The Dappled Willow

This ORC is quickly approaching the halfway point and I’m not nearly as far along as I’d hoped to be. We did the demo in Week 2 in a couple of hours while the grandparents had the kiddos. I took care of getting the debris outside in an orderly fashion and Daniel got everything structurally sound.

It felt so open and bright as more light could fill the space. It was exciting but I knew it wouldn’t be staying this way. I had other plans in mind.

My initial design was going to be asymmetrical on the wall but the cubbies would be centered with the archway on the opposite wall. I was considering the view from the living room, through the window and the sidewalk on the other side of the street. I could see it all in my head and it was beautiful! Having a cubby for each family member and the bench further from the door to draw everyone further into the house so there would be less of a bottle neck were my two main goals and this design ticked those boxes.

Unfortunately, in the demo we discovered just how big the ductwork is that was previously hidden in the pantry/broom closet. I knew the ducts were in there and hoped there would be more wiggle room to gain more usable space. But, alas, there is little room to be wiggled.

We could potentially move the supply ducts by extending the trunk in the basement and making the elbow happen a little later which would bump those side-by-side wall stacks into to basement bathroom over the vanity sink. I thought of ways to this but that would lead to a whole other room reno and this is supposed to be a ONE room challenge – not two.

We also considered whether those stacks could be changed by hiring by a professional who may be able to install slim ducts if airflow would allow. Daniel did ask a friend who works in the industry about it and it sounded like it would cost a pretty penny to get a pro.

I did a whole lot of Googling on how to move ductwork to see if it’s something one could DIY and in the end I decided, we are not touching the ducts. I don’t want to mess with it. We’ll just have to work around them!

But how, you ask? Well I came up with two designs thinking the ducts would just be concealed by cabinet doors.

Even though both of these designs look fine, I knew that the cabinets with the ducts in them would not be as functional as I need them to be to hide backpacks, hats, coats, etc.

I explained the duct situation in my stories on Instagram and Facebook and put it to a vote to see which design they preferred. Most of the people who voted went for the symmetrical design.

Be sure to watch my stories so you can help me with design conundrums like this! There will definitely be more questions and polls to come.

Anyway, I received lots of helpful feedback through messages and phone calls which gave me lots to consider.

I took tons of measurements,

sat in the space,

stood and stared at the empty space,

role played entering and leaving the house using the imaginary space

and I think I finally have my design!

The two large cabinets on the ends in this design are both the width of the ducts for symmetry’s sake and will serve as cubbies for Daniel and I. One will also have a coat rack bar for when we have guests. Those two cabinets will be full depth but between them there will be 4 half-depth cubbies (one for each child) leaving room for a half-depth bench.

Now that I’ve made it past the demo, around the ducts and over the design I have to make it through this build! I have materials to purchase and tools to gather. Wish me luck as I attempt something new yet again!

Cheers,

Lydia

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