First Time Poster ... Finally! Plan Input Requested

11 years ago

Hello Everyone!

I am so excited to finally post part of our house plan.

I have been waiting 3 years!

Our Background:

Purchased 1920 Colonial Revival house, in need of a total redo,

the inside had not been touched in 20+ years,

Then came cancer...

Plans for renovation came to a screeching halt,

while my husband and I dealt with the grief of diagnosis which meant not being able to bear children.

While recovering I read this Forum just about every day!

The posts really brightened my spirits and gave me some hope!

Fast forward to today...Cancer free (but expensive)!

Budget has been pared down so we are staying within the 32' square 2nd floor footprint.

Original 2nd floor 4 small bedrooms, 1 full bath and a 1/2 bath (both small).

Now our 2012 Plan is:

3 bedrooms on 2nd floor, with back half of home a

master bedroom and nice master bathroom, connected by a closet lined hallway in back.

And front two bedrooms with a Jack & Jill bath in between for our future children we hope to find...

The Big Challenge:

The front bath has a very large window 4' x 5-1/2 feet!

And the window is 2 feet from the floor!

We would prefer to remain good neighbors by not having a daily peep show!

So we want the toilet and shower/tub back from the window.

To me the entrance to the front bathroom on each side is a bit awkward, as I have to admit I love balance and symmetry.

This front bath & bedroom plan entrances seem a bit crooked to me.

I would greatly appreciate your changes, comments and suggestions, as I see so many helpful people here.

We are amazed by the wealth of knowledge and creativity that is shared.

We humbly ask your frank thoughts and opinions, and I hope the photo attached is readable as this is new to me.

We now can look forward with hope and happiness.

Many Thanks in advance,

Hanover

PS we are a tall-short pair. DH is 6'4" and I am 5'3" on a good day!

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Comments (4)

kelhuck
11 years ago
Hi Hanover! Welcome to the forum! So good to hear that you're cancer free! This renovation will be a good distraction while you're searching for your family. So many children need homes; I'm glad to know that you're willing to be the family they need!

I'm also glad you brought this plan here- it needs a lot of work! :) A couple of questions:

You don't have closets drawn in the kids' rooms. Was that on purpose?

I'm trying to figure out....are you entering the master suite through your closet? As in, when you open the door, you see your clothes, etc? And

Is that a stacked W/D in the back?
gaonmymind
11 years ago
Welcome! So glad that part of your life is over and that you have so much to look forward to now! Few things:

I really like the unique layout of the master bath. However I am not understanding the second bath. Is that a shower or vanity?
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Design Plan Input Requested
Q
Comments (9)
You're off to a good start. The assessment of what you need, coupled with your plan, will probably get you a good result the first time instead of the the third reconstruction. I have only a few comments. Looking at your plan my mind was having difficulty reconciling the plan with the stated yard dimensions of 60 ft by 40 to the backdoor, 29 to the bedroom. It's a minor thing that would probably only bother me. But after superimposing a grid on the plan it can be seen there is a small error of scale (the red dash lines match the dimensions for the yard and house walls). Keep this in mind as you develop plant spacing. Also, you make no mention of the slope of the property. One important consideration of every landscape is water movement and drainage. If your yard is flat, even small changes in grade or hardscape can cause a problem. I suggest you use one copy of your plan to map all water movement; roof water, any water entering from another property, where the excess water leaves your property, and flow direction throughout the yard. One of the items you mention is shade for the patio. No wonder, Dallas is hot. The placement of just the right tree in the right spot is needed to accomplish the goal. As the seasons change, so does the sun's location. You should consider what weeks of the year shade is most important along with what time of day the patio will be in use. Plant a tree that shades the patio at 6 pm in March and in June you may find that the patio is in shade at 4 pm while at 6 pm it's back in sun. Crown shape and height are important factors to consider, a greater height allowing for a greater distance, patio to tree. You might want to plant a fast growing tree close to the patio for shade over the next 5 years while a more substantial tree grows to a greater height further back in the landscape. All of this can be planed but first the true orientation of the yard must be known. This can be found by noting the time of day along with the date of observation that the sun aligns with the side fence. (example 5:38 on May 15).
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Would like your input, before final version of home plan :)
Q
Comments (6)
LL, I'm thinking the hot tub in the corner is the right move. It will give a better sense of enclosure, and use well the space that will otherwise be underutilized. Having the edge of the deck available for a seating arrangement or small table will be nice, because your view will be much greater from that spot. And if you have a lot of rocks on your property, putting rocks beneath the floor can help use that space as a heat sink. I'd recommend you look into setting that up, to give some extra heat to your house in the evening after the sun goes down and it radiates heat absorbed by those rocks during the day. Summer probably has knowledge of how to design the greenhouse to give some payback to you. I think the greenhouse idea will be a great addition. I'm always for a plant space. I'm going to point out something to you about the star jasmine though. It will provide you an evergreen plant inside like that, BUT IT ONLY BLOOMS IN MAY AND JUNE. I would suggest that you get a couple of nice blooming begonias in pots, or geraniums in RED, to brighten up the space. And I also have a potted (not hanging basket) bougainvillea which will end up climbing by its long thorny limbs, and IT WILL BLOOM ALL YEAR ROUND. They come in yellow and hot pink, and mine is a white and pink combo. I cannot wait to get it into my Teahouse. It likes heat, it likes moisture, it likes lots of light. Keep it watered. And if you want a spectacular large tropical plant, look into a MUSA species of banana. They can be hardy at your latitude indoors all year. Incidentally, I just love your house, and the more you tinker with the plan the better it gets. Sarah Susanka says that most people just design the rooms with no selection of furniture spots, but you are doing the whole deal. I think you are about ready to CHOOSE THE SPOT FOR LIGHTS AND SWITCHES AND PLUGS. AND DIMMERS. Dimmers are part of it too. Go for it, lady, you have the right ideas to choose from.
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Long time lurker; first time poster - getting started with our land
Q
Comments (12)
Well, OSU has one of the finest undergraduate architectural and architectural engineering programs in the nation. As a former student, faculty member and Head of the School, I'm completely unbiased about the program! They would never consider your project for an educational project for the students, but many of the faculty practice architecture and do residential and small commercial projects on a regular basis. OKC and Tulsa also have many talented and experienced architects. As for phasing the work, I caution against doing anything and anymore than you immediately are ready to do and have to do to occupy the land. That's because as time goes by your thinking will change and modify (humans do this a lot). You run the risk of making your early investments and improvements outmoded or obsolete. That said, it's a good practice to master plan your site and project, exploring and deciding on building envelope location, how that will be accessed, general orientation. solar energy strategies, views and usable outdoor areas, utility access, well and septic locations, etc.--at least in general terms. An architect experienced in these things will be an invaluable ally early on and when you are finally ready to design and build. Until your house is designed (and it should be designed based on a sound understanding of your site characteristics), you will want to keep all of your site improvement options open. As to the options of RV living or over garage living, etc., you will have to sort that strategy out as best fits your lifestyle, schedule and budget. Good luck--exciting times ahead. PS: Ron Walker (Walker Construction) is an OSU architecture graduate and retired home builder in the Stillwater area who may be helpful. You can tell him I recommended you contact him. He built my home when my family and I lived in Stillwater.
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Longtime lurker....first time poster...
Q
Comments (42)
I don't think this registers with many of the regulars on this forum, who seem to believe that every online plan is evil and should be ripped to shreds, while any plan from a "person of design talent" borders on complete perfection. Neither is completely true. I've seen plans from architects that definitely are awful. There is a "top" architect in my neck of the woods who's name seems to be on at least 1/2 the new projects in town, yet I wouldn't give you two cents for any of his plans because they are more odes to his ego than they are collaborations between himself and his clients. However, I know the OP and Doug probably spent a lot of time hashing out what would work best for her and her family and that any compromises made, were discussed and decided on mutually. All houses have compromises. As for your comment about online plans, yes many are awful and too many use lipstick on a pig to try to get around the fact that they're just poor design. However take a look at some of the plans by The Bungalow Company or Allison Ramsey. The difference is the plans aren't bloated with excesses of gables or huge roofs. It just seems like such tradeoffs/compromises are only acceptable on this forum if made by an architect. Tradeoffs are fine if the person realizes they are tradeoffs and not just them trying to fit their lives to a house that won't work for them. The other problem is those who come to the forum with no design experience, but they learned how to use Sketchup or another CAD program and they think that automatically turns them into a design professional.
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lyfia
11 years ago
Congratulations on being cancer free and I hope the build although scaled down will still be a dream realized for you.

I think I would continue the stairs as is to the attic instead of adding in a separate area for attic stairs, plus the way the attic stairs end they would be under a really low part of the roof, unless you plan on making your attic having 7' walls on the exterior so somebody doesn't have to crawl or bend to get into the attic.

Then you could use that space up to enlarge the master and also create an entrance to the master from the hallway. It seems really odd to be walking into a closet to get to the bedroom.

I don't see any closets in the other bedrooms. In my area it can't be called a bedroom unless it has a closet. This would impact your appraisal if you have a loan.

Have you considered putting the closet in the corner and the bathroom in between?
virgilcarter
11 years ago
You are going to need closets/storage for each bedroom. Do you need any access for ducting from the lower level?

Entry to jack and jill bath will be much better if located as close to the bedroom entry doors as possible--it reduces the circulation travel and allows more efficient layout and use of the bedrooms and the bath.

Is there any way to stack the two stairs to reduce the floor area lost to stairs?

Good luck!

First Time Poster ... Finally! Plan Input Requested

Comments (4)

kelhuck

gaonmymind

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lyfia

virgilcarter

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