Our home’s primary suite is located on the second floor, like most homes built in that era. It consists of a large bedroom, a small walk-in closet, a reach-in closet, a small vanity area, and an even smaller bathroom. After touring the house for the first time, we knew the space needed major reconfiguring to be functional.
Our home also has a large, 20-foot-by-20-foot bonus room on the first floor, located off of the den. We initially planned for the large space to be Dan’s music studio. However, after realizing we can easily finish the attic space above the garage for a sizable studio, we decided to turn the bonus room into the primary suite. As a bonus, there was already plumbing from the room’s existing half-bath.
As I mentioned in a previous post, we’re tackling the first floor first, and constructing the primary suite is our first big project. We talked through numerous layout options, but with each potential floorplan we had to work around two things: the windows had to stay put, and an HVAC chase servicing the second floor had to stay put. We also had to work through our long wish list:
Space for a king-size bed. We’re both tall people and we need extra elbow room.
A walk-in closet. In our previous house, we shared a three-foot reach-in closet, and had to store all of our sweaters in the attic or under our bed.
Closet access from the bedroom and bathroom.
A bathroom vanity with double sinks and ample storage. We shared a single 24-inch vanity in our last house. It wasn’t ideal.
A freestanding soaker tub and a large shower.
I stressed and stressed about centering the tub on the bathroom window and centering our bed between the two bedroom windows. In the end, neither were in the cards, but I’m happy with the layout we settled on and am so excited to have a proper primary suite! After much back and forth—even after I published our first-floor floorplan—we finally settled on the layout below.
Our primary suite process feels long, but in reality we’ve only been working on it since early March–not even two whole months. Here’s the nitty gritty on everything my dad, Dan, and I have done. You’ve seen some of it on Instagram, but there’s a lot more (boring) work that didn’t make the highlight reel.
So far we’ve…
Scraped popcorn ceiling; sanded, mudded, primed and painted the smooth ceiling;
Removed baseboards, window casing, crown molding and wall paneling;
Removed carpet, traditional carpet pad, and the glued-down carpet pad;
Removed half bathroom and closet;
Screwed down squeaky subfloors;
Framed new walls;
Hung drywall; taped, mudded and sanded drywall;
Primed drywall and ceiling;
Relocated plumbing and electrical;
Installed ceiling fan and vent fan;
And tiled the shower floor and walls.
We still have to…
Relocate the HVAC return in the bathroom floor;
Install the bathroom floor tile;
Grout all tile;
Order shower glass;
Install the doors;
Paint the walls the final colors;
Install baseboards, crown molding and door casings;
Install the bedroom accent wall;
Install the hardwood flooring;
Install the toilet, tub, vanity and associated fixtures;
Install the closet system;
And style the space.
I’m absolutely sure there are things I’m forgetting. For now, here’s a walk down memory lane, and stay tuned for part two, where I’ll show you the fixtures and finishes!
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