Starting at square one, upstairs addition

Attached to the original block building is a 30'x35' addition, it was built in 2001 and served as the church's kitchen, common area and restrooms.  There is a single (narrow) doorway from the addition to the original school building.

When you walk through the door from the old building into the addition there is a kitchen to your left.  It has a full sized stove/oven, dishwasher, refrigerator and large double sink.  I was used to having a huge walk in pantry so the (relative) lack of storage has forced me to be creative and leave much of my kitchen stuff boxed in the basement.  We did move a double cupboard into the space from one of the out builidngs to serve as a pantry.  There was a serious theme of blue flooring when we bought the house and the kitchen is no exception.  The oak cabinets are in good condition and we hope to reconfigure and refinish them in order to re-use them when we move the kitchen.  When planning the remodel we took special note of where the existing plumbing was in order to re-use as much of it as possible, a narrow part of this kitchen area will become the powder room with a door opening from the living room, and the majority of the kitchen space will become one of the boys' bedrooms.

The open space just beyond the kitchen served as a common area for the church.  When we originally saw the property there were at least 6 large tables set up in this area.  This has already become a bedroom that our two older boys are currently sharing (more details coming soon!).  It utilizes 3 of the windows and has a closet and built in desk area.

Next to the back door is the the women's bathroom.  It came complete with lovely wallpaper on the back wall, and mauve colored bathroom stalls.  We will remove one of the toilets and replace it with a bathtub.  We will add a third sink to the counter and lots of storage.  At 10'x10' this room is huge for a bathroom but I think it will be a great shared space for the 3 boys.

 

Behind the women's restroom is a wide hallway, there is a coat / utility closet at the end of the hallway which will eventually open to the back patio.  I'm thinking of using this hallway as a "mud room" type of area, with a bench for shoes and hooks for backpacks and coats.  It is close enough to the back door (which is the main door we use) but yet out of sight.  The first door on the right is the basement stairs, the second door is the men's restroom, it had one sink and blue bathroom dividers around the one toilet, this room will eventually become the laundry room.

The vaulted ceilings are my favorite part of this addition.  What could have easily been a confined space that felt obscure against the grand school building feels open and bright, widening the doorway and eventually opening the stairwell will make it an integrated space to the rest of the home.