Parlor Level Bathroom, Kitchen, and Dining Room

Right now, the kitchen and dining room are separated by a wall. We’d like to remove it to open up the space. As soon as it’s more open, there are a few things we want to do depending on budget constraints and time estimates.

Extend the powder room inward to become a full bathroom

We are starting with this item as a priority because we want to include my mother in our plans from the very beginning. Life changed for me and the family when Momz got sick in 2015. She lost all sensation in her legs and her hands because of a still unnamed nervous system diagnosis. She was in a wheelchair and was helpless for a while and she had to work really hard to relearn the most basic movements.

Their house in Manila had to be retrofitted to accommodate her needs. We added grab bars by the bed and in the bathroom, and built ramps to entryways. My parents even donated to the local church so that a ramp could be built for her and others.

She’s doing much better now but she still needs a cane to walk. But now that she’s on her own—my father was taken away from us in 2017—we want her to be as comfortable as possible when she spends her time with us. We want her to be able to move around the house safely, without stress or worry. And when Alec’s parents get older someday, we’ll be ready for them too.

Making the powder room a full bath requires taking up enough space for a walk-in/wheel-in shower from what is currently the kitchen. And since we don’t want the new opening facing out, we plan on making it perpendicular to the wall as a pocket door.

Move kitchen appliances to the other side

We won’t know how much work it will require to move electric and plumbing from one side of the house to the next, but considering the first point above, it’s the only way to fit all the kitchen appliances in a functional manner.

Using the measurements of my dream appliances, I used blue tape to account for everything to be able to imagine how the old dining area will become the new kitchen.

Open the back wall and create a picture window
I’m most excited about cutting the entire wall facing the backyard to make a picture window and maximize the light. I would like to paint that wall black to make it pop out further. Depending on what kitchen island or work table situation we end up with, I will match its bottom with the same black color.

I’ll have separate entries about the designs of each space as soon as we get our contractors and builders to tell us the feasibility of everything. Stay tuned!