Downstairs Floorplan

Our floorplan didn't flow so well when we bought the house. When I first saw photos, I wasn't even sure all of the rooms belonged in the same house. Not anymore! Here's a rough visual (not to scale but you get the idea) of the major changes we're making to the first floor. Click it for a bigger view.

As you can see, the "after" version has fewer walls and stairs, resulting in a much simpler layout. Here's a list of what we had to do to accomplish this transformation:

1. Completely tore off the poorly constructed family room off the front right side. (Read about it here.)
   
2. Moved the front entrance from the kitchen area to the log section. (Read about it here.)
3. Demolished the downstairs bathroom and turned it into a foyer with a more appropriate 1/2 bath and coat closet. Now there's room to actually take your coat off when you come in the front door.
4. Removed the basement stairs and the main stairs, which crisscrossed in a huge waste of space, from the log section. (Read about it here.)
5. Installed floor joists/subflooring and ripped down the wall to incorporate the Pit of Despair into the living room. (Read about it here.)
6. In the new addition, moved the staircase from the front wall to the left wall so there'd be plenty of headroom and no more awkward landings.
   
7. Moved the door that connects the dining room to the living room several feet to the left and installed a new set of stairs descending to the living room, as it is a few feet lower than the rest of the first level. This was a big job because all of the logs were rotten in this wall and had to be removed/replaced with a sheetrock wall.

We hired a carpenter to handle the structural stuff such as installing joists, the stairs, the new front door and framing. Everything else we've pretty much done ourselves with the help of S's dad and a few beloved family and friends who have volunteered along the way. (Thank you!)