At six on a Tuesday, the family could come in from the unpaved walk with bags and coats, then move between the kitchen and family room without losing sight of one another. In the house as it stands, the uncovered deck offers no defined landing, and the compact two-level plan gives the evening little room to absorb arrivals, cooking and conversation at once. This is Amy’s project for the home on Pasquale Road in Cascade Shores, Nevada City: make the main level work as one connected place to cook, eat and be together, while keeping the A-frame’s character and giving the lower level its own quieter role.
The A-frame opening, not an erased roofline
The house is a 1971 A-frame with wood siding, a steep composition-shingle roof and two stories. Redfin’s record of 218 single-family closings in Nevada City shows that 44% were built before 1980, but that area-wide pattern cannot tell us which partition in this particular A-frame carries load. It is a reason not to treat a broad opening as a cosmetic change. We would keep the roof shape intact and create a measured connection between the main-level kitchen and family room, with the framing checked before the opening is set. If that partition carries roof or floor load, a beam or flush header may be needed; a beam can remain visible, while a flush header could preserve a flatter ceiling line but may require more work above. The exact support and ceiling finish depend on what the framing reveals.
The record places a kitchen, family room and full bath on the main level, and also lists a lower-level family room, kitchen and full bath. I would make the main-level kitchen and family room the everyday shared space, rather than trying to turn both floors into one oversized room. The lower family room can remain a separate place for a second TV, quieter play or homework. That distinction gives the family options when one person is cooking and another wants less noise.
A kitchen island without a cooktop
The existing kitchen has laminate counters and a built-in electric range. We would replace the counters with a durable, softly grained light stone-look surface and use a compact island for prep, a place to set groceries, and a couple of stools. I would keep the range at the perimeter rather than put it in the island. That keeps the main work surface open and avoids making the island depend on a large overhead hood in the middle of the shared room. The hood would exhaust outdoors by the shortest workable route, with its size and makeup-air needs established from the selected appliance and the actual duct path, not guessed at from the room plan.
The record describes the electrical service only as “Other,” so it does not establish capacity for an induction range or a second oven. Before choosing either, an electrician would check the service and the existing range circuit, then determine whether a dedicated 240-volt circuit can be added. I would plan around one well-equipped cooking station, not promise a second oven before that check. Keeping the sink near the kitchen’s existing drain also avoids making a new island drain the centerpiece of the remodel; the foundation type and the route below the floor need to be confirmed before plumbing is moved.
Carpet, light and the evening landing
Carpet is listed as the flooring, while the kitchen has a different counter finish. Across the opened main level, we would replace the carpet with one continuous, matte-finish engineered oak floor in a natural, pale tone. That would visually join the kitchen and family room without competing with the exposed timber and wooded outlook. The floor levels and subfloor need to be checked before ordering so the new surface meets adjoining rooms cleanly; if they differ, the transition should be resolved at the doorway rather than disguised with a raised strip through the main gathering space.
There is no cooling listed, and the house is heated by propane, a propane stove and electric heat. Once the kitchen and family room function as one volume, we would have the heating distribution assessed across that larger space and consider a properly sized heat-pump system for cooling, rather than assume the existing sources will keep every corner comfortable. The lighting would work in layers: warm recessed or low-profile ceiling light for general use, pendants over the island, and task light at the counters. Dimmers would let the family shift from homework brightness to a calmer dinner setting. The sink view should remain toward the family room, so washing up need not mean turning away from everyone else.
The house has no garage, a leased propane tank, public water and a septic system. Those facts argue for keeping the plan compact: no garage conversion, no assumption that a new appliance can be added without checking electrical capacity, and no unnecessary relocation of the kitchen plumbing. At six after the work, bags could land at a defined entry spot, dinner could be prepared on the island while someone works at the table, and the lower family room could hold the louder screen time. If this is the kind of house you want to make work better for your family, get in touch with Amy to talk through the plan.
