Please don't use those shed dormers.

Okay, but can you give some input as to what I should do instead?

Would something like this be more appropriate, removing the porch and doing 2-3 of these dormers on the front?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/coastal-luxe-beach-style-exterior-minneapolis-phvw-vp~24517442

Or could I do one of these dormers on the left, and leave the large gable dormer and porch as is?

What suggestions did your architect have? Did you ever consider a tear down instead?

We have not considered a teardown…our area is very expensive, and the house is in great condition with a custom kitchen, bathroom, etc. We have considered moving, but inventory is limited, and we really just love our house. However, we need more space, and specifically need another bathroom, as we are currently 4br 1 bath. The architect provided a number of models, and this was the one we liked best. I love the porch idea, and like the large gabled dormer on the front. I'm going back and forth on what to do on the left, or whether it's better to do something different entirely. He's on vacation this week, and I'm trying to do my best to have some concrete direction for him when he returns, so as not to waste anyone's time or money.

Funny, that was similar to one of the options he proposed, but I had seen several images with the small shed dormers that I liked, so we started down that direction. Still plenty of time to backtrack. Here are a couple of the other concepts...

I'm really open to anything that will give us space upstairs, so feel free to get creative (keeping in mind budget!)

Thanks!

I also saw this house, which looked like a combination of a couple of our options. Any thoughts on the large gable with porch on the right, with a smaller doghouse on the left, with or without connecting shed dormer? Obviously this house is quite a bit larger than ours, and I understand the scale would be different.

The dual gables will give you more room than the traditional dormers. Either looks fine to me. I like the house you linked.

Most people do not use front porches or unscreened ones, and they require maintenance.

Whenever a renovation involves as much square footage as yours, I do think teardown. You can sink a lot of money into remodeling and end up with a part-new, part-old house from which you will not recoup your investment. A partially new home is never worth as much as an all-of-a-piece new home. Often the 'public rooms' are too small in proportion to the newly expanded home -- 3-4 bedrooms but inadequate LR, DR. Are you happy with a 1-car garage?

You might speak to a Realtor or appraiser before you decide.

Thank you for your thoughts, chisue. Noted on the minimal use of a front porch...it is mainly for aesthetics, as almost every house I gave for inspiration had a front porch. It just feels so homey to me, which is not the feeling when I pull up to my current exterior.

I understand the thought behind a teardown, but as is, the house is worth nearly half a million dollars. If we're careful, we're hoping to get the renovation done for less than $175K (this includes all the layout changes, dormers, new roof and new siding on entire house). I have talked to a number of local realtors, and after the renovation, we'd be looking at a value around $600K. I realize this will be putting more money in than we would get back if we sold immediately, but if we do the reno, we will not be moving for a long time. I've been looking for other houses, but there is really nothing on the market around here, and I have a very small radius in which I'm willing to buy.

I have gone back and forth on the common space vs. private space issue, and it's true, our square footage will definitely lean towards bedrooms. However, we don't entertain large groups (at least not during the winter when we can't use outside), and we have 700sf of nicely finished space in our basement. We are fine with the garage, as it's only used as a glorified shed anyway...

When I said 'public rooms' I meant the living room, dining area, family room -- kitchen -- space the family uses. A house with three or four bedrooms is *expected* by a buyer to have that space to accommodate a larger family.

You may be fine without more garage space, but most buyers would not.

My experience was buying a 1950's ranch on an acre lot in an established neighborhood. We thought we would remodel it. A friend who is a bank assessor pointed out to me the financial advantage of a teardown where land values are high.

A builder would have erected a 5K sq ft house on this lot. Neighboring properties are on 1 - 5 acres and go to 12,000 sq ft. Some are historic. We only wanted a single story -- 2900 sq ft., but we built with a full-height attic that can be a second floor for some future buyer who wants the larger home. We built public rooms large enough for that larger family. Ours is one of the smallest interiors here, but we 'fit in' as seen from the road.

Had we renovated, the process would have taken ages, with lots of 'surprises', while we lived in the mess. The new build took nine months. A remodeled old ranch would have been worth less than what we would have invested. The all-new house is worth more than we spent on the lot and the build -- because the LAND is so much of the value. We have spent nothing on major maintenance issues for 14 years because everything here ---plumbing, HVAC, wiring, roof, floors, appliances, fixtures, etc. -- was new in 2000.

I'm looking at your property as a $500K lot with a basement and a chimney and a 1-car parking pad. Now...what will you do with that? LOL

All things to think about chisue. Unfortunately, our land is not worth $500k, even on the best day. It is a desirable, established neighborhood, but most lots are around 10,000sf with 1300-2500sf capes, colonials and ranches in need of updates. We currently have 1500sf (not including basement), and would gain 800-1000 from the reno, I think. You mentioned resale value a number of times, and because we aren't planning to move, and don't consider the house to be only an investment, I'm honestly not overly concerned about what might happen down the road.

At this point, I'd really just like to get input on what we are actually considering for floor plan and exterior updates. Our living room, kitchen and dining room are quite small compared to many locations, but are fairly typical in our area, and are fine for our 4 (maybe 5) person household. I mentioned the basement because that will be the primary hangout spot for our children as they get older.

Sorry, I misunderstood when you wrote that the location was so desirable, then said the property 'as is' with the small cape cod was worth $500K. I suspected that the house only made up a small portion of that, and the land the greater part.

You could not make the improvements you want for $175K in my area, but I don't know building costs where you live.

I'm not actually talking about 'resale', just comparing the value of what you will have the end of this process. You already know the house will only increase in value to $600K with your improvements, and that you will be 'out' at least $75K.

I hope others will take an interest in this thread with their ideas about adding on to your house.

175K? Sounds light for a complete rebuild of a top floor and having to move out, etc. I've always had a fondness for gabled dormers linked by a shed dormer. It'a a very Shingle style element that gets you great square footage and head height.

Sorry for the confusion, chisue...I definitely understand where you are coming from if my land was worth $500K.

Costs in our area are quite high, so maybe it's wishful thinking that we will get it done for $175. I will say that doesn't include architect, structural engineer (if needed), laundry cabinetry or master closet interiors. I am working with someone I trust who is willing to go through line by line to figure out where we can save, and we're also willing to put off certain things in order to make it work with what we have for available funds (i.e. don't need to finish the kids' bath right away).

Lovely picture, GreenDesigns! I really like that look. I wonder if we'd have to bring the porch all the way across with that design, or if we could use that along with the gable dormer on the right. Our house is 46x28ish, and this is what it looks like currently. Not much to look at from the street, but we're very happy with what we've done inside and in the backyard.

A few comments:

- It's not a lot of living space for a 4 bedroom 3 bath home. I'd make the bedroom next to the staircase a den or formal living area to even it out.

- the porch and gables throw off the style of the house in the drawing. Your house has good cape cod bones, there isn't any reason to not go with that style (unless you don't like it). I'd go with 3 separate gabled dormers in the exterior +/- porch. Very classic! See pics below.

- we are in the midst of remodeling our home, and one of the lessons we learned is make the windows bigger and add skylights. We had some small windows we left as-is to save money, but our GC had to re-frame all of the old windows anyway and we missed an opportunity to bring more light into the home. Also, a fixed skylights can be inexpensive relative to an extra window, and add a lot of light per unit.

good luck!

At 46x28, the value of the home is minimal compared to the lot. In expensive to live areas, it's mostly the land that holds the value and teardowns are quite common.

Roadrunnerrita, I love the pictures you posted! The thing I'm struggling with, which is one of the main reasons we added the porch, is that our front isn't symmetrical. I keep looking for cape cod inspiration images that aren't symmetrical, and I'm coming up short. Do you think it's possible to put three doghouse dormers up top without aligning them with elements below? I think this would work with a porch all the way across the front, but I think that might limit sunlight, as well as put porch access right at the master and nursery windows, which I don't really want.

The room next to the master is currently a nursery, and works perfectly for that purpose. The intent is to keep as a nursery for as long as we need it, then turn it into an office/study. So in time, that will become common area as well, just a little bit disconnected from the main area, which I don't think is a bad thing for homework, studying, etc.

Good point about windows, though I do try to keep in mind the cost of larger window treatments and less privacy, as well. I feel like our current ones are fairly large at 39x54 (at least the ones in the bedrooms, left of the front door. We will be doing larger than that in the living room, and our dining room already has a wall of windows and skylights. I agree that a light-filled home is so much more pleasant!

GreenDesigns, our budget is really under $200K, and I'm quite certain we could not rebuild our house for that. I'd love to start fresh, but that's not going to happen so I'm trying to find the best outcome using what we have.

Do you think something like this would work? Looks like it has very similar proportions to our house. Lacks the sweet porch, but that could be some cost savings. I would want to make the two doghouse dormers a bit larger as well.