Creating a Private Primary Suite Above the Garage

In a busy summer home, having enough bedrooms isn’t always the problem, it’s having the right bedrooms in the right places.

For these homeowners, the existing first-floor primary bedroom was located directly in the middle of the home’s main gathering spaces, adjacent to the kitchen and living room. As adult children, family, and guests filled the house during the summer months, heading to bed often meant trying to sleep while everyone else was still talking, cooking, and enjoying the evening.

The solution was to move the primary suite away from the day-to-day activity of the house and create an entirely new private retreat above the garage.

Building Up and Out

Creating usable second-floor living space required significantly more than simply finishing the area above the existing garage. The existing roof structure was removed and rebuilt to provide the height, floor area, and configuration needed for a comfortable new suite.

The project also required reconfiguring and expanding portions of the first floor. By adding space at the garage level, we were able to create the footprint and structural support necessary to build the new second floor above it.

A True Primary Suite

The completed second floor now includes a spacious primary bedroom, a full ensuite bathroom, and separate his-and-hers closets. The new layout gives the homeowners a dedicated area of the house that feels removed from the activity downstairs while remaining connected to the rest of the home.

Just as importantly, relocating the primary bedroom changed the way the entire family can use the house.

Now, when the homeowners are ready to turn in for the night, their adult children and guests don’t have to follow. The kitchen and living areas can remain the center of conversation, games, late-night snacks, and summer gatherings without disturbing the homeowners upstairs.

It’s an addition that created more square footage that allows multiple generations to comfortably enjoy the home together, but there was one section of the main home that we gave some attention to as well. The homeowners always found the living room to be too dark, so we added a couple of windows and shifted the flooring to match the hardwood flooring throughout the rest of the home.