Add a great room to your home

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One of the more popular home renovation additions is the great room. A great room is one large room located centrally in the house that encompasses the functions of a family room, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. Your older home may have a main-floor family room near the kitchen, but it probably also still has a formal dining room and living room.

To add a great room to your house, you can either rework the floor plan within the existing footprint, or you can add on to the exterior. A combination of these two approaches, adding on a portion while reworking the floor plan, might also work depending on your existing floor plan and how many rooms you wish to combine.

Although typically the largest room in the house, a great room is divided into functional zones for dining, cooking, entertaining and relaxing. Zones are not separated by walls but rather with furniture and built-ins. The openness and size of a great room is often enhanced by using vaulted ceilings and many large windows. It is seen as a more upscale room than the family room, and this is reflected through the use of fine furnishings.

Adding a great room to your home will cause a major change to the way you live in your house. Instead of separate rooms with clearly defined functions, you will have one large open space in which almost all family activities take place.

To ensure that you end up with a great room that is truly functional for your family, follow these steps:

• Consult a designer at the very beginning of your project. A designer possesses expertise on floor plans and traffic patterns and can translate your specific needs and wishes into a functional layout.
• Consult an architect or a structural engineer. These professionals can prevent you from inadvertently harming the structure of your house when you remove walls.
• Another major player in your renovation will be your contractor. Because such a major renovation means that your house will be torn apart for months and you will be dealing with him and his crew every day, look for someone who can communicate clearly and easily.
  

Adding a great room to your home is no small residential remodeling task. It requires knowledge of structure, design, building techniques and even financing. Reply! can provide you with a list of qualified professionals in your area who specialize in high-end renovation projects. Talk to several and always check references.

The benefits of adding a great room to your house are plentiful. Without having to sell your house and move, you will gain a beautiful, modern and functional space that you and your family will enjoy for years to come. When the time does come to sell your house, the addition of a great room will greatly increase its market value.