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Need help with my floor plans!?!

Jessica Delozier

8 years ago

I would like to make this floor plan a little smaller maybe eliminating the sitting room by the master an making the breakfast nook a little smaller. Also I want two bedrooms downstairs an two bedrooms upstairs. For above the garage maybe just make that storage and the entry from garage to house make that more of a breezeway. Also, I would like to have a cooking porch. Preferably close to kitchen.

Floor plan click here

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Comments (4)

sheloveslayouts
8 years ago
You might get more help if an image of your floor plan is posted. Here ya go:
mrspete
8 years ago
It's a huge house with lots of places you could cut space ... and still be far from crowded:

The bedrooms jump out at me first: I think every one of them is 20' wide -- no, no, the smallest is 17' wide. So every one of these bedrooms is an oversized master. I totally agree with you that you should cut out the master sitting room -- I'd think a master sitting room should be small and cozy for two people to sit. You could also cut out some serious space in the master bedroom closet.

Next, consider the bathrooms upstairs: How many people will use these? A private bathroom for each bedroom probably isn't necessary.

What's that "refreshment room" behind the kitchen? It looks like a giant pantry ... with a bar for feeding kids outdoors. Would be a nice feature near a pool. I'd leave off the screen for that porch, and it'd be perfectly placed for the outdoor kitchen you want.

You can definitely cut this house down easily, but I'm not sure it's the right choice. You're looking at MAJOR changes -- moving walls, the need for re-engineering loads, changes in your foundation and roofline. With these changes, it probably won't be cost effective to start with a pre-designed plan. The first thing I'd try: Can you see other plans by this same person? Often an architect or designer designs a house "a little smaller" or "a little bigger" ... and starting from that other plan might be a good deal for you.
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Comments (12)
Thanks for the responses everyone! Let's see if I can address them all: There's a lot of focus on my guest bedroom area. My intent for that space is really to "flex" with us as our family ages, like you said, @lavender_lass. For now, I see it being used as an extra room- play room, or whatever with a bed or pull out couch for the infrequent times we do have adult over night guests. It can also be used as a BR if someone breaks their leg or has surgery or something. Then, as we age, it will become our Master bedroom. The Guest bath is large because we needed one that is wheelchair accessible. We have 3 friends and family members in w/c now, so it was drawn with them in mind. (And any future handicaps in ourselves.) So currently, it will be used as the bathroom that every guest uses when they visit. I didn't want it to open right on to the family room, cuz I think that's a little tacky! :) I don't like the door being where it is to the "guest suite" or flex space or whatever you want to call it. I was thinking about moving the door down, like you suggested, @kirkhall. Since you mentioned it, I'm thinking that's probably a really good idea! @fotomatt- just curious what you meant about the small look/sq footage? Didn't know if you meant that I haven't used the space well, or if I did use it well! Does the exterior elevation look wrong? I was actually worried that I have too much sqft. Just wondering- I won't bite, I promise! :) @andi_k- good point! And actually, after looking at those pics again, they don't seem to have alot of usable counter space, either. I might have to rethink my vision for that room. Adding a little footage to the mudroom might be on the agenda. I need to check and see if it will jive with the upstairs. So....what do you think about my front windows, then? Should I cut them down to 2 casements w/ transoms? That would give me a little more room to play with in the mudroom, but would that ruin my exterior look? So many good things to think about! I appreciate them all!
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Comments (19)
Until the bigger photos are available, just offhand: I do like the entry between the living area and the garage, very handy. But everyone will walk not only right into the kitchen, but right in front of the cooktop, not cool. You and dear spouse will walk all the way to the bedroom door, make a sharp U-turn, then maybe another sharp U-turn depending on where you're headed next. I can't see the dimensions of the closet/bath; if they are a little smaller maybe you can reconfigure the passage through the kitchen. In the master bath, I can't tell if the shower has a glass or solid wall next to it's door. If it's glass, where will you put your towel so it's ready when you're done? Is that a shower in the back utility area next to the garage? Perhaps you'd like an outside door in that space? I kind of like the upstairs space. They can do their own laundry (remember to teach them to check their pockets first, don't ask me how I know this!), or at least get it out of the dryer in the morning :) If they're going to be playing video games or musical instruments, that's a good space. Then they can play hockey or whatever in the basement! How nice to have a pond view.
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Benjesbride, what you say regarding dining/island makes sense, but unfortunately I have ~11'x16' space to fit in the kitchen. If I decide to rotate the kitchen the way you say it, then my kitchen island will be quite small. I too started out thinking of a longer island and thus came up with option 2, and am not able to find pictures to tell me if that would look ok or not. Secondly, currently the plan is that the Great Room will be mainly conversation area. TV will be in a separate room, so no need to consider TV-watchability. Mama Rachel, your idea of spice kitchen is great! That's the kitchen I started out "wanting". I had to abandon it halfway, however, because of space constraints. My whole house is ~2200 sqft, therefore allocating disproportionately large amount of space to the kitchen would have meant I gave up on some other priorities. Mama Rachel : regarding powder: we decided to ditch the powder because of the availability of full bath on that floor, which otherwise will be guest bath. We also wanted as much storage as possible, therefore decided on having a storage rather than powder. Anyway, here's the original plan. Note that we added ~5ft towards the courtyard and some square footage along top wall (which is facing backyard). I am working on sizing of the entry right now, because I think it's a bit too big for the house, but that space will NOT become available to the kitchen again due to the building rules.
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Comments (2)
So, what is upstairs? A master suite? I do not suggest going into debt to renovate your mother’s house. If she has money for the renovations, fine.
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PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
8 years ago
Contact Visbeen Architects and have them address you concerns. The process will be the most efficient and have the best end result.
tcufrog
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The master suite has a lot of wasted space because of that hallway. I would try to have the sitting room directly enter into the bathroom and then directly enter into the dressing room without the closet. Then if you carefully reconfigure the bathroom then you can get rid of the bathroom bump out, saving some money. I'm also having trouble envisioning what the refreshment room is for. It's not close to the patio so I don't see how it would be useful for outdoor entertaining.

Do you need a guest bedroom and guest quarters? The only use I can see for the guest quarters is for a nanny/housekeeper (not that I've ever had one so I don't know what they need) or an adult son/daughter who is living at home. There isn't a kitchen and exterior set of stairs so you can't rent it out. It's inconvenient for guests who are hauling up and down luggage and I wouldn't put an aging grandparent there because if they fell on the stairs you wouldn't know it immediately. You're also probably going to have to pay for an HVAC system that just services the guest quarters above the garage. Do you want to pay that expense?

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