I love the kitchen the way it is now with a full size fridge & freezer side by side. Opening the door in the wall will make me put the freezer in the laundry room which will be a little less convenient, but not too bad.

Marti, that IS a wow. Yes, make it look like that and I would buy it for sure. I guess I was thinking the fireplace was the TV in an armoire. Sorry! The kitchen I was talking about had furniture style cabinets with yummy granite, glazed finish, huge hood, brick backsplash. It was very olde Euro.

This is just me talking with some good hindsight, but you might consider just selling it as is and moving on to the house you really want. The money you would put into the re-do could be used to offset any loss from selling it as-is and if there is not a loss, it could go towards getting a more beautiful new house. That is what I would do if I had it to do over again, but I know what it's like when you have the decorating bug as well. Big time!

Shoot, if I had that, I might be tempted to stay! lol

I know I could leave it as is & let the next person deal with it, but there is a nagging in the back of my mind that we could be here awhile. Starting Sept 1, the rules change about inspections on construction in rural areas. It's about to get a lot more complicated and probably more expensive, so we thought we'd just bite the bullet & git 'er done.