Suggestions on Plan Changes - Summerfield, Please
We have been sitting on our hands, biding our time, waiting for some kind of sign for us to start our build. Three years ago we bought some incredible acreage. When we build our home will sit high on a bluff, overlooking the Mo River. It's truly a spectacular location. We are not wealthy people and have stuck thousands into building a road and developing the land. All these expenses have taken their toll on the down-payment fund.
I have the itch really, really bad, however; my kids are starting high school / jr high and everyone keeps telling me to wait. I've been told if we build the plan I've attached we will have lots of unused space on the main level in a very short time. I've been considering going ahead with the build but moving the kids' bedrooms into the finished basement. Doing so would open up the entire side of the family room for more windows. This would provide more of the view we desire most and reduce the footprint of the main level.
My builder has told me moving the bedrooms to the basement would save me over $40k. That is a significant amount. Since we do not plan to ever sell, resale value really doesn't matter to me. This is truly where I plan to live till the end. There is a historic graveyard on our property and I've told my wife to just put me in a wheelbarrow and dump me in it when it's my time.
I guess I'm looking for advice from anyone who put the spare bedrooms in the basement or built their forever house when their kids were older. Should I jump or wait it out? My other request is to have someone look at the plans and let me know if you feel they flow well. I'm concerned about the small hall entering the kid's area... it looks a little peculiar to me.
Summerfield...I've seen your work. I would truly be thankful if you could give me your opinion on the flow. Thanks to the forum for any/all suggestions and opinions.
Saftgeek-
Here is a link that might be useful:
Comments (19)
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11 years agoRelated Discussions
Wanting suggestions for floor plan changes
Comments (10)First, I looked at the pictures on the link, and I immediately noticed that this was a Sarah Susanka plan. She does put in the coolest little details, and what I really like is that her functional spaces seem to be "just right" -- the bookcases in the stairwell are the best detail in this plan! -- and, to me, that's the reason to build a house yourself: To have the functional spaces well proportioned and designed for your lifestyle. I would be concerned about one thing: You have a living room and a parlor, but you'll have no acoustical privacy between the two. A person who wants to read quietly in one room will hear the TV in the other room. Closet: Since the laundry (which is pretty big) and the master closet back up to one another, what you're describing would be pretty easy to accomplish. I think I'd move the washer/dryer over to the exterior wall (so the dryer could vent directly outside -- easier, safer), and then you'd have plenty of wall space for hanging things /bins. Two drawbacks: This is a rather unique choice, and if you ever resell, this could be a drawback. On the positive side, since this "family closet" would be near the master bedroom, which would not hurt resale as much as if it were elsewhere in the house. AND if you have children, I can't imagine it'd be convenient for them to come downstairs to fetch clothes before showering. Master bath: Without having mapped it out on graph paper, I do not think you're going to be able to have two bath entrances as you described -- not unless you're using a very small bed. With this layout (great bedroom windows, by the way -- you'll have wonderful light) you're going to have to place the bed on the wall against the bathrooms -- it just can't go anywhere else. What bed size are you using? You could always go with small nightstands. And if you go with a small bed and small nightstands to accommodate the two doors, I fear the furniture may feel out of proportion. This is a math question, and I don't have all the information to complete the problem. The master bath space isn't all that big, and although you say you're fine with two SMALL master baths, that does add up to a good bit of space. I wonder if you could do kind of a jack-and-jill thing: Each of you gets a small room with a sink and a toilet . . . and then they both open onto another small room that houses the shower. Jack-and-jills are tough to do right, and they can end up with excessive doors that'll always be an aggravation. Also, to bring up the same point: This is very taste specific, and the master bath is a huge selling point for many people. Obviously you're building a house so you can have things just as you want them, but this could be a potential resale problem. I know, I've brought up resale twice in this post, which seems contradictory after my first-paragraph comment about function for your own lifestyle . . . but a house is an expensive proposition, and you have to walk a fine line between "exactly what I want" and "I might one day need to sell it" . . . and your closet and bath ideas are not typical at all. Proceed with caution....See MoreSecond Draft Floor Plans - Thoughts/Suggestions on Changes Please
Comments (13)I made a couple more changes and updated SF. Total SF is a little under 3600. bpathome, I moved the sink to the front of the pantry. My wife uses the Keurig every morning so it probably makes more sense to have that at the front of the pantry adjacent to the sink. Does the pantry look good now? I also decreased the offset between the kitchen and the foyer by a foot (adding a foot to the south for the kitchen), which added a foot to the pantry and allowed me to move the island a little bit farther south so it doesn't block the walkway from the garage to the great room/master suite. I added a foot to the north for the great room and dining area, which decreased the depth of the covered patio to 11 feet. Is this deep enough? We want to have a sitting area on the covered patio, but also don't want it so deep that it severely limits natural light in the back of the house. I could add a foot to the north for the laundry room and sitting area if the patio needs to be at least 12'. Jackson, We appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think I want the laundry room directly behind the great room (in case the laundry is running while watching TV, etc) and would prefer the W/D to also be a little farther from our bed. We're not concerned about having to walk through the master suite to get to the laundry. Other than kids bringing dirty clothes in there, my wife and I should be the only ones using that room. We would love to have more suggestions for our floor plans. We have incorporated most of the suggestions from our first thread into the updated plans, but would love to hear more ideas! Thanks again! Updated floor plans:...See MoreHelp with updated floor plan - Summerfield can you help?
Comments (16)This may be a silly question, but with a walk-in shower like this does the shower head go on the same wall as the sinks, spraying water towards the tub? I'm just trying to figure out the space. This weekend we stayed in a lovely rental house with friends and we lucked out and got the master bedroom. The bathroom had an exquisite shower with a steam shower which was absolutly fantastic! I think I need to add it onto my splurge list and I'm looking at this shower setup and I'm thinking with a door it may work really well! :)...See MoreReview floor plan, please! Summerfield, you out there?
Comments (9)Lexmom-I haven't reloaded my pics yet, but as soon as I do, I'll post a pic of our home's exterior as you requested. Seems like there should be a pic somewhere in the 'How is your build progressing?' threads from maybe last July, August or Sept. You have a very nice plan overall. There are several things I would think about... -Is the laundry room large enough for the # of people living in the house? -No bathroom near the garage entrance--picture this..DH is hot, sweaty and dirty from mowing the grass/gardening & the kids are dirty from playing outside and making mudpies--do you really want them having to traipse all the way through the mudroom, kitchen, family room and hall to get to the bathroom trailing dirt and grime as they go? -Do you really need 3 areas to eat (breakfast room, island seating & dining room)? That's square footage that could be cut & save $$$ or you can trade that square footage for something else--like enlarging the area behind the garage to enable a powder room to be added and a larger more functional laundry room. -Is 16x18 wide enough for the family room? Subtract ~2' for the fireplace protruding into the room, and a minimum of 3' for the walkway behind the sofa and you're down to 11x18 for usable furniture space. -In the master bedroom, 13'4" is a little too narrow IMO to place a bed with a dresser/armoire on the opposite wall and still have a nice size path to walk between them/open drawers. -The living room is a "dead end" room where the rest of the common areas on the first floor are open. Have you thought about opening it up on the foyer side? You may want to check out some of John Tee's plans. Many of his plans are very similar in layout to what you're after (note that the exterior elevation may not be exactly what you're after). Here are links to a few plans that helped us tremendously when it came to trying to decide stair placement and other layout issues. You may want to browse through his various plans on his website and see if any of them would work for what you're after. http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1003&Category_Code=2500-3000 http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1320&Category_Code=OVER-3000 http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1327&Category_Code=OVER-3000 http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=335&Category_Code=OVER-3000 Hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: House Plans by John Tee...See Morebjwithers
11 years agosaftgeek
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11 years agogaonmymind
11 years agosaftgeek
11 years agoI totally agree with the hallway comment. I'm really concerned about it and that is truly the main reason I tried to post the updated plans here. As far as squaring up that corner... it is hard to describe what happens to the contour of the land. It falls away in that direction so the view is absolutely the best off of that corner. I can't turn the house because there is no way for the garage to work out. Like I said, it is very difficult to describe. I will attach our first attempt at a house plan, which was drawn to take advantage of the lay of the land. There were quite a few issues with this version. Mainly, we were told the cost for all the peculiar angles would be very expensive. We tried to enlarge, improve and still incorporate the best view. If we moved this portion to the basement then we would square up the corner and incorporate more windows.
I'm really hoping someone can suggest a better flow/layout on that side. I am very happy with the master portion. We currently live in a house where the bedrooms are all together, and with teenagers it really isn't optimal...
Thanks again for the input!!!Saftgeek-
summerfielddesigns
11 years agosaftgeek
11 years agosaftgeek
11 years agoontariomom
11 years agosaftgeek
11 years agosummerfielddesigns
11 years agohad time to refine your plan ...
thank you , and all , for your kind words :-)
saftgeek
11 years agosaftgeek
11 years ago
saftgeekOriginal Author