would love feedback on this plan please!

13 years ago

a couple weeks ago I posted the plan my designer drew up. Well, I had my meeting with him again this week and the plan below is what I came up with. I'm wanting to merge my plan with the left side of the Visbeen plan below (with the stairs leading up to the master & study, then having a room under that space which would be halfway between the basement and the above room - kinda like a tri-level type thing - does this make sense?)

So what do you think of this plan? I'd love some feedback. It's been a huge challenge finding a plan that doesn't have the great room in the middle. I'm using this dining room just as extra space as we won't really ever use it, but will be nice to have a big table for those few occasions that we would need it. I'm thinking built-ins on either side with a big transom over the door way entering the room. Then french doors exiting to the covered porch area in the back.

There is a half-wall separating the family room & kitchen with steps going down on either side. I'm envisioning a small built in banquette on the kitchen side of that wall.

I'm not sure whether to place the door to the screen porch in the family room area or in the hall/kitchen area. What do you think? The back hallway is just a quick mock up. It's currently about 2700sq ft and we haven't even added the 2nd story yet (we're shooting for 3000ish!) So I know it's too big, but these are just some ideas.

then the exterior would be similar to the visbeen ext. what do you think?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated it. TIA!

christy :)

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Comments (16)

dekeoboe
13 years ago
Will there only be the one staircase that leads to the upstairs? It looks like it goes up to what would be a bonus room rather than the additional bedrooms.
laurensmom21
Original Author
13 years ago
no, I plan on using a staircase similar to the one in the visbeen plan (I just didn't draw it into my plan) but it would be in a similar location to theirs there on the left hand side, with a few steps leading up to the master & study and then more steps leading up to the upstairs. Does that make sense?

and yes, the other stairs will lead up to the bonus room above the garage. Thanks!
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All of your inswing toilet room doors should be changed for safety, but esp in bd 1, where you can clearly see you'll have to stand atop the toilet to close the door. Outswing or pocket is the way to go. I still don't understand your back hall. Is there a reason to have 2 doors going to the outside within 5 feet there that I just don't know? I think I'd rather salvage that little space between the garage and the backhall (where a door enters the hall by the bathroom) and recover it as bathroom space or more mudroom, or more office. As it is, it just seems weird (and like a potential wind alley) to have 2 doors to the exterior right there. Has your architect maybe drawn in 2 DW? There appears to be another Dw to the right of the sink. Bedroom 2's closet, without dimentions, but just estimating, doesn't appear to function the way the "clothes" are drawn in, and I expect will function much smaller than as large as it appears. The back left corner will be dead space/difficult to get things into/out of. I'd rather have that corner occupied by the "s" in the bathroom than the front corner to keep things more accessible. (what is the "s"?) I like the feature of the seating area with railing on the front side, but do you think you'll use it? Right now, it kind of reads as wasted space and creates a really awkward entrance to bedroom 3 because of the limitation to keep the hallway to get to it. Just a thought. Finally, I think bedroom 3's entrance is very awkward. I think I'd try to rearrange the MB bath and closet spaces so that bedroom 3 has a nicer and more separated (from sound of MBath) bedroom and entrance. If you have a separated WC, you may not need to enter the closet from the bedroom, for example. And, that would open up some possibilities for a better arrangement of that mid-space between Bd 1 and 3.
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lafdr
13 years ago
I love the elevations! Overall both plans have nice features. I think the dining room is wasted space in the first version. Do you want guests walking in the front door and looking across a dining room table to see out back? I would prefer a view through a living room. (That may be because my table collects things) But that is personal preference. I also personally prefer one eating area plus stools at a kitchen counter. So I prefer the single dining room table of the second plan, that is actually used regularly. A concern with both plans is the path that would need to be taken to get from the master bed to the toilet in the middle of the night. I would prefer the toilet closer without turns and obstacles. Overall, I like the second plan, with a better mudroom and better toilet access from the master. And the separate study from the master of the first plan. (for versatility and resale an actual separate room is good otherwise it can become just a fancy hallway) Not sure of North orientation, I prefer bedrooms and kitchens to the east for morning sun if possible. It will be a beautiful home, that is very visible in the drawings. I dont mean to sound critical, just my 2cents. Keep tweaking til it feels perfect, and even then you will second guess yourself.
laurensmom21
Original Author
13 years ago
lafdr, thanks for your input. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I do like the visbeen plan's dining/kitchen area, but I really wanted my living room bumped off the back with at least 2 walls of windows which the visbeen plan doesn't have. SO that's why I drew my plan the way it is.

It doesn't really bother me that people will see the dining table when they first walk in. I plan on keeping it clean (wishful thinking!) and it will be more of a walk through space. I could put another living room there, but really I was trying to save on sq ft so I need that space to be as small as possible. We really didn't want the great room/living area in the middle of the house and we don't need 2 great rooms.

I do agree with you on the toilet area. I will have to consider that. I do prefer the kitchen on the east myself, but due to my hubby wanting the garage on the right hand side, we needed to keep the kitchen close to that - so thus this was what we came up with.

thanks again! Anyone else care to chime in?
pps7
13 years ago
I think the floor plan creates a complicated foundation and roofline. This will make it expensive-which is fine as long as you realize that.

I like features of both floorplans. I prefer the general master layout of the first plan, but for the rest of the house, I prefer the layout of the second plan.

For the master, you have alot of pocket doors, but remember you cannot put on electrical on those wall- so no outlets, or switches. Not loving the way the 2 vanities are back to back right by the door. There aren't any windows drawn in the master.

Not loving the laundry/office/mudroom area layout in the first plan. There's plenty of place, but the half bath opens to evrything and is a little too exposed. There's that corner of wasted space with the sliding door to the screened porch. I don't think you need the sliding door and the door from the living room.
Kate @ The-Hall-Way
13 years ago
It sounds like you are looking for similar plans to us. My biggest complaint about our current house is that when you walk in the front door, you're pretty much in the family room. I've spent the past few years looking for plans where the main living area isn't visible from the front door. I'm also not crazy about having 2 living and dining rooms. I also love Visbeen plans but have never been able to find one that wouldn't require a lot of changes - the master on main being the big one. Anyway, over the past year, I've been able to find a few plans that are actually what I was looking for all along and they may be helpful to you. The sizes and styles are all over the place, but I figure they could at least be used as starting points.

Here is the plan I am hoping to use - or at least a variation of it. Regardless of the plan, it will end up being something of a craftsman style. On a personal note, our plan requirements are a master and study on the main level, a mud room, a nice covered back porch and somewhere for my grand piano. The formal dining room in the plan below will be used for my grand piano and maybe a couple chairs. I think it will make a nice view when you walk in the front door. I love that you can't see the main living area unless you walk into the house and go around the corner. This plan, as is, is huge, so we will likely have to cut down the square footage in places. I cannot find this plan on the designer's website anymore, so here is the pdf on a builder's website.

http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Gourdon%20PDF%20page%201.pdf

Here are a couple more I also like by the same designer:

http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Wauwinet%20PDF.pdf

http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Deauville%20PDF%20page%202.pdf

http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Chilmark%20PDF.pdf

Here are a few more plans I found before I found the ones above.

http://www.buildingplans.com/catalog.php?action=124&item_id=27125

http://richardlewisdesign.com/img/pdf/3894_Maxey.pdf

http://details.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=chp-46980&FoundID=129&sid=chp2&ordercode=C101

http://www.eplans.com/neoclassical_house-plans/HWEPL14591.hwx
http://www.globalhouseplans.com/2916-square-feet-4-bedroom-3.5-bathroom-Craftsman-home-plans-2-garage-(30366)
http://www.amazingplans.com/catalog.php?action=124&item_id=17330
Kate @ The-Hall-Way
13 years ago
Just realized that PDF was missing the other page. Here is page 2:

http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Gourdon%20PDF%20page%202.pdf

And here are the link for the other page of the Deauville plan:
http://www.wingfootbuildinggroup.com/pdfs/Deauville%20PDF%20page%201.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: House Plan
laurensmom21
Original Author
13 years ago
pps7, do you think it will be a complicated foundation/roof because of all the corners or what would your reason be? Dh has already told me to be mindful of corners, but it's hard to do when I want so many windows...

Great point about the electrical w/ pocket doors. I never even thought of that! I will definitely give that some thought - thanks. And yes, I wasn't planning on keeping both access doors to the screen porch. I just am not sure which one I prefer. Do you have a preference? I'm leaning toward the one not in the living room. Then having built -ins along that wall space for various things that will be used (sunscreen, linens, toys, etc...)

Here is the inspiration pic I used for the master bath...

khall10, wow - thanks so much for all the great links! I haven't made it through all of them yet, but I really like those plans on the wingfootbuiling's site. It's given me even more ideas to ponder - could be a blessing or a curse, ha! Right now, I just need to make some decisions and stick to them. hard to do, I know...

thanks very much!
aokat15
13 years ago
Is it possible to make your master bath entrance wider? I think the reason the inspiration bath works with the vanities where they are as that they appear to be 5 feet apart with a double pocket door.
athensmomof3
13 years ago
I had the same thoughts as pp7 - looks expensive! That may not be an issue but just wanted you to realize that. . . Even if you have a very healthy budget, it is something to consider. My thoughts were - the more expensive the roof and foundation are, the less I can spend on cabinets and countertops :). Yes, all the bump outs make for not only corners but more complex roof lines (more expensive to build and more likely to leak) to cover all the bump outs. Also, the offset garage will cost a good bit more than it would if you straightened it out. The plan also seems to have a lot of hallway space, which expands square footage and adds cost. Obviously hallways are necessary some places, but keeping them to a minimum definitely helps.

There also seems to be a lot of square footage on the first floor. This is often unavoidable (we have the same issue because we wanted a master on main and we also have two staircases and a large back hall) - however, if you can fit everything in in a smaller footprint (or even eliminate the back stairs and connect to the bonus room from the rest of the upstairs) it would help. Our back stairs go to the bonus room but also serve the whole upstairs and go down to the basement. The reasoning was that we wanted our boys friends to use the side entry and back stairs rather than tromping through the entire house and entrance hall to get there. . . You may have a similar reasoning, but I will tell you that decision, however well reasoned, made our house more expensive by quite a bit (cost of the stairs, expanding the footprint to fit the stairs, etc.).

Getting a builder on board at this point (even if you have to pay him a consulting fee) would likely save you a lot of money. We didn't do this and made decisions based on our needs that did not take into account the costs.
dekeoboe
13 years ago
Is the screen porch at the same level as the family room or the hall/kitchen? One of the things driving up the cost of this house is all the different levels and partial levels you have.

Are you having a basement as shown in the elevation? I don't know how your are going to stay around 3000 sq ft if you have 2700 sq ft on the main floor and still have to add a second floor and basement. Look at the elevations of the houses you like. How is the square footage distributed amongst the floors? If they are all similar, you will need keep that in mind when making your plan.
laurensmom21
Original Author
13 years ago
thanks everyone for your feedback - it's really great to come on here and get different ideas that I would never have thought of.

aokat15 - that's a great idea - I never realized that the inspiration photo had double pocket doors. I'll definitely look into trying to widen that space some.

athensmomof3, thanks for your great advice. We definitely do not have a huge budget (we're shooting for $300k) but we're also self contracting/building. So we hope to save a chunk of change with sweat equity. So my dh is the builder. We built our current home, but it's definitely not nearly as complicated (simple 3 bd ranch).

I'm torn because I love the shingle style homes with different elevations and interesting roof lines, but I do realize I will have to compromise on some things to keep it in budget. I was originally wanting the back stairs to go up to the garage space for my art studio/mom cave (thus I didn't want the kids to have access to that area from their space upstairs, but that may be something I'll have to nix due to budget. Everything is with my designer right now, so hopefully he'll be able to fit everything together and keep it around 3000ish sq ft.

dekeoboe, thanks for your input too. That's a good point about the screen porch. I'm not sure which level it will be on. I'll have to see what my designer comes up with. It's in his hands right now. Yes, we are having a basement, but not a walk out basement. And I do realize I'm way over on sq ft. I'm definitely going to have to scale the back hallway down and probably reduce some other ares, but I just wanted to get some feedback on basic room layouts.

thanks again for all the great comments!
athensmomof3
13 years ago
I would definitely get a builder involved at this stage. I googled Visbeen and there are several similar plans on the market (multi-level and half levels, etc.). Both were over 800,000 cost to build not including the land. Just FYI. I can't imagine that can be built for 300k, based on our experience with a similar long, 2750 on ground floor plan.

We have found that designers/architects really don't know and that a builder can make suggestions that you may be perfectly happy with and save you a ton of money. . .
obmezd
12 years ago
This house is beautiful. The exterior is pretty much my dream home :)
chisue
12 years ago
I can't imagine where you'd build this for $100/sq ft. Before you agonize over plans, talk to a builder. Where is your lot?

BTW, picture yourself standing IN that tub to reach the shelving, shutters, window. Dangerous.
laurensmom21
Original Author
12 years ago
thanks again for all the great input.

athensmomof3, can you direct me to the link of the visbeen homes you saw for sale? I was only able to locate several of his homes for sale, and both were in your price range but included 7-10 acres, outbuildings, and more. Please understand, I'm not trying to build this exact floorplan yet - I'm just trying to get some input on room placements, etc. I do realize that my drawing is way too big to fit within our 3000ish sqft target goal.

Thanks obmezd! I do agree and love the xterior. Visbeen does such a great job on his exteriors (I think it helps that he's such a talented artist and also has a wonderful watercolorist on staff to bring his drawings to life.) It's much easier for me to envision his sketches than some of the 2d computer drawings from my designer...

chisue, we are located in central IL and already have the land payed for. My dh is acting as the gc & builder. So that is how we're hoping to save a huge chunk of change. He is able to do most of the finish work himself (siding, flooring, cabinets, painting, trimwork, fixture installation,etc.) We built our current home for around $70/sq ft. Granted it is a much simpler design being a small ranch.

The other way I'm hoping to save money is I'm a huge bargain shopper. I love to scour flea markets, craigslist, ebay, etc... I bought most of my current kitchen cabinets at the kitechen outlet down in Amish country here. They are mocha glazed cherry, full overlay, tons of drawer inserts, etc... for $2-3/inch. Meaning my 30" wide cabinet cost me $60. We also purchased our appliances (frigidaire stainless steel) during black friday for $1100 after rebates (for a fridge, stove, micro & dishwasher) They're not superior quality by any means, but work just fine for us :)

would love feedback on this plan please!

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would love feedback on this plan please!

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