Ten dream moves in our new project

As the inspector said, the house has good bones. And as others have confirmed, the place feels good.

If I were living here solo, it would be too big for my needs. The second-floor could be reserved essentially for guests in season.

For two of us, both working from home, that second-floor would definitely come into play, and adding a daughter and son-in-law to the mix, even as frequent visitors, makes for yet one more set of calculations.

So here’s what we’re looking at on the horizon:

1. Raise the roof into extended dormers across the second floor, plus an addition over the mudroom.
2. Get heat for the second floor.
3. Grade and better define the parking area.
4. Install a wood stove or fireplace in the main parlor.
5. Redo the old bathroom, moving doorway to the hallway rather than the dining room.
6. Add an upstairs bathroom.
7. Add small butler pantry between kitchen and dining room and move washer-dryer to second floor.
8. Remove the ramp to the back door and move back entrance in the mudroom.
9. Add a deck – we do miss the Smoking Garden – and implement a garden design – one that’s smaller but deer-proof.
10. Enlarge the front porch.

It sounds like a lot, but we’re finding it exciting. We did just as much in Dover, only piecemeal.