“We purchased our home at the beginning of this year knowing there were some renovations we plan to complete over the next couple of years. A cute little 3/1 bungalow in Murray Hill and nearly 100 years old, she was surprisingly turn-key in most every way. Some things like our mini-backyard makeover (where we laid sod and put in a storage shed) were easy to accomplish right off the bat while other things, like creating 21st century storage space and reconfiguring our one and only bathroom to better maximize the available square footage are on my list of dream renos.
The current closet in our master bedroom is teensy, so I would wall off the doorway to that closet and frame out a much larger closet in our master bedroom to accommodate both my and my husband’s wardrobe (he has been banished to the 3rd bedroom and has all his things organized in an IKEA Pax wardrobe while I have a long, rolling clothing rack in our bedroom). An identical closet could be created in the 2nd bedroom, providing much-needed household storage for things like suitcases, off-season clothes, and linens.
There is currently zero storage space in our one and only bathroom. By walling off the current tiny-closet in the master bedroom and flipping entry to that column of space to the bathroom side, we would create much-needed storage in the bathroom for towels, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. No more waddling across the house at the most inopportune times to grab this or that! And with a much larger closet now serving the 2nd bedroom, the square footage jutting into the bathroom from that itty-bitty closet is freed up. Bam! Room for a double sink vanity! Sometimes your significant other just needs their own sink already!
And if we’re on the subject of dream renos: I would definitely extend the kitchen out a bit with a larger peninsula for more food prep and general hang-out space and add open shelving for kitchen pretties. We’re currently rocking the industrial look with a wire shelving unit for a pantry in the laundry room off the kitchen, so a proper cabinet there wouldn’t be too bad either. There’s also a perfect spot off the 3rd bedroom we could add a 2nd bathroom without changing the footprint of the home too much. Dream. Come. True.
Some functional changes in these high-use areas of our home would obviously be AMAZING in the short-term and would add value in the long run – bathrooms and kitchens are so important! I can’t wait to tackle these one day. I love our home as-is but there’s so much potential calling my name!“
