please give input floor plan

10 years ago

floorplan

Tell me your input seriously, thanks!
We have bought 50 +acres in country- no neighbors.
The best view is on a north facing slope- unfortunately.

ranch plan:
the view from home is facing north west- the rear of home faces woods- we will clear all pines so we can allow more light. Do you know how hard it is to find a floor plan that doesn't contain ALL the social parts of the home in the back??!

I desire a view from kitchen into both back and front. Husband wants WIDE open feel hence the open spaces in front. the kitchen is open to view front of home- it has 2 columns on raised bar and the rest is open.

My concern- I feel master closet space is big- husband likes - go figure right?!
I feel the living room may not be deep enough? I don't want to add on square feet yet could. When I visualize furniture in the space, it seems tight around the raised bar? Opinion- advice?
Husband LIKES the front entry where it is- if kept I will place some sort of bench or table�to right of door for entry�..thoughts? I thought of switching music area and front entry to make a more dedicated entry- husband doesn't want to cut any open feel�..
Kitchen seems like not enough upper cabinets- due to the peninsula and breaks in wall for hall (and I may try and make Pantry open into kitchen) but I am not sure what to do.
I really like the breakfast nook idea- but I don't know anymore- tired�..need help!

I am homeschooling 3 and my husband does a bit of work at home so the "sitting" room is his office. the "study" will be play/homeschool room/future in law room- we have 2 sets of aging parents�.we are thinking of roughing in the plumbing to the "study" and placing fixtures if need be�.

I cook EVERY meal from scratch due to multiple food allergies- so the pantry will help in that regard- to store mixes, and to decrease trips to the store��.hopefully��I would like to walk in the pantry FROM the kitchen but am

the music area will have a baby grand piano and we are planning on adding bookshelves�

anyway, there you have it- come beat me up�..somewhat nicely though?! :)

thanks

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Comments (4)

mrspete
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The picture's small, so I'm having trouble deciphering some things.

First thing I notice is that you're wasting your prime Southern exposure on the garage.

I like the kitchen layout, though I think the island needs to be turned the other direction; it should lie parallel to the longest cabinet run. I'd probably move the sink to the longest cabinet run and keep the island completely free for prep work -- that suits the way I cook, and sinks in islands are tricky and expensive. The pantry is well-placed and convenient to the garage. I like that you have two entrances to the laundry.

I agree that you're going to be skimpy on upper cabinets. Could you make the pillar /column to the far left of the island into a tall, skinny store-dishes-here cabinet? Perhaps with glass-front, brought all the way down to the countertop -- more of a tower than an upper. It would make your dishes convenient both to the dishwasher and the dining area.

How wide is the hallway from the garage to the kitchen? That's a major thoroughfare, and I wouldn't skimp on its width.

I share your concern about the living room being a little narrow -- not much though: Just another couple feet would make it comfortable. And, at the same time, I think the dining room might be overly wide -- unless your table is round.

In our old house, we had a living room and dining room that "backed up to one another" like your plan -- and one thing I LOVED was that in the spring and summer we'd open the windows on each side, and we'd get the most wonderful breezes through the house.

I think the placement of the fireplace is awkward. I can't imagine how the furniture will be placed.

The kids' bathroom with the double-sinks -- the vanity is no way big enough to support two sinks. It's not generously sized for one sink.

Could that bathroom be flip-flopped with the closet so it could have natural light? If you can, work in two doors from the two bedrooms; you have the half bath, so you don't need hallway access.

Your plumbing is strung out all over the house, which is expensive to build . . . and is a maintenance issue later.

I don't like the entryway. I think it's going to feel . . . odd. Too open. No definition. It's like you'd walk into the house, and you're suddenly too exposed. You don't have any "welcoming" room before you're thrown into the house. I'm not putting my finger on the real reason -- those are kind of approximations.

Is the music area the spot next to the entrance -- the spot with the bay window? If so, wouldn't you want some acoustical privacy for a music room? You mentioned bookshelves. In this area, I'd consider a half-high bookshelf that would 1) divide the entryway from the music area and 2) provide space for music books and other storage.

Is that a skylight or an island in the master closet? If it's a skylight, you're good; however, if it's an island, I don't think it's big enough -- to support an island, a closet would have to be at least 12' wide. Think it through: 2' on each side for clothes, 3' walk ways on each side of the island, 2' for the island itself. And that's minimum -- not a lovely wide area like the magazines show.
dekeoboe
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I can't find the front door! Maybe I am just tired.
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Congratulations! It looks like a neat house. fwiw, we added an upstairs master suite at our last house (added partial 2nd story to ranch house). That left our 3 children downstairs. They were 1st, 3rd and 5th at that time, and all in college when we moved. With monitors and house alarms, we didn't worry about them and had no issues. If someone was sick, I could easily stay downstairs if needed. The main level laundry room sure is tiny. I would located the main w/d in a MBR closet. If you want one close to the kitchen, you could do a small stack unit (although I would skip this). I hope you will do an unfitted kitchen. It would look great in your farmhouse. If you leave out the 2nd coat closet at entry (right of front door) and that wall area, then the space with the piano will be more open going to the bedroom area - won't feel like you're having to wind through the LR to get there (as someone posted above), which will really limit furniture placement in the LR. The bathroom that is shared by the 2 bedrooms, the other bedroom will really hear/be bothered by the other person using the shower/etc. What about the tub/shower in the center and each bedroom having a sink/toilet room next to their room?
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I think the plan is really strong. The thinness of the sections gets you light from multiple sides of a room and deep into the room. You might get some of the corridors to do double duty by lining with built-ins. Are you sure you need the stair from the master? How old would the kids be when you move in? Could the youngest be right at the top of the main stair? Good call on not letting the 5-10 minutes per week of carrying in groceries drive your entire plan by parking your cars 3 feet from your fridge. The spacing of the porch columns is in some places inconsistent, and quite wide given the spanning beams aren't that deep. A prior suggestion of board and batten on the barn sounds nice, clapboard everywhere else. Some thoughts on the front elevation. You're on a big farm and if the intent is a farmhouse that has grown over time, then the main (front/head) house might be more consistent with this approach if it were conceived as three connected boxes with gable roofs. If you look at your 3d view, this is how it looks from the back. This would require losing the twin front facing gables and some jogs (which as nice as the plan is, the inset front entry doesn't look to be essential). If you did this, it could be nice if the largest part with the main entry could be all stone, as the "original" house in the narrative. The rest as clapboard additions. As it is now, the front elevation although ok on it's own doesn't have much in common with the rest of the ensemble and is clearly the newest part. Just depends on your intent. Good luck. This post was edited by dadereni on Sun, May 12, 13 at 13:14
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If stairs go down to the basement, what ceiling height are you planning for the basement? And what size (thickness will floor joists be? Also, will there be any other access to the basement to allow you to bring any necessary furniture to the basement without going down those stairs? Since stairs going down into a basement are not typically used as a focal point feature, do you really want to have the top of the stairs open up into the front foyer? It might make more sense (space usage wise) to have a door going down to the basement located in the great room. That way your staircase would only need one L-turn landing near the bottom of the stairs. A landing for an L-turn on a 3 ft wide stair case takes up a 3x3 space. Straight run staircases uses available space most efficiently. Either way, I think you're still going to have an uncomfortably steep staircase but you can probably build one within code IF your floor to floor measurement between basement and first floor is no more than 9 ft. Second issue: Although I totally understand the increased sense of privacy gained by having the twisty hall way leading to the master bedroom, have you consider how difficult that is going to make the process of moving furniture into the bedroom? Issue 3: Is that meant to be a fireplace on the right hand great room wall? If so, it looks like the allocated space is only about 24 to 30 inches. That is not enough for even a very small fire place. Do some research on "firebox" dimensions and then keep in mind that you also have to provide enough space around the firebox for fireproof insulation. You simply can't put wood framing right up next to a firebox... not even a gas fireplace. I suspect that once you widen that space to accommodate the size fireplace you want, you're not going to be happy with what that does to your master bath and master closet. Speaking of masterbath, those two vanity sinks are scrunched awfully close together. Most people want a double-sink vanity to be about 72 inches wide. Otherwise if two people are trying to get ready at the same time, they are constantly bumping elbows. Plus, with a narrower space, there is no room to set down hair curlers, make up, electric toothbrush, electric razor, etc. Finally, I think you mentioned early on that you wanted an "accessible" design. If by that you mean you want at least one bathroom to be wheelchair accessible, then you need to rethink at least one of your bathrooms. None of your bathrooms, as currently designed, is at all accessible. An accessible bathroom has to provide enough free floor space for a wheelchair to turn completely around. That typically means 5 ft diameter circle of free floor space at a minimum. You also have to make sure that there is room enough next to the toilet to park a wheel chair while the occupant transfers him/herself to the toilet and room in front of the vanity for the wheel chair to roll in under the sink allowing the occupant to wash his/her hands while seated in the wheelchair. If you're serious about making the house accessible, while you're doing research, you might want to read up on accessibility design a bit.
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robyn9804
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mrs Pete- THANK you for your input- I am very grateful indeed….you have helped me make changes to the bedrooms so that the bathroom has natural light and the double sinks are the appropriate length….
I looked at the building site again and actually the south side of the house is directly to the back side of the home so the garage in reality is west facing….
My main issue right now is the way the kitchen is coming together….I really wish the pantry was accessible to the kitchen so I could walk directly into it….
I don't know how to get a "foyer" into the front of the house without losing the view- my DH is insistent that the front of the house is OPEN…..if ANYONE has new ideas I will gladly take them :)

Dekeoboe- you are not too tired :) the front door is IN the front of the house- its an OPEN foyer- DH wants to it to be open…any suggestions…..
I have toyed with making the entrance to the side of porch? Or adding some square feet /depth to the entry way to make it a little more dedicated foyer- frustrated by this….advice!

Thank you to anyone who wants to add their two cents!
jim_1 (Zone 5B)
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If you indicated where you are building this home, I missed it. If it is in zone 7 or colder, you might need to have a closet for guest's coats and to store some of you own.

Do not be afraid to have skylights in the breakfast nook and kitchen, that natural light will help open it up. Also the garage, that extra bit of light will keep it from being dark and dreary.

Steps to a basement? Or what?

Try to figure out your furniture spacing by creating a large grid. Cut out paper to scale for all of your furniture (and piano) and move them around to determine whether sizes and placements will really work.

As you consider all the options, don't forget your landscaping near the front door/porch. What kind and how big will make a difference. Remember that your guests will see that before they enter the front door. Also, if your spouse wants that open feel, a consideration needs to be in place for whatevers.

Jim

please give input floor plan

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mrspete

dekeoboe

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please give input floor plan

Comments (4)

mrspete

dekeoboe

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jim_1 (Zone 5B)

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