What to do with strange room

Question

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie here and am looking at doing my first flip. The only reason why I haven't jumped on the property I've been looking at is that I can't figure out what to do with this strange room.  It's an angled room with a load bearing wall on either side. The house is in the $120's and there isn't a huge budget to go moving weight bearing walls, so I just can't figure out what to do with this weird triangular wall. Has anyone ever seen something like this or have any ideas?

It butts up to the kitchen, so even if I could afford to remove one of the walls, then the kitchen would still be there and be angled. And I couldn't really move the kitchen out as that would make it a crazy big kitchen which the neighborhood doesn't really support.

I tried to do a rough sketch. Any suggestions/ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Bill Gulley · Answer

Yes, that certainly changes things, now it's the entry? Now you have more of a parlor or sitting area, a entry closet would be handy, not sure it would be noticed by a buyer, but it might be by an appraiser as to functionality. It's certainly multipurpose. If the driveway is off to the left going out, depending on they style, an entry deck can still be appropriate in the front, not as big perhaps and go with landscaping .

Actual pictures, front from street and interior will get a better response I'd say. :)

NA Jones · Answer

I have zero experience but when I looked at the picture, my first thought was laundry / mudroom as well.  The exterior door is RIGHT THERE ;)  Also if the floor was tiled the same as the kitchen, there's your blend.

Paul S. · Answer

@Wendy Shoda  all good ideas I was thinking maybe move the laundry area to that space and have it become a laundry/mud room. Perhaps moving the laundry may not be feasible though.

Larry Turowski · Answer

@Wendy Shoda You've got some great suggestions here.  ARV and budget will definitely be factors.

Bring in a staging person.  Most people can not visualize what an ordinary empty room will look like when tastefully furnished, let alone a strange space.  These people can see what is not there.  They have a talent for it.  And it goes beyond just staging.  They can give remodeling ideas with your budget in mind, as  well.

Wendy Shoda · Answer

Wow...you all have been most helpful! I really appreciate all the input. It's kind of hard to get a real feel from the photos, but here they are. Since the entry room is so large and you walk into it from the driveway, I'm thinking a laundry/mud room will be a bit too large. But, an office or sitting area may be the better bet. Love the idea of the closet especially since maybe we can angle it in a way or angle some shelving so it hides the angle of the room a bit. Whatever may help to make it not seem like it's getting so narrow at the end. You can't tell from the photo, but the great room only has a small french door leading into it. I still have no idea what to do with the ceiling in the great room either.

Thanks again for all your help!

Angled room: Gets even more narrow as it goes - the kitchen is behind the wall on the right.

Kitchen - angled room behind wall on left - dining room through the opening straight forward.

Great room:

Exterior leading into great room - entrance from the driveway - not the front door.

I posted these in hopes of posting "after" photos when it's all done! Wish us luck and thanks again! : )

Colleen F. · Answer

The other thing to do with a really weird space is built-ins.  Old window openings become part of a bookshelf.  The triangle area next to the door becomes a closet so you have storage if you make it a playroom or mudroom.  This is if you don't want to go big with the changes.  If the door will stay I would definitely have an open area to the kitchen so you can see who is entering.  If the door is to be widened a slider from the driveway doesn't seem right and I would go with a French door or leave the current door.

Wendy Shoda · Answer

Great ideas everyone and thanks Bill G.  for all the input! Love the idea of the fireplace! I forgot to mention that the house is on a corner lot. So, the 2nd exterior door is actually street front and leads to the driveway, whereas as the front door leads to the other street front. There is a 3rd exterior door out the back of the great room. I love the idea of the deck, but I'm not sure it would work as well since that isn't really the back door. Great idea, but I apologize for not mentioning that it's not the back door.

In answer to your question about the sheet rock, the exterior walls are actually block with stucco on them. They even left the exterior window frame complete with sill leading from the kitchen to the great room. Interesting DYI projects in this house including the great room which yes, is an addition.  So, yes there is an opening from the kitchen to the angled room. I'd love to also widen the 5' door to the great room so you can see outside and so it doesn't seem so choppy, there's just not the space.

Weird footprint on this one, but I think everyone is right, it's the flooring to make it seem seamless and staging that's going to make this one not seem a bit off! : )

Thanks again, you all were a great help!

Bill Gulley · Answer

If the drawing is to scale, it appears the room is larger than the kitchen.

You're saying old exterior walls, are they sheet rocked on the other sides as an interior wall?

I'm thinking it's a hearth room, put a fireplace in, open the wall over the sink if it faces that exterior wall, you don't have to take the wall out, just an opening, that together with the wide traffic area to that room from the kitchen will tie the two together, carry the same flooring throughout as Heather suggested.

Take out the smaller backdoor and put in French doors (or sliders on a budget) and put a deck outside. The deck becomes an extension of that room.  Put in, or leave an area for the BBQ pit to the right in the smaller deck area near the kitchen wall, take the deck to the back and square up the house footprint. If you can't deck all the way to the back, have an upper deck and take the irregular form to the back with landscaping.

Should be able to see through that kitchen wall out the back door onto the deck or garden area, that should give the perception of opening the room outside.

The right furniture can sell the rehab, a zero clearance fire place can go on the other exterior wall directly across from the kitchen opening, area rug, couple chairs by the F/P, small desk near the laundry door, couple bookcases you have a nice living space.

The function with the right flooring can still be a mudroom entry to the laundry area, just leave a sufficient traffic path.

That enclosed great room implies another addition, to me, I may take the door out and widen that entry using the same flooring again. Check insulation out there and widows of the great room, you'll have a large flowing space from one side of the house to the other, nice in good weather, just make sure you don't have HVAC issues trying to heat and cool it.

Point out to potential buyers how easy it would be to add cover over the deck.

Rooms like that have good potential and consider an accent wall to take the eye outside, the laundry area wall being darker or the deck wall being lighter. No pics, can't say.

I like it, looks like potential. The above doesn't have to be expensive, you can demo and sheet rock is cheap. You can get a zero clearance F/P, box it in, use Z/C chimney pipe, at a box store for under a grand, larger door could get around $500, deck could be a grand and landscaping a few hundred, or go more with a larger deck. Put a $200 fire pit on the deck to the right of the door. I'd guess at $2,500 or up. (not counting flooring) :)

Paul S. · Answer

@Roy N.  I was thinking the same thing, it should not be tough to connect anything along the same wall as the kitchen and I am not really clear on how the existing laundry area and the bathrooms are set up but maybe move the laundry to the "strange" room and then make an additional bathroom where the old one was. Just a thought maybe it will increase resale or make it more rentable with an additional bathroom?

What to do with strange room

Most Popular Reply