Not only can the addition of a living room add much needed space to your home, it can add value to your homes resale price. Many new homes are designed with a great room and no living room. While these homes are ideal for the casual lifestyle, they may not work for more formal entertaining needs. Many Sacramento area homes built in the 1940’s through the 1960’s were designed with large living rooms. They were intended to be the room which the family lived – multi-functional space for relaxing, watching television, reading , listening to music and entertaining. Certainly many people add living rooms to be a family living space, but a majority of people also add living rooms in order to create a more formal setting for entertaining or escape from the television and the noise of children playing.
What is your idea of the function for your living room addition?
- A formal space for entertaining guests and family
- A cozy retreat
- A space for relaxation without the television
How will you add the space?
- Part of a home remodel
- An addition
- Will you divide an existing room?
- How much space will you need in your new room? Will it be the primary family living space? Will it be a small formal room for entertaining? Will it be a relatively small but comfortable place to escape and relax? What does your lifestyle require of the space? Formal living rooms built today tend to me much smaller than those designed forty years ago.
If your needs dictate an addition to your home, there are many considerations before you begin to demolish walls. Here’s a few ideas to get you started. But remember, a successful remodel requires organization.
- Where will you place the addition? What location seems to be indicated by the architectural style of your home? What location is best to conform with the contours of your lot?
- How will the addition affect the existing home? How will you provide access to the new room? How will you move from the new room to other parts of the home? How will an addition look in terms of the proportions of the existing structure? Will the roofline negatively affect the view from other rooms of the house?
- Is there enough usable space on your lot in the proposed area? What are the local building regulations about how close you can build to the property line? Are you willing to give up the necessary amount of your yard?
A home addition is not a weekend project. You will want to schedule the work to cause the least disruption to your family’s life. If you will be making structural changes, you may want to consult an architect. You will need to work with roof and wall supports, know which walls bear the weight of the roof or other walls. You will want to design your addition so it enhances the exterior appearance of your home. Working from a blueprint will also help you to avoid costly oversights.
Hiring a licensed general contractor, will help you to achieve a living room addition of your dreams. With careful planning and design you can crate a living room addition that will meet the lifestyle needs of your family.. You can enhance the curb appeal of your existing home with the addition and increase the resale value of your home. A living room addition is the perfect opportunity to create the perfect space for your needs.