We had a blast sharing the exterior layout of our house back in June, so now we’re showing Casa Petersik’s actual interior floor plan. Photos are great, but they don’t always make it easy to understand how rooms flow from one to the next. To help clarify the layout of our three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath brick ranch, here’s a closer look at how we adapted the original plan to suit our family.
When we moved in the house didn’t start out as a three-bedroom. We rearranged a few key spaces: we relocated our dining area into the living room and converted the formal dining room into a third bedroom by closing off the old doorway to the kitchen, which also gave us a lot more cabinet space. Here’s the dining room as we inherited it — notice the doorway on the left that used to lead into the old kitchen.
That former dining room already had a closet, so converting it to a bedroom felt natural. We sealed and drywalled the doorway and turned it into a comfortable third bedroom.
By closing off that doorway between the dining room and the kitchen we were able to reconfigure the kitchen space dramatically. What used to be a small eat-in kitchen became a much more functional and efficient cooking area.
With the old door removed and replaced by a full wall of cabinetry and appliances, we gained over 50% more counter space and storage. That change even allowed us to add a dishwasher, which the original layout couldn’t have accommodated.
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is to live in a space before renovating. Some solutions only become obvious after you’ve used the house for a while. For example, we removed bifold doors and a partial wall in the laundry area to create an open laundry nook. Before, that hallway felt tight and claustrophobic; if the bifold doors were opened they also blocked access to the back door that leads to the sunroom.
During demo you can clearly see where the doors and upper wall used to be. Opening that area up made the space feel larger and considerably more usable. Now laundry day is less of an obstacle course, and traffic to the sunroom flows freely.
A thoughtful floor plan really transforms daily life. A good layout doesn’t just look better — it improves functionality and creates effortless flow throughout the house. What feels essential for one family — like a formal dining room or hidden laundry — may not suit another. Homeownership lets you tailor a space to the way you live, so you enjoy coming home every day. (If you’re planning to sell immediately, of course consider resale implications.)
Have you changed your floor plan to better suit your needs? Are you planning renovations to add functionality or style? We’d love to hear what you’ve done or are considering.
Update — room measurements: sunroom: 18′ x 13′, half bathroom: 3.5′ x 5.5′, laundry nook: 6′ x 7′, den: 19′ x 9′, kitchen: 13′ x 10′, living/dining room: 22′ x 12′, third bedroom/nursery: 8′ x 10′, full bathroom: 7′ x 6′, guest bedroom: 10′ x 10.5′, our bedroom: 12.5′ x 11.5′.