The makeover will result in a 2,100 sqft house with 2 br/2 bath +office. However depending on your perspective, the house can be considered a 1 br/2 bath. The second bedroom is a guest bedroom and by definition someone sleeps in that room very infrequently. The guest bedroom is connected to the main living area by disappearing sliding doors, making it part of the living area when there’re no overnight guests. Guests will sleep on futons that can be brought out when they’re needed…no need for a bed wasting space.

The comment I typically get is “you won’t be able to sell that house”. Even in Southern California, a house with anything less than 3 bedrooms is immediately considered unsellable. I should worry about that but I’m not that smart. It’s hard enough satisfying our requirements within the budgetary constraints without worrying about the requirements of an imaginary buyer who we hope will be interested in the house 5, 10, 20 years from now. Who knows what people will find appealing then. I’m afraid that if I address those concerns, I’ll end up with a house that solves for the lowest common denominator and end up with something no different than your typical new tract home.

It’s surprising how many custom homes look and feel like a tract home. However, there are a couple of unique houses up the street from our house. I do like the white one, it conveys a simultaneous sense of mystery and peacefulness. Wonder what it’s like inside?

In future posts I’ll highlight some of the unique characteristics of our house.