An update on our home remodel...

Remodel Phase 1 is virtually complete. Some say a photo is worth 1000 words, so I will use photos to tell the story... (this *would* make a good HGTV or "This Old House" episode, yes?)

First, we extended the garage approximately 3 feet to the rear and raised the upper deck 2 feet to accommodate a mud room with a horizontal stained glass window, featuring a floor-to-ceiling shoe closet (the back of the shoe closet will be the edge of the new landing). This also allows us to expand the 9-foot ceiling from the kitchen to include the breezeway.

Next, we created a 2-tiered stairwell that surrounds - hold onto your seats - a dumb-waiter to take items from the garage to the attic seamlessly. (More on this later...) We will have a utility sink installed under the stairwell stringers accessible to the garage level.

The top of the stairwell landing opens into a great room or family room. French doors on either side of the gothic window will lead to a deck over the garage door.

We opted for a 12-foot vaulted ceiling above the great room to frame the gothic window and create an amazing feeling of space.

There will be a full attic above the raised garage roof, and with an 8-foot ceiling above the efficiency kitchen, the "Amityville" windows are at eye level and there is plenty of headroom to access the attic.

This is a view from the attic above the efficiency kitchen. As you can see, there is plenty of storage (never in enough available in *any home*, right?)

What good is an attic space if it is difficult to access or use? The 3-floor dumb-waiter will extend from ground level past the 2nd floor family room and provide full height access to the attic space.

We had originally considered a spiral stair (always a possibility) but in the interim we found a wonderful staircase to provide full and convenient access to the 3rd floor attic room. From there, we can access the entire attic including the main house!

We have planned tons of indirect lighting, including these 10 South-facing windows. We will have 10 similar West-facing windows providing similar light to our new office space (between the expanded garage and the main house).

And finally, from the landing next to the efficiency kitchen (our current kitchen, re-envisioned) and dumb-waiter (also useful for groceries to the 2nd floor, yes?), you can see the stair leading from the family room back down to the mud room at the rear of the garage.