Family Room Additions Where People Actually Gather

The room most houses are missing

Older houses often have a formal living room at the front and a small den or basement space everywhere else. Families end up crowded into the kitchen because it is where everything happens. A family room addition gives that gathering a proper home: room for a sectional, a table for games, a play area, and a view of the yard.

Connecting it to the kitchen

The most successful family room additions sit beside the kitchen, often joined by a wide opening so the cook is part of the room. That usually means removing part of an exterior wall, which requires a correctly sized beam. It is also a chance to fix circulation: moving a back door, relocating a table, or adding a path to the patio that does not cut through the kitchen work zone.

If the kitchen itself is cramped, consider planning both at once. See kitchen additions.

Light, ceilings and windows

This is the room where volume and light pay off. A few decisions shape how it feels:

• CeilingA vaulted or raised ceiling can make the room feel generous, but it has to work with the roof and the existing ceiling heights.
• WindowsLarge windows and patio doors connect to the yard; their size and placement should still relate to the original house.
• SunWest-facing glass brings evening heat in summer. Overhangs, window selection and shading matter.
• Walls for furnitureA room that is all windows and doors has nowhere for the sofa, the TV or shelves. Plan solid wall too.

The roofline from the yard

Family rooms usually face the backyard, which is where you and your neighbors see them most. A flat-roofed box or a roof pitch that fights the original is hard to unsee. We look at extending the existing roof plane, using a gable that matches the house, or a lower shed roof where that looks intentional. Our guide to addition rooflines shows the common options.

Comfort through the seasons

Big, bright rooms can be the hardest in the house to keep comfortable. Utah's cold winters and hot summers make insulation, window performance and the heating and cooling plan important. The existing furnace and air conditioner may have enough capacity, may need upgrading, or the room may be better served by its own zone. A fireplace, if you want one, is simpler to add during construction.

Floors and finishes that carry through

The opening into the family room is where a mismatch shows. Matching the existing floor height avoids a step. Continuing the flooring, or choosing a clear transition, plus matching trim, doors and paint keep the new room feeling original. See matching an addition to the existing home.

What shapes the cost

Family rooms have fewer plumbing and cabinetry costs than kitchens or bathrooms, so their cost tends to follow size, foundation, roof design, window and door selections, the structural opening into the house, and heating and cooling changes. The room addition cost guide and home addition cost guide cover the details.

Family room additions are a type of room addition. We build them for homes in Bountiful and across Davis County.

Family room questions