November 10, 2024 • 28 mins
Dean discusses, “It was like this when we bought it,” focusing on common issues with poorly planned home additions. He offers advice on creating seamless remodels that enhance the home’s natural flow and highlights why true value goes beyond square footage. Plus, there's a preview of the live holiday show on November 24th!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the
House Whisperer on demand on the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
welcome to home where Every week we help you better
understand that place where you live. I am Dean Sharp,
the House Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer, and
(00:24):
most importantly today, your guide to turning your ordinary house
into an extraordinary home. Like I say every week, hey,
guess what we're talking about today. Very popular topic that
we have returned to from time to time over the years.
Thought it was a good time to hit it again.
Today's show entitled it was this way when we bought it,
(00:47):
And you have to say it with that sound of
desperation and embarrassment in your voice. It was this way
when we bought it. A phrase that Tina and I
hear almost every single time. At some point when we
go on a design consult for some new clients and
they're showing us around the house, Undoubtedly this phrase is
(01:08):
gonna come up. I would say maybe ninety percent of
the time. So when you have inherited somebody else's mistakes
with your home, But more importantly than that, far more
important than just pointing them out, is how do you
fix them? How do we get over this thing? And
you know, I've got a list of some pretty significant ones,
(01:29):
and you may have some of your own as well.
I would invite you to give me a call let
me know what they are. We can talk about those two.
Of course, whenever we take calls, as we do every show,
you can set the agenda. Whatever you want to talk about.
You don't have to talk to me about. It was
this way when we bought it. That's what I'm talking
(01:50):
about today. You can talk to me about anything design, construction,
diy inside, outside, landscape design, interior decor whatever the case
may be. You if something's got you, you know, scratching
your head, give me a call. We've got room on
the phone lines for you, and we'll put our heads
(02:10):
together and figure it out. By the way, the number
to reach me eight three three two, Ask Dean eight
three to three. The numeral two ask Dean A three
three to ask Dean. Producer Lindsey standing by right now,
ready to take some calls. The phone lines are oh, yes,
they are, oh, and calls are coming in. So eight
(02:31):
three three to ask Dean, and we'll get that tackled today.
If we do this all right. By the way, we're
gonna bring some light into your morning, hopefully make you
feel glad that you were here. The team is here
for you. Elmer is on the board. Good morning, Elmer,
Good morning, Dean, Good morning everyone, Producer. Lindsey, like I said,
(02:55):
standing by to take your calls.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Hi, Dean, how you doing?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You're the best? What that No, that was not Lindsay.
That was Lindsay does not have a microphone near her
right now because she's on the phone, but that is
probably exactly what she would say. You're the best. Eileen
Gonzalez is at the news desk. Good morning, Eileen. I
(03:20):
will not fake your voice. I problem, good morning, you
are the best. Oh that was a slow pitch right
over the plate for le both. How you doing, Budd,
I'm doing great. Thanks. How's it going? Uh good, We're good.
We're ready to rock and roll. I think here so
sitting cross the table from me, laughing at my stupid jokes.
(03:43):
There she is. It's one of the reasons that I've
married her is because somebody has to laugh at my
stupid joke. Tina is here looking up. Dad jokes are
the best. Dad jokes are the best, and.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
I do laugh at them. Legitimately, I'm the best person
to tell dad jokes you because I will laugh. I've
noticed that, and it's funny. It's good, it's good, all.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Right, y'all. It is a you know, it's a beautiful
Sunday morning here in southern California. I gotta say it.
November tenth, whoosh, and time is just flying by. That
reminds me we need to talk you and I just
for a moment about what's coming up very very soon.
(04:28):
I'm just going to read the press release to you.
Al de Homme presents the House Whisper Holiday Home Show,
a live audience, a live audience event happening Sunday, November
twenty fourth, just in what two three weeks, two weeks,
three weeks from now at the Helpful Honda Lounge at
(04:50):
iHeart Studios in Burbank. Yes, we are doing our holiday
home show yet again. It's always a great time and you, you,
my friend can enter to win a seat. Now. The
Helpful Honda Lounge is not a large venue. It's a
very intimate venue. We've got about one hundred seats available
in there, and so we have to limit the number
(05:13):
that we give away, but you can enter and we
will choose those participants based on your entries. All you
have to do is go to one of our social
well one of them either Instagram or Facebook. Yes, Tina, Yes,
Instagram and Facebook, and you will find at the top
of our post at Home with Dean. Right at the top,
(05:35):
you will find the Holiday Home Show post, the info,
and what we need you to do there is just
read the info, follow the instructions, leave a comment saying yes, Dean, please, please,
please please, I want to be on the show. And
then very shortly, in just a couple of weeks, we'll
be selecting the audience members and we'll direct message you
(05:58):
and let you know if you have one on a
seat at the show. It's gonna be great. We're gonna
have refreshments, you're gonna meet some of my special guests
here from KFI. You're gonna get expert advice from the
decor pros at Aldick Home, and you're gonna watch those
decorating pros decorate one of Aldick's unbelievable seven and a
(06:19):
half foot Christmas trees live during the show. And then
one lucky audience member will get to take at Home
plus you get to hang out with Tina and Me
and the team for a good three plus hours, including
in between the breaks for special VIP content. It's gonna
be a great time. Coming up November twenty fourth, go
(06:39):
to Home with Dean on Facebook or Instagram to enter
to win a seat. And there you have it all
right right after the news, we're gonna get going with.
It was this way when we bought it. It's gonna
be a great morning.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from KFI.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Dean Sharp, the house Whisper at your service. You know what,
whether you live in a condo or a cottage like
we do, or a castle like the kind of stuff
we build sometimes, if it's the place that you call home,
it's all the same. I'm here to help you take
it to the next level. We are talking about mistakes
(07:25):
that have been made to your home, abuses that have
been made to your home that you inherited from somebody else,
or maybe you inherited from yourself. Shame on you. But
this phrase that so often is is something repeated to us.
It was this way when we bought it, Dean, don't
(07:46):
judge us. It was this way when we bought it.
Somebody else's mistakes, but how to fix them. Plus, of
course we'll be taking calls today as we do. The
number to reach me eight three three two, Ask Dean
eight three three the new two, ask Dean. Okay, right
at the top of the list, gotta be gotta be
(08:09):
room editions that destroy light and flow in a house.
This is probably undoubtedly most common in older homes. And
by what I mean by older homes are I'm calling
(08:30):
them you know I'm dating myself now, right, but I'm
calling them pre nineteen eighties homes, okay, And I know,
I know nineteen eighties homes are forty years old. Now
I mean older than that, okay, I mean in the
era of the California ranch style home, which is something
that is not just in California but spread all across
(08:53):
the United States, and older homes beyond that mid century
home home. Not so many additions made to mid century
homes because looking forward as they were, they tried to
be as light and bright as possible on day one.
But other styles of home cottages, craftsman homes, sometimes Victorian
(09:17):
homes definitely definitely because of their minimal amount of windows
and natural light coming into those spaces, but mostly the
classic ranch style single story ranch style home are victims
of room editions that ended up being doing more damage
(09:39):
to the house in the opinion of this designer than
they did good. People are looking for more space, they
wanted more square footage, and so they ended up doing
a room edition. So let me start. We're going to
spend a little bit of time on this one because
it's important. Let me start by saying this. This revisits
(09:59):
a topic that I bring up constantly with you, which
is one of the most important pieces of remodel advice
that you'll ever hear, in my opinion, and that's this space.
Space in a home can be measured in two ways.
(10:21):
One are the absolute mathematical numbers of your square footage.
You measure out a room length times width equals the
square footage of that room. Add up all the rooms
in your home together. That's the square footage of your house.
We can measure it, we can calculate it on a
calculator and boom, there it is. That's the space inside
(10:41):
your house, the brute space. But that space has very
very little to do with the sense of spacious ness
that a home can or doesn't have. Okay, space is
a brute mathematic concept. Spaciousness is a subjective, emotional, psychological concept.
(11:08):
That doesn't mean it's not important. In fact, what that
means is it's most important, right because you don't live
by math. You live by your experience of a space.
So we could take let's say, a fifteen hundred square
foot home and chop it up into tiny little bits
and tight corners and weird spaces, and you will walk
(11:28):
into that place and feel constricted from the moment you
step inside the door, like you are in a very
very tight, small, uncomfortable space. We can also take a
fifteen hundred square foot home and free it of those
constricting spatial concerns and create a sense of vista, which
(11:50):
is what you can see and how far you can see,
and flow, which is how smoothly and comfortably you move
from one area to the next. And in doing so
we can transform an ordinary house into something truly extraordinary.
That's the difference between space and spaciousness. That's the difference
(12:13):
between space and vista, space and flow. So spaciousness, vista,
and flow, these are the goals. Okay, now here's the
thing that's not what most people really conceptualize in their
(12:33):
mind when they're thinking about the experience that they want
that they're not having in their home. Most people don't think,
you know what, we just got to rearrange things in here.
We've got to transform what we've got inside the building
envelope in order to create that and that will make
all the difference. Now, no, no, most homeowners don't think that.
(12:53):
Most homeowners think we need more space, but they're really
what they're really experiencing is that they need more spaciousness,
more flow, and better vistas. But what they say to
themselves is we need more space. And then the room
edition comes into play. Now I'm not saying that every
(13:15):
room edition is unnecessary, not at all. But what I
am saying is room additions are expensive and they are
tricky in relationship to the rest of the house, and
that's where we need to go next. So I want
you to hang tight because this is possibly, for those
of you who are even pondering a remodel right at
(13:36):
this moment, maybe possibly the most important thing that you
can hear and consider about this remodel that you're about
to undertake. What exactly are you going to be changing?
Are we adding onto the house or are we rehabbing
what we have and what's the difference.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
You are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper, that's me.
We're talking about stuff in your home, or on your home,
or attached to your home that was that way when
you bought it. Stuff that you always kind of apologize for,
especially to designers like myself when you walk us through
the house, inheriting somebody else's mistakes on your house and
(14:23):
how to fix them. We will also in just a
bit be headed to the phones as we do. The
number to reach me eight three to three two. Ask
Dean eight three three the numeral two. Ask Dean. All right,
we are on this first and all important point. Room
editions that destroy light and flow. And I said this
right before the news. The first goal that a homeowner
(14:48):
really needs to consider is not additional space, but rather
what you're really after. And I'm saying this to you
not to argue with you about it, but I'm saying
this to you in order to give you the language
to express what your heart and your mind are really
longing for here, not space. Not just additional square footage.
(15:11):
Additional square footage hastily poorly planned does nothing but drain
your bank account. Okay, The space quote unquote you're looking
for is not necessarily additional square footage, but rather spacious nests, vista,
and flow. These three words I want you to seer
(15:33):
them into your consciousness, especially if you are planning a remodel.
Shortly the reason why. And I'm not against room editions.
I'm not against room editions at all, Okay, but you
gotta understand a room addition is a costly, costly undertaking.
It requires new foundations and new roofing above it, okay,
(15:58):
because you're going outside the envelope of the existing house,
and as such, just know the foundation and the roof
alone is going to take at least a third of
your budget. Boom there it goes sunk into the ground,
end up over your head, by the way, in areas
that you're never going to access, accessibly enjoy on a
(16:21):
daily basis. Okay. So, in other words, sometimes they're absolutely necessary,
but in many cases, I would say, probably for the
typical homeowner, in most cases, you should do everything to
avoid expanding the footprint of your home, especially if you
(16:42):
find you don't need to invest your creativity into reworking
what you got inside the envelope. If at all possible
room additions. A hastily construed room edition can cause all
sorts of problems. We've seen them all. Ceiling height changes,
strange rooflines outside. Quite often because you don't want to
(17:05):
rework the existing home roofline properly, because you don't want
to pay the additional money for that, we end up
with a little flat roof, a little shed roof over
that room edition, which inside the house maybe you can't
tell the difference. Outside the house, you're like, eh, you know,
it's a patio cover essentially over the room edition. Not
(17:27):
the best. It's not the best as opposed to extending
the existing roof out to cover so strange rooflines, flooring
level changes because maybe we're moving out onto what previously
was a patio and maybe you do or don't plan
on bringing that up so that the floor is seamless.
Most importantly, even beyond those issues are the darkening of
(17:53):
the room that we leave behind. So you're like, well,
I've got this family room here and I really needed
to be larger. You feel like you do. It certainly
needs to feel larger, but you just assume, well, push
out the square footage just happens in ranch homes all
the time. So what we do is we push out
a whole nother family room, a much bigger one. And
(18:14):
what have we left behind? What of the old family room?
The old family room used to have exterior windows and
lights streaming into it, and now it's fifteen twenty feet
back buried into the house. It is now centered in
the middle of the house. It's trapped in this dark,
cavy place because it now no longer is anywhere near
(18:37):
the windows. I have seen it a thousand times. Okay,
now again, can it be done right? Yes it can,
But I just I can't underscore enough the importance when
you plan on extending the envelope of the house, it
needs to be planned out meticulously, creatively and carefully. And
(19:01):
here is my standard. Here is the bar that I
hold myself to, that Tina and I hold our designs to,
and that I hold every other design of a room
addition to, when it's said and done, when it's all finished. Okay,
you invite somebody over to your home who has never
(19:23):
been there before, they should not be able to point
out that you've made a room edition, that's the bar.
In other words, they walk around the outside of your house,
they look inside your house, and whatever it is that
you've done to change, to alter, to expand this house,
there should be no response in them like, oh, and
(19:45):
I see you've done a room edition. You know what
that says. It says your room dedition is sticking out
like a sore thumb in a way that seems unnatural
to the existing home. M there you go, Okay, that's
simply the truth of the matter. So if you can
pull off a room edition that doesn't destroy the room
(20:07):
that you're left behind, if you can pull off a
room edition that in no way, shape or form a
hints to anybody who's never seen your house before that
anything has been done. Okay, that they just out this
is the way the house was built on day one, Right,
that's what you want to hear from people, or that's
(20:29):
the response you want to get from people that they
just assumed this is how the house was built. It
looks completely right to me. If you can pull that off,
then you've done the right thing and you've headed in
the right direction. Still though, even then, there You're going
to spend a lot of money to do that, and
the question then is begged, could we reinvest that money
(20:53):
inside the existing envelope? And what changes could be made?
Even if you, you know, you sacrifice a few additional
square feet that you think you've always wanted, can we
get ninety five percent of the way there by reworking
within the existing envelope of the house. More often than not,
(21:14):
Tina and I have discovered throughout the years that the
answer to that question is quite often yes, yes you can.
It's food for thought. Okay, more on this when we
return your Home with Dean Sharp the house whisper.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
All right, back to our topic. It was this way
when we bought it. Mistakes that you have inherited other
people's mistakes when it comes to your home. All right,
I promise I'm wrapping up this one point that I've
spent a good amount of time on because it's so important,
and that is the classic classic room edition that destroys
(21:59):
light and flow. All Right, Dean, we got it, we
got it. We understand you're all for increasing spaciousness, and
flow and vista as opposed to just adding square footage
to a house. Yeah. Absolutely, And I'll tell you this,
if you're working with a designer or an architect who
has just immediately jumped to add square footage because you
(22:21):
told them to, then you got to draw that relationship
into question. I'm serious when I say this, because that's
the tail wagging the dog. An architect a designer should
bring their own views, their own expertise, their own creativity
to the table. They should be the ones telling you, hey, hey, hey,
hey hey, let's pump the brakes for a second. Let's
(22:43):
work with what you've got and see if it's not enough. Okay, That,
in my opinion, is absolutely the conversation that should be
a taking place more often than not, and more often
than not, it is not happening. Okay, So we get it, Dean,
You're all for that. Yeah, I'm all for making your
house beautiful and saving you money. So now what if
(23:06):
you actually have one of these situations in your home
and you have inherited this mistake the room edition that
was just either poorly done I don't mean poorly done
necessarily in terms of craftsmanship. If that's the case, that's
a given that that needs to be worked onne. But
I mean the design, the idea behind the room. Edition right.
(23:26):
Maybe it has darkened a room, maybe it has given
you more space, but you don't know what to do
with that space because it's awkward and weird. Okay, maybe
some of the things that I've discussed have happened. Weird
ceiling changes, weird roof pitches, weird floor levels. Okay, Well,
here's the thing. If somehow that additional square footage is
(23:51):
on some level working for you and you can rework it,
then started dressing those particular problems ceiling heights, weird roofly,
floor level changes, the darkening of the old room, maybe
by adding even more windows and light streaming in from
the new room, Okay, in order so that we can
(24:11):
push some more ambient light into the old room. Come
up with the solutions for those, address the actual problems,
all right, and yeah, maybe you can make it work,
but it may need some reworking. What if it just
doesn't work. What if it just like, well, it's there,
(24:32):
but we've thought about this and we've thought about that,
and there's just no way to fix it. All right,
Listen to what I'm about to say, don't have a
heart attack. If you can't fix it, get rid of it.
I mean it, I mean it. Wait, Dan, the value
of my home is based on its square footage. No, no,
(24:54):
it is not. Ultimately, the value of your home is
based on what your home is, awesome or lame. Okay.
The value of your home on the marketplace is not.
Now maybe the listing value initially, okay, because somebody without
seeing it sight unseen. Oh it's you know, it's a
(25:16):
twenty three hundred square foot home, and if I remove
this room, I'll only have a nineteen hundred square foot home. Okay. Listen,
if you're about to sell your home, then you know
you don't have to go to those extremes. Somebody's gonna
buy it the way it is, and you can list
it based on its square footage. But if selling your
home is not anywhere in your immediate future, know this.
(25:41):
Its value. It's true value is based on how awesome
and amazing that home is. Okay. It's true value is
based on not space but spaciousness. This is when somebody
actually walks in the front door. Okay. And I will
contend to my dying day that if I've got an
(26:03):
eighteen hundred square foot home here, and right across the street,
I've got a twenty two hundred square foot home the
same floor plan, okay, but with a poorly done room edition.
And I have maximized this eighteen hundred square feet and
that is still the mess that it is. It's my
(26:23):
house that you're buying this one over here. Okay. We've
seen it pan out this way, play out this way
time and time again. Every realtor that I've ever had
this conversation with has said, yeah, ultimately, that's the case.
So the value of your home is not based on
its brute square footage. That is a small factor compared
(26:44):
to whether your home works or not. And of course,
if you're living in your forever home, then that element
is off the table and what ultimately matters is whether
your house works for you. So, yes, there is a
time when a house doctor comes along and breaks the
(27:04):
news to you that this thing here, this thing that
you are dragging behind you, it needs to be removed,
period the end. Okay, it's getting in your way. It'd
be better to do without it than to keep on
dealing with the weirdness that it is. Okay, room editions
that destroy light and flow. What's next on the list, Well,
(27:28):
something that's similar to it, a house darkening, patio covers
and severe flooring height transitions throughout your home. But when
we come back from the break, it's time to go
to the phones. Top of the hour, I'm going to
be taking your calls. You are Home with Dean Sharp,
the House Whisperer on KFI. This has been Home with
(27:50):
Dean Sharp, the House whisper. Tune into the live broadcast
on KFI Am six forty every Saturday morning from six
to eight Pacific time and every Sunday morning from nine
to noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the
iHeartRadio app
KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the
House Whisperer on demand on the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
welcome to home where Every week we help you better
understand that place where you live. I am Dean Sharp,
the House Whisperer, custom home builder, custom home designer, and
(00:24):
most importantly today, your guide to turning your ordinary house
into an extraordinary home. Like I say every week, hey,
guess what we're talking about today. Very popular topic that
we have returned to from time to time over the years.
Thought it was a good time to hit it again.
Today's show entitled it was this way when we bought it,
(00:47):
And you have to say it with that sound of
desperation and embarrassment in your voice. It was this way
when we bought it. A phrase that Tina and I
hear almost every single time. At some point when we
go on a design consult for some new clients and
they're showing us around the house, Undoubtedly this phrase is
(01:08):
gonna come up. I would say maybe ninety percent of
the time. So when you have inherited somebody else's mistakes
with your home, But more importantly than that, far more
important than just pointing them out, is how do you
fix them? How do we get over this thing? And
you know, I've got a list of some pretty significant ones,
(01:29):
and you may have some of your own as well.
I would invite you to give me a call let
me know what they are. We can talk about those two.
Of course, whenever we take calls, as we do every show,
you can set the agenda. Whatever you want to talk about.
You don't have to talk to me about. It was
this way when we bought it. That's what I'm talking
(01:50):
about today. You can talk to me about anything design, construction,
diy inside, outside, landscape design, interior decor whatever the case
may be. You if something's got you, you know, scratching
your head, give me a call. We've got room on
the phone lines for you, and we'll put our heads
(02:10):
together and figure it out. By the way, the number
to reach me eight three three two, Ask Dean eight
three to three. The numeral two ask Dean A three
three to ask Dean. Producer Lindsey standing by right now,
ready to take some calls. The phone lines are oh, yes,
they are, oh, and calls are coming in. So eight
(02:31):
three three to ask Dean, and we'll get that tackled today.
If we do this all right. By the way, we're
gonna bring some light into your morning, hopefully make you
feel glad that you were here. The team is here
for you. Elmer is on the board. Good morning, Elmer,
Good morning, Dean, Good morning everyone, Producer. Lindsey, like I said,
(02:55):
standing by to take your calls.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Hi, Dean, how you doing?
Speaker 1 (02:58):
You're the best? What that No, that was not Lindsay.
That was Lindsay does not have a microphone near her
right now because she's on the phone, but that is
probably exactly what she would say. You're the best. Eileen
Gonzalez is at the news desk. Good morning, Eileen. I
(03:20):
will not fake your voice. I problem, good morning, you
are the best. Oh that was a slow pitch right
over the plate for le both. How you doing, Budd,
I'm doing great. Thanks. How's it going? Uh good, We're good.
We're ready to rock and roll. I think here so
sitting cross the table from me, laughing at my stupid jokes.
(03:43):
There she is. It's one of the reasons that I've
married her is because somebody has to laugh at my
stupid joke. Tina is here looking up. Dad jokes are
the best. Dad jokes are the best, and.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
I do laugh at them. Legitimately, I'm the best person
to tell dad jokes you because I will laugh. I've
noticed that, and it's funny. It's good, it's good, all.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Right, y'all. It is a you know, it's a beautiful
Sunday morning here in southern California. I gotta say it.
November tenth, whoosh, and time is just flying by. That
reminds me we need to talk you and I just
for a moment about what's coming up very very soon.
(04:28):
I'm just going to read the press release to you.
Al de Homme presents the House Whisper Holiday Home Show,
a live audience, a live audience event happening Sunday, November
twenty fourth, just in what two three weeks, two weeks,
three weeks from now at the Helpful Honda Lounge at
(04:50):
iHeart Studios in Burbank. Yes, we are doing our holiday
home show yet again. It's always a great time and you, you,
my friend can enter to win a seat. Now. The
Helpful Honda Lounge is not a large venue. It's a
very intimate venue. We've got about one hundred seats available
in there, and so we have to limit the number
(05:13):
that we give away, but you can enter and we
will choose those participants based on your entries. All you
have to do is go to one of our social
well one of them either Instagram or Facebook. Yes, Tina, Yes,
Instagram and Facebook, and you will find at the top
of our post at Home with Dean. Right at the top,
(05:35):
you will find the Holiday Home Show post, the info,
and what we need you to do there is just
read the info, follow the instructions, leave a comment saying yes, Dean, please, please,
please please, I want to be on the show. And
then very shortly, in just a couple of weeks, we'll
be selecting the audience members and we'll direct message you
(05:58):
and let you know if you have one on a
seat at the show. It's gonna be great. We're gonna
have refreshments, you're gonna meet some of my special guests
here from KFI. You're gonna get expert advice from the
decor pros at Aldick Home, and you're gonna watch those
decorating pros decorate one of Aldick's unbelievable seven and a
(06:19):
half foot Christmas trees live during the show. And then
one lucky audience member will get to take at Home
plus you get to hang out with Tina and Me
and the team for a good three plus hours, including
in between the breaks for special VIP content. It's gonna
be a great time. Coming up November twenty fourth, go
(06:39):
to Home with Dean on Facebook or Instagram to enter
to win a seat. And there you have it all
right right after the news, we're gonna get going with.
It was this way when we bought it. It's gonna
be a great morning.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from KFI.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Dean Sharp, the house Whisper at your service. You know what,
whether you live in a condo or a cottage like
we do, or a castle like the kind of stuff
we build sometimes, if it's the place that you call home,
it's all the same. I'm here to help you take
it to the next level. We are talking about mistakes
(07:25):
that have been made to your home, abuses that have
been made to your home that you inherited from somebody else,
or maybe you inherited from yourself. Shame on you. But
this phrase that so often is is something repeated to us.
It was this way when we bought it, Dean, don't
(07:46):
judge us. It was this way when we bought it.
Somebody else's mistakes, but how to fix them. Plus, of
course we'll be taking calls today as we do. The
number to reach me eight three three two, Ask Dean
eight three three the new two, ask Dean. Okay, right
at the top of the list, gotta be gotta be
(08:09):
room editions that destroy light and flow in a house.
This is probably undoubtedly most common in older homes. And
by what I mean by older homes are I'm calling
(08:30):
them you know I'm dating myself now, right, but I'm
calling them pre nineteen eighties homes, okay, And I know,
I know nineteen eighties homes are forty years old. Now
I mean older than that, okay, I mean in the
era of the California ranch style home, which is something
that is not just in California but spread all across
(08:53):
the United States, and older homes beyond that mid century
home home. Not so many additions made to mid century
homes because looking forward as they were, they tried to
be as light and bright as possible on day one.
But other styles of home cottages, craftsman homes, sometimes Victorian
(09:17):
homes definitely definitely because of their minimal amount of windows
and natural light coming into those spaces, but mostly the
classic ranch style single story ranch style home are victims
of room editions that ended up being doing more damage
(09:39):
to the house in the opinion of this designer than
they did good. People are looking for more space, they
wanted more square footage, and so they ended up doing
a room edition. So let me start. We're going to
spend a little bit of time on this one because
it's important. Let me start by saying this. This revisits
(09:59):
a topic that I bring up constantly with you, which
is one of the most important pieces of remodel advice
that you'll ever hear, in my opinion, and that's this space.
Space in a home can be measured in two ways.
(10:21):
One are the absolute mathematical numbers of your square footage.
You measure out a room length times width equals the
square footage of that room. Add up all the rooms
in your home together. That's the square footage of your house.
We can measure it, we can calculate it on a
calculator and boom, there it is. That's the space inside
(10:41):
your house, the brute space. But that space has very
very little to do with the sense of spacious ness
that a home can or doesn't have. Okay, space is
a brute mathematic concept. Spaciousness is a subjective, emotional, psychological concept.
(11:08):
That doesn't mean it's not important. In fact, what that
means is it's most important, right because you don't live
by math. You live by your experience of a space.
So we could take let's say, a fifteen hundred square
foot home and chop it up into tiny little bits
and tight corners and weird spaces, and you will walk
(11:28):
into that place and feel constricted from the moment you
step inside the door, like you are in a very
very tight, small, uncomfortable space. We can also take a
fifteen hundred square foot home and free it of those
constricting spatial concerns and create a sense of vista, which
(11:50):
is what you can see and how far you can see,
and flow, which is how smoothly and comfortably you move
from one area to the next. And in doing so
we can transform an ordinary house into something truly extraordinary.
That's the difference between space and spaciousness. That's the difference
(12:13):
between space and vista, space and flow. So spaciousness, vista,
and flow, these are the goals. Okay, now here's the
thing that's not what most people really conceptualize in their
(12:33):
mind when they're thinking about the experience that they want
that they're not having in their home. Most people don't think,
you know what, we just got to rearrange things in here.
We've got to transform what we've got inside the building
envelope in order to create that and that will make
all the difference. Now, no, no, most homeowners don't think that.
(12:53):
Most homeowners think we need more space, but they're really
what they're really experiencing is that they need more spaciousness,
more flow, and better vistas. But what they say to
themselves is we need more space. And then the room
edition comes into play. Now I'm not saying that every
(13:15):
room edition is unnecessary, not at all. But what I
am saying is room additions are expensive and they are
tricky in relationship to the rest of the house, and
that's where we need to go next. So I want
you to hang tight because this is possibly, for those
of you who are even pondering a remodel right at
(13:36):
this moment, maybe possibly the most important thing that you
can hear and consider about this remodel that you're about
to undertake. What exactly are you going to be changing?
Are we adding onto the house or are we rehabbing
what we have and what's the difference.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
You are Home with Dean Sharp, the house whisper, that's me.
We're talking about stuff in your home, or on your home,
or attached to your home that was that way when
you bought it. Stuff that you always kind of apologize for,
especially to designers like myself when you walk us through
the house, inheriting somebody else's mistakes on your house and
(14:23):
how to fix them. We will also in just a
bit be headed to the phones as we do. The
number to reach me eight three to three two. Ask
Dean eight three three the numeral two. Ask Dean. All right,
we are on this first and all important point. Room
editions that destroy light and flow. And I said this
right before the news. The first goal that a homeowner
(14:48):
really needs to consider is not additional space, but rather
what you're really after. And I'm saying this to you
not to argue with you about it, but I'm saying
this to you in order to give you the language
to express what your heart and your mind are really
longing for here, not space. Not just additional square footage.
(15:11):
Additional square footage hastily poorly planned does nothing but drain
your bank account. Okay, The space quote unquote you're looking
for is not necessarily additional square footage, but rather spacious nests, vista,
and flow. These three words I want you to seer
(15:33):
them into your consciousness, especially if you are planning a remodel.
Shortly the reason why. And I'm not against room editions.
I'm not against room editions at all, Okay, but you
gotta understand a room addition is a costly, costly undertaking.
It requires new foundations and new roofing above it, okay,
(15:58):
because you're going outside the envelope of the existing house,
and as such, just know the foundation and the roof
alone is going to take at least a third of
your budget. Boom there it goes sunk into the ground,
end up over your head, by the way, in areas
that you're never going to access, accessibly enjoy on a
(16:21):
daily basis. Okay. So, in other words, sometimes they're absolutely necessary,
but in many cases, I would say, probably for the
typical homeowner, in most cases, you should do everything to
avoid expanding the footprint of your home, especially if you
(16:42):
find you don't need to invest your creativity into reworking
what you got inside the envelope. If at all possible
room additions. A hastily construed room edition can cause all
sorts of problems. We've seen them all. Ceiling height changes,
strange rooflines outside. Quite often because you don't want to
(17:05):
rework the existing home roofline properly, because you don't want
to pay the additional money for that, we end up
with a little flat roof, a little shed roof over
that room edition, which inside the house maybe you can't
tell the difference. Outside the house, you're like, eh, you know,
it's a patio cover essentially over the room edition. Not
(17:27):
the best. It's not the best as opposed to extending
the existing roof out to cover so strange rooflines, flooring
level changes because maybe we're moving out onto what previously
was a patio and maybe you do or don't plan
on bringing that up so that the floor is seamless.
Most importantly, even beyond those issues are the darkening of
(17:53):
the room that we leave behind. So you're like, well,
I've got this family room here and I really needed
to be larger. You feel like you do. It certainly
needs to feel larger, but you just assume, well, push
out the square footage just happens in ranch homes all
the time. So what we do is we push out
a whole nother family room, a much bigger one. And
(18:14):
what have we left behind? What of the old family room?
The old family room used to have exterior windows and
lights streaming into it, and now it's fifteen twenty feet
back buried into the house. It is now centered in
the middle of the house. It's trapped in this dark,
cavy place because it now no longer is anywhere near
(18:37):
the windows. I have seen it a thousand times. Okay,
now again, can it be done right? Yes it can,
But I just I can't underscore enough the importance when
you plan on extending the envelope of the house, it
needs to be planned out meticulously, creatively and carefully. And
(19:01):
here is my standard. Here is the bar that I
hold myself to, that Tina and I hold our designs to,
and that I hold every other design of a room
addition to, when it's said and done, when it's all finished. Okay,
you invite somebody over to your home who has never
(19:23):
been there before, they should not be able to point
out that you've made a room edition, that's the bar.
In other words, they walk around the outside of your house,
they look inside your house, and whatever it is that
you've done to change, to alter, to expand this house,
there should be no response in them like, oh, and
(19:45):
I see you've done a room edition. You know what
that says. It says your room dedition is sticking out
like a sore thumb in a way that seems unnatural
to the existing home. M there you go, Okay, that's
simply the truth of the matter. So if you can
pull off a room edition that doesn't destroy the room
(20:07):
that you're left behind, if you can pull off a
room edition that in no way, shape or form a
hints to anybody who's never seen your house before that
anything has been done. Okay, that they just out this
is the way the house was built on day one, Right,
that's what you want to hear from people, or that's
(20:29):
the response you want to get from people that they
just assumed this is how the house was built. It
looks completely right to me. If you can pull that off,
then you've done the right thing and you've headed in
the right direction. Still though, even then, there You're going
to spend a lot of money to do that, and
the question then is begged, could we reinvest that money
(20:53):
inside the existing envelope? And what changes could be made?
Even if you, you know, you sacrifice a few additional
square feet that you think you've always wanted, can we
get ninety five percent of the way there by reworking
within the existing envelope of the house. More often than not,
(21:14):
Tina and I have discovered throughout the years that the
answer to that question is quite often yes, yes you can.
It's food for thought. Okay, more on this when we
return your Home with Dean Sharp the house whisper.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
All right, back to our topic. It was this way
when we bought it. Mistakes that you have inherited other
people's mistakes when it comes to your home. All right,
I promise I'm wrapping up this one point that I've
spent a good amount of time on because it's so important,
and that is the classic classic room edition that destroys
(21:59):
light and flow. All Right, Dean, we got it, we
got it. We understand you're all for increasing spaciousness, and
flow and vista as opposed to just adding square footage
to a house. Yeah. Absolutely, And I'll tell you this,
if you're working with a designer or an architect who
has just immediately jumped to add square footage because you
(22:21):
told them to, then you got to draw that relationship
into question. I'm serious when I say this, because that's
the tail wagging the dog. An architect a designer should
bring their own views, their own expertise, their own creativity
to the table. They should be the ones telling you, hey, hey, hey,
hey hey, let's pump the brakes for a second. Let's
(22:43):
work with what you've got and see if it's not enough. Okay, That,
in my opinion, is absolutely the conversation that should be
a taking place more often than not, and more often
than not, it is not happening. Okay, So we get it, Dean,
You're all for that. Yeah, I'm all for making your
house beautiful and saving you money. So now what if
(23:06):
you actually have one of these situations in your home
and you have inherited this mistake the room edition that
was just either poorly done I don't mean poorly done
necessarily in terms of craftsmanship. If that's the case, that's
a given that that needs to be worked onne. But
I mean the design, the idea behind the room. Edition right.
(23:26):
Maybe it has darkened a room, maybe it has given
you more space, but you don't know what to do
with that space because it's awkward and weird. Okay, maybe
some of the things that I've discussed have happened. Weird
ceiling changes, weird roof pitches, weird floor levels. Okay, Well,
here's the thing. If somehow that additional square footage is
(23:51):
on some level working for you and you can rework it,
then started dressing those particular problems ceiling heights, weird roofly,
floor level changes, the darkening of the old room, maybe
by adding even more windows and light streaming in from
the new room, Okay, in order so that we can
(24:11):
push some more ambient light into the old room. Come
up with the solutions for those, address the actual problems,
all right, and yeah, maybe you can make it work,
but it may need some reworking. What if it just
doesn't work. What if it just like, well, it's there,
(24:32):
but we've thought about this and we've thought about that,
and there's just no way to fix it. All right,
Listen to what I'm about to say, don't have a
heart attack. If you can't fix it, get rid of it.
I mean it, I mean it. Wait, Dan, the value
of my home is based on its square footage. No, no,
(24:54):
it is not. Ultimately, the value of your home is
based on what your home is, awesome or lame. Okay.
The value of your home on the marketplace is not.
Now maybe the listing value initially, okay, because somebody without
seeing it sight unseen. Oh it's you know, it's a
(25:16):
twenty three hundred square foot home, and if I remove
this room, I'll only have a nineteen hundred square foot home. Okay. Listen,
if you're about to sell your home, then you know
you don't have to go to those extremes. Somebody's gonna
buy it the way it is, and you can list
it based on its square footage. But if selling your
home is not anywhere in your immediate future, know this.
(25:41):
Its value. It's true value is based on how awesome
and amazing that home is. Okay. It's true value is
based on not space but spaciousness. This is when somebody
actually walks in the front door. Okay. And I will
contend to my dying day that if I've got an
(26:03):
eighteen hundred square foot home here, and right across the street,
I've got a twenty two hundred square foot home the
same floor plan, okay, but with a poorly done room edition.
And I have maximized this eighteen hundred square feet and
that is still the mess that it is. It's my
(26:23):
house that you're buying this one over here. Okay. We've
seen it pan out this way, play out this way
time and time again. Every realtor that I've ever had
this conversation with has said, yeah, ultimately, that's the case.
So the value of your home is not based on
its brute square footage. That is a small factor compared
(26:44):
to whether your home works or not. And of course,
if you're living in your forever home, then that element
is off the table and what ultimately matters is whether
your house works for you. So, yes, there is a
time when a house doctor comes along and breaks the
(27:04):
news to you that this thing here, this thing that
you are dragging behind you, it needs to be removed,
period the end. Okay, it's getting in your way. It'd
be better to do without it than to keep on
dealing with the weirdness that it is. Okay, room editions
that destroy light and flow. What's next on the list, Well,
(27:28):
something that's similar to it, a house darkening, patio covers
and severe flooring height transitions throughout your home. But when
we come back from the break, it's time to go
to the phones. Top of the hour, I'm going to
be taking your calls. You are Home with Dean Sharp,
the House Whisperer on KFI. This has been Home with
(27:50):
Dean Sharp, the House whisper. Tune into the live broadcast
on KFI Am six forty every Saturday morning from six
to eight Pacific time and every Sunday morning from nine
to noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the
iHeartRadio app
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