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Building a Home

First Floor Layour Critique PLEASE before finalization

11 years ago

These are our first floor plans for our home that we are about to finalize, but we would love any suggestions or opinions of others before we go ahead and submit them to the township.
I am also going to post our second floor plans (I'm not sure how to post more than one picture in a posting)
If there is anything that is unclear, please feel free to ask. Thanks so much!!!

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Comments (5)

User
11 years ago
Room labels and/or furniture would help us understand how you plan to use the spaces.

What will be in the open space in the kitchen or in the space next to the kitchen?

Squeezing the garage into a corner of the house has created the longest corridor with the most turns I have ever seen in a modern house. Is hiding the garage worth cutting up the house plan?
zone4newby
11 years ago
Sorry, but I find it awkward.

When people come in your front door, their first view will be of the closet.

Your kitchen is big enough to be an eat-in kitchen, but with all the doors, there's no place to put a table, so it's just wasted space.

Do you plan to have a television? Where will you put it?

What is the purpose of the 3/4 bath off the deck? Are you planning to have a pool? I agree with Renovator8 about the hallway.

I think you need to keep working on this.

I do like all the windows in the great room.
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Please critique my plan, first draft
Q
Comments (58)
Ok so I've thought a lot about it and made some changes. I changed the kitchen quite a bit but it cost me a window. The room will have a lot of windows so I think it's ok? I moved the cooktop off the peninsula and put it on the wall, moving the sink to the 12'x4' peninsula. We prep by the sink so it makes sense I guess, we won't have our backs to everything. I'll just have to work a little harder at keeping the sink area clean and clutter free. The stove is now up against the garage wall, will this make venting difficult? Based on a suggestion in the kitchen forum I moved the door to the pantry/laundry room down so that the pantry cupboards are part of the kitchen now and the laundry room is it's own room. I'm not 100% convinced yet but it's growing on me. Since I don't have a window in the kitchen now there's no reason not to have the garage on that side so now the garage entrance is where you all wanted it :) It's a long garage so there's plenty of room at the end for a bench/closet/etc.. or even a bonafide 'mudroom'. And moving the garage allows me to add another window to the dining/office room at the front of the house. Upstairs I made quite a few changes as well, I wasn't really happy with the bathroom situation, the kids bathroom was much bigger than the master bathroom and there was no room for a tub in the master. I've moved things around a lot, one of the bedrooms got a little smaller but both bathrooms are much roomier now. The master closet is also quite big (too big?). I couldn't figure out a way to make the bathrooms bigger without sacrificing the size of one of the rooms but frankly, they're the kids rooms and they don't need a whole lot of room. By moving the master bathroom though I don't have all my plumbing stacked in one corner anymore and it's actually right over the open part of the first floor, will this mean i'll need a bulkhead for the drains or is there a way around that? Well let me know what you think, I always appreciate the feedback! Thanks PS. What is the standard overhang for a kitchen counter bench to comfortable accomodate seating?
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House finally listed- Please critique
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Comments (15)
Sorry so slow checking back in. We're actually house hunting in our new area this week. We found a house we love and are putting in an offer tonight. The house has 4 finished levels a basement, first floor, 2nd floor, and finished attic. The dormers are real. The attic is a huge selling point. Very rare for this price point, actually rare in general. It has a large bedroom and full bath up there. The basement has a finished room and a powder room. It's not a tri-level, so the wording bothers me too. I would certainly have written the description differently, but I'm not going to nitpick...yet. I'll wait until we get back home ;-) The house is brick front and to grade. That's standard for this price point. Four sides brick is usually well over 400K. The Blue room is the formal living room area, but we use it as a music room. There's a upright piano and DH's guitars. It looks empty to my eye, so we could rent a sofa if it's a problem. I'm also not opposed to painting it. The basement is a bright red too. It would take 2-3 days to paint them. Think it's worth stopping showings for a few days? No open house until the May 18th. Agents don't do them on Mother's day weekend. We're supposed to have several viewings this weekend, so people are still looking. I am so TKO! I spent way too much of my life on this site. This actually our 2nd TKO kitchen. The potential new house has a gorgeous 99% perfect kitchen. I do get to obsess over backsplash tile. Wish us good luck and I'm going to talk to the Realtor about making some changes.
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Is this the final layour?
Q
Comments (23)
Oh I would love to have a greenhouse off my kitchen! Unfortunately there is no where to attach it! I think your plan is just perfect with the greenhouse off of one side and a porch on the other! I do love the look of a table in the kitchen, but the island will be very practical and give me more storage and work space. I am just trying to get the periphery cabinets in and then will add an island later. I am doing all drawers except for garbage pull out and sink base. Am going to redraw entire kitchen with details and changes and see how that looks. I need to come up with a hood design. I don't need a vent there since I have a direct vent out the back of the stove. Do you think I should do open shelves here too or is that getting too many open shelves? Below is a picture of our fireplace in the family room which is open to the kitchen. Do you think I can do something a little different in the kitchen? Perhaps a "shaped" hood or something with a slight arch. All my lines are square so am wondering if I should add some gentle arches or curves or cutwork somewhere or is that taking away from the look? Also thinking of making drop down counter wood instead of painted along with island and hutch cabinet. Don't know if I would like the mix of wood and paint together though.
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Critique before I go to architect please
Q
Comments (67)
Personally -- I really like the half wall. If you also really like it, it shouldn't be a big deal. Having extra space to place things against (in my own case, lots of books) can be helpful. I also don't like "floating furniture", or rolling walls (sounds so temporary!) or the like. Your second design works better than the original, although I'm wondering if that peninsula is a bit overpowering. Maybe have it approach from the right rather than the left? Or, better yet, try an island? If a lot of people hang out in your kitchen, having access on either side of an island would probably help traffic flow. I do like the master in the back -- but a lot will depend on your preferred morning light. (I made sure mine won't face east, for instance -- I'll be retired and won't have to wake with the chickens...)
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mydreamhome
11 years ago
Agree with Renovator8 & zone4newby's comments above. Room dimensions are also a must --including clearances for hallways and between counters in the kitchen area also very helpful. I think you still have a ways to go, but its a great start!
User
11 years ago
It is an amateur mistake to put the garage inside the shell of the house and force the other spaces to wrap around it.

It takes years of design experience to understand how to prioritize the design issues in a building. For a house it is not the garage unless you are on a narrow urban lot.

Cars are ancillary to our lives not the focus. Pull the garage away from the house and let the living spaces and your desired lifestyle dictate the design form. Frankly any house design from the internet would be an improvement.
User
11 years ago
Here is what you said earlier:
"We are paying this draftsman because he is MUCH less expensive than an artichitect, but we aren't getting the results and advice we were hoping for. We feel like we are telling him what to do instead of vice versa. we will look into a home design firm in our area to see if they can help."

"Just a quick update, but after thinking about all the comments, we have scheduled an appointment with an architect this week. This is way too much money to be spending on a house and to risk making mistakes. We've realized the money spent an architect is worth it to get the house we want. Thanks for helping us come to that realization."

So why didn't the design get any better and why are the drawings so poorly drawn?

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