Architect's plan from our inspiration plan, your ideas and opinio
KayakCove
9 years ago
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Bridget19
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoannkh_nd
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Very preliminary plan from architect
Comments (7)Thanks for the input. We received some more info today from the architect-the entry will actually be between the two floors(as of now-so I think there will be a landing(and perhaps a closet?) with stairs going up and stairs going down). We won't be using that entrance-it will be mostly for guests. The master is in the front because the lots across the street are wooded and can't be built on(and probably never will be due to the slopes and lack of water-too long and complicated to explain-has to due with water restrictions and a building moratorium in the town). This is California-lots are small and the house behind us sits 5 feet off the property line-not a whole lot of privacy back there. We tried to get the house moved as close to the street as possible as it actually has more privacy than the back(there are a fair amount of trees between the zoning envelope and the street) and would put more space between us and our neighbors. The sitting room is supposed to be more of a sleeping alcove-aka "snore room" as my husband and I both have snoring issues :( . We wanted a space that one of us can go off to when we're having a "loud" night. Our mud room is placed similarly in the house we're in now, so we are pretty well trained in getting shoes off there or leaving them in the garage. I'm not wild about the long hallway, or the dining room being so far from the kitchen and I too question the efficiency of the kitchen cabinets-things we will discuss with the architect over the phone and in emails and in more detail when we meet with him mid May. I think its going to be challenging doing this from the east coast, but so far he's been really good about keeping in contact with us and following up on questions we might have. The angles in the kitchen and craft room are to give some ocean view to those rooms- we also talked about having a small courtyard in that area-it's a bit more protected from ocean breezes( the temps there range from the 40's in winter to mid 70's in summer-80 is considered hot hot hot! Quite a change from where we live now.) Again, this is very very basic and I'm sure we'll be changing things-also not sure where doors and such are going just yet too-and closets are something that need to be clarified. Thanks again for your comments....See MoreWhat are your ideas on our plan?
Comments (4)I had already drafted the remarks below for you other posting before I saw that Kirkhall indicated it was a repost. So instead of posting them there, I copied and posted here.... It is impossible to read any of the measurements on your image so, where I make comments about sizes below, I am basing them on guesstimates that are based on comparing things to the width of your front door (which I assume to be 36"), the depths of the base kitchen cabinets (which I assume to be 24") and the lengths of the secondary bathtubs (which I assume to be 60"). First off, I would not like it that everyone who comes to the front door has a view of my kitchen sink and any dirty dishes that happen to piled there. If the dashed lines on the island indicate a raised bar section between the kitchen and living room, consider wrapping the raised section around the end of the bar so that you have something to hide the sink from the front door. I would want my fridge over nearer to the table. And I would want some flat counterspace on at least one side of the fridge to facilitate putting groceries way and getting supplies out of the fridge. It looks like the room to the immediate left of the entry foyer is a STUDY. What is the room to the immediate right or the foyer? I'm guessing a guest bedroom (because of the bath) but I'm not sure. The room looks awfully small to hold a full-sized bed, much less a queen bed which is what I think most folks now put in their guest rooms. Just be sure the room is large enough to hold whatever furniture you want to put in it. It also bothers me that, when the front door swings open, it partially blocks the door into the room to the right of the foyer. There is no way your powderroom will work as drawn. With the inswing door, when you enter the powderroom, where do you plan to stand while you shut the door behind you? In the sink? You can't use an outswinging door because that would conflict with the mudroom door. Only option for that room is a pocket door. I really really really dislike the master closet. It looks like the shower was stuck in as an afterthought. The two doors leading into the two sections of master closet appear to be only 24" wide... maybe narrower. A 24" wide closet door is okay but is certainly not ideal. The smaller part of the master closet (on the right) appears to be slightly less than 5x5. I would consider a 5x5 closet to be about the smallest walk-in closet one could have. So if it is actually less then 5x5, you might want to reconsider. Then, while the portion of the closet to the left of the shower is larger, the narrow angle in the larger part means you have a LESS useful hanging area than the sketch makes it look like you have. Clothing sticks out 24 inches from the wall when hung. Your designer has used the trick of showing the line where the hanging rod would be without putting hatchmarks (to represent clothes hangers) to show where the clothing will stick out. If you want to see how much useable hanging area you have, sketch hatchmarks across the bar so that they stick out 24 inches from the wall. Where hatchmarks from two walls overlap, you can only hang garments on one side and even those will be hidden by clothing on the other rod and therefore pretty much unreachable. If it were me, I'd skip having a tub in the master bath entirely and put the shower where the tub is so that both master closets could be larger and more useful. Alternatively, if I just HAD to have a tub and actually planned to use it regularly, I'd move the shower over to where the smaller section of master closet and then have a single larger closet that is shared by both spouses. The masterbedroom is fine as far as size goes, but I would not want it to open up right off of the dining room like that. I would at least want the bedroom door to be tucked into an alcove to provide at least a semblance of a sense of privacy. I don't care for the round wall for the dining room. You haven't shown any windows on your plan but, with a round wall like that, I'm guessing you would like to showcase it by putting windows all the way around. However, any windows between the 9 o'clock position and the 11 o'clock position tho are just going to be looking right at a wall. Worse, the round wall will be a major PITA to roof and will result in a drip point between masterbedroom and dining area where the ground will stay wet and get no sunlight whatsoever. And, I would NOT want to be the workman assigned to squeeze into the gap between the round wall and the masterbedroom wall in order to attach whatever siding you've chosen. Can you imagine trying to squeeze in there to install hardiboards, or lay brick, or whatever? There is simply not enough room for a man's shoulders, so he would have to work with one hand while standing sideways! If you're absolutely in love with the idea of the round wall for your dining room, then move the entire thing to the right at least 18 to 24 inches. Either line up the center of the round wall with your front door so that the table lines up with the kitchen island. I don't care for having the bedroom in the back right hand corner open up directly off of the living room. Lacks a sense of privacy. In order to hang clothing on opposite walls of a walk-in closet, the closet needs to be AT LEAST 6 ft wide (inner wall to inner wall)...and that just allows you a 24 inch aisle down the center which, IMHO, is downright claustrophobic. It looks like the walk-in closet for the front bedroom is less than 6 ft wide. I know I've listed a lot of negatives and I'm not trying to diss your plan. It was hearing about what other people thought were "problems" with my plan that allowed me to make it better. Even when I disagreed with them, their raising the issues at least forced me to THINK about the potential issues. Folks who just told me my design was "beautiful" were good for my ego but did nothing to help me get to a better plan. So, I'm hoping you weren't just looking for ego strokes and that some of the above is helpful. Best wishes on your journey toward a final plan! ---- Finally, in response to your post above that your husband is "all about creating something different", please know that it is not impossible to create a house with character and charm on a budget. But it is more difficult. Are you working with an architect or trying to design something on your own. If the latter, you might want to try finding a GOOD architect... and by that I mean one understands both your budgetary constraints and your desires not to have a cookie cutter home, who is willing to listen to you and work WITH you rather than just impose his vision on you, and one who actually has some creative abilities and is not just another hack....See MoreEuropean-inspired house plan ideas needed!!
Comments (26)Before you make any decisions on style alone, get a budget number in mind and stick with it. All the homes everyone has posted are gorgeous, but if you looked at the prices, they were million dollar homes. Of course location makes a difference, but not really a huge difference. Make sure your architect sticks to your budget as well. Know what 3500-4000sq.ft. includes. Cost per sq. ft varies depending on what materials you choose, sometimes depending on your builder or location or all of the above. Architects, at least the ones we interviewed cost anywhere from 20k to 100k and some included different services than just the design. We opted for a home designer that cost 5k. Was it a mistake or was it just this particular home designer? Maybe it was both. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones and you don't have a budget, but if not, you don't want to have a beautiful dream home on paper that is useless to you. Research this and other websites. And if you are on a budget, know now what you can live and live without and don't let dreamy websites make your eyes bigger than your wallet. Hindsight stinks. Been there, doing that sitting somewhere between depression, desperation and hating to admit my naivety and stupidness. I guess I chalk it all up to a good problem to have, but it still stinks. Good luck!...See MoreSending my floor plan modifications to the architect. Ideas?
Comments (30)BTW I don't know how you'll be able to easily get large furniture into the master the way the entry is. I understand the need for it, but you need to make sure you can get a king size mattress in there or a wide dresser etc. without having to try to do it through a window. The same goes for the boy bedroom. The way the entry to that area is along with the linen closet and the door placement it seems like it would be hard to get furniture in there. At least the first part you can lift over the railing, but then that turn around the linen closet is awkward. You could straighten it out and have more space in the room with something similar to this. I'd still try to find a better spot for the linen closet or use a cabinet there with cabinet doors instead, or just make each kid have their stuff for the bath/sheets in their closets....See MoreAnnie Deighnaugh
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agovirgilcarter
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKayakCove
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