Single-Room Addition Opportunities

One-Room Design Challenges

One-room additions pose certain design challenges that need to be addressed before you firm up plans. First, it's easy to miscalculate the amount of floor space you'll actually need and end up with a room that's either inconveniently cramped or uncomfortably barnlike. For best results when planning house additions, sketch a furniture arrangement to scale on graph paper, then add traffic lanes where you think you'll need them. Be sure to allow for door swings (including those on cabinets or appliances), space to push back chairs from desks or tables, and special spots for holiday-related displays or activities. Draw walls around what you've sketched, and then calculate the square footage they enclose. Next, make sure the new room addition will be properly heated and cooled. Maintaining comfortable temperatures is more difficult in a room with three exterior walls than in a room with one or two, especially if you live in a four-season climate and want lots of windows in the new space. If you're adding a modest-size room (10x12 feet), your current heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system can probably handle the extra load. For larger spaces, consider installing extra ducts, a heat-circulating fireplace, or an additional small HVAC unit.