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pfennig_gw

Please comment on my Charleston Row style house plan

pfennig
16 years ago

I've been working on a house plan that DW & I would like to build. We generally dislike the look of most 'standard' plans (burb-std mediterranean, ranch, 'french country inspired' etc.) because they are so standard. One style that we found that hasn't been done a lot (at least we haven't seen any) is the Charleston Row House style. It seems to have a lot going for it:

  • Good for narrow lot

  • Good for narrow lot with a view (e.g. one of those expensive waterfront lots)

  • Good energy efficiency (balcony provides very good shade to windows/doors)

  • Ability to hide an undesirable view (house next door, non residential development, street, etc) on one side

  • Lends itself to efficient roof plan

We have two small children and would love to bring Grandmother and Grandpa along to paradise as well, so we want three bedrooms plus an in-law suite. I work from home (I love it), so I also need an office space. We don't want too large of a house since the land price for waterfront will eat huge part of our budget (around $450k tops). We figure less than 2500 sf for everything would be nice. We don't want formals.

So I've come up with this design, modeled in Google SketchUp (because it's so easy to use mostly, and free).

Main house is 2040sf (counting stairway on both levels, so technically slightly less).

10 foot ceilings on both levels

Downstairs porch is 550 sf, upstairs balcony is 750 sf (including part on the in-law suite over the garage).

The 'office' is the nursery/sitting room in front of the MBR.

The in-law suite is the 'guest house over the garage. It's accessible via elevator or from the shared upstairs balcony (which is in turn accessible from either the courtyard stairs or the main house).

Rear perspective:

Bottom floor:

Top Floor:

Foundation detail:

The areas I'm still concerned about are:

Downstairs 1/2Bath + Utility room combo

The toilet is tucked under the stairs, out of view of the camera here.



Has anyone done anything like this before, or seen examples? Or have any good reasons why I shouldn't do this?

MBR Layout & closet size

The angled wall is a bit odd, but I'd prefer not to put the bed against any of the french doors onto the balcony.



Any changes that could make the closet larger or make the room layout better? That's a 6 foot wide bed in the model (large queen), and there's 3 feet of space between the rearmost corner of the bed and the french doors.

Dining room is small

The dining area (only one - no formal, no breakfast nook) is pretty small. It's 14 feet long between the columns, but it's only 8 feet wide before pushing into the 'hallway' area separating the kitchen and dining.



Should I change the 'bay...

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