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New Contruction Advice / Floor Plan Help / Build Log

8 years ago

*More info to be added soon.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for input on a new construction I'm hoping to break ground on here soon. Basically I've searched high and low for a set of house plans online and finally came across one I'm very happy with, or at least I will be after all of the changes are made that I'd like to make. The biggest hurdle I've come across so far is the kitchen configuration, that part of the plan I'm essentially starting over from scratch and any advice is welcome. Just a side note, I'll probably end up making this thread a build log as well.


Here's a pic of the original plan along with a link (Note that I did not include a pic of the upstairs bonus room because one of the first changes I did was removing it)

https://www.houseplans.com/plan/3766-square-feet-4-bedrooms-4-bathroom-european-house-plans-3-garage-36511

Here's an updated pic showing the proposed changes I've made:


Now of course things aren't to scale and I'm aware of that, but it gives a general idea of the direction I wanna go.




Comments (35)

  • 8 years ago

    Where are you building?

    Do you have your plot? What's it like?

    How big?

    Family makeup? Needs? Wants?

    What is it you're trying to do with the kitchen?

    Do you really want your powder room near your master bedroom wing?

    How about a way to get out of the bedroom that is not just from the bedroom? I did that in my master wing where I could also go in or out through the bathroom.

    Do you need a mudroom?

    Can bedroom 2 and 3 share a bath?

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  • 8 years ago

    Where are you building? Rural Mississippi

    Do you have your plot? What's it like? Not entirely sure what you're asking here.

    How big? The lot is 4.5 acres / the home is roughly 3800sqft

    Family makeup? Needs? Wants? Family makeup is 2 at the moment, no kids yet but possibly in the future and no more than 2. Building this as a forever home.

    What is it you're trying to do with the kitchen? I'd like to have a breakfast bar with seating for at least 4, a huge pantry, I like having the counters on the wall with Windows for an outside view, especially over the sink. I also want the kitchen to be functional (ex: No huge distance from let's say, the prep area to the oven, etc)

    Do you really want your powder room near your master bedroom wing? I think that it's far enough away that it's not an issue.

    How about a way to get out of the bedroom that is not just from the bedroom? I did that in my master wing where I could also go in or out through the bathroom. I haven't thought about that, I'm not sure I understand the benefit of being able to do that.

    Do you need a mudroom? Not necessarily but if there was a way to incorporate one that'd be great

    Can bedroom 2 and 3 share a bath? They can but its not preferred.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Architectrunnerguy, thanks for your input. I've had the same concern myself but I haven't come up with any solutions yet. I already know that I don't want to keep the upstairs, I'd rather keep those gone and use that space for more kitchen/dining area. Perhaps moving the opening into the kitchen further down so that's more the middle of the hall to break it up a little more?

    Like this:

  • 8 years ago

    Keeping your same "bubble diagram" (visualize all the spaces as circles with lines representing connections to other circles) is no problem at all. The problem is taking a plan that's really a point of departure and making it work with new, owner criteria. Lot's of other thoughts on your plan but just pointed out one to you to get you thinking "outside the box"

    Client's come to me all the time with internet plans and they're a great start. Get somebody to help you out. And it doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. In lieu of a big retype let me reference this. Scroll down to my 5/12 post http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3887104/what-should-i-expect-from-my-architect-long?n=17 But probably more relevant to you is my follow up post in that thread about preconceived ideas and trust in a designer......There's a healthy six figures of your hard earned money on the line in an endeavor with no "do overs" so approach the whole task prudently....

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Where will a guest park their car . . . where will a guest enter the home . . . is there a bench along the way for the guest to rest?

  • 8 years ago

    Mark, guests can park by the garage and there will be a walk way to the front door.

  • 8 years ago

    By the front of the garage or where you drive into the garage? And if by the side, what if it's raining or the weather isn't ideal?

  • 8 years ago
    what cpartist meant regarding the plot is, have you come up with this plan in isolation or after considering the lay of the land? numerous factors of the plot will (or should) affect a house plan, light, drainage, landscape to name a few.
    Also, the benefit of a second exit from your master bedroom, is that after dressing, one would not need to pass through the wet/steamy bathroom and then bedroom before leaving. consider adding a door to the passage from the closet/dressing room.
    Another thing, the front of the house is staggered. how about having one flush wall for the garage, and having the entry, office & music room walls as another, or the entry recessed, and the office and music room walls in line with each other
    consider lighting for the kitchen, can't be sure if the lighting from the great room will be sufficient or not.
    is the view to the right terrible? how about some windows
    seeing as you don't have children, and thus, no current need for two other bathrooms, I have two suggestions
    1: have one full bath, and another powder room. less unnecessary cleaning, and you could remove the powder room in the closet
    2: have one full bath, move bedroom 3 up to where the removed bathroom was, move the music room to the corner, the office to where the music room was and have mud room to the left of the entrance, close to the laundry (unless the music will be loud and silence will be sought in the office, in which case, the mud room can be where the music room was)
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Log home... neat! (I'm building one, too, but smaller...). Do you have a log company supplying your kit, or how are you doing this? Just curious as my log company had a selection of designs I could use and (vastly) modify, but they wouldn't consider modifying exterior designs found or brought to them from elsewhere (at least not inexpensively...). Hopefully, your source differs on that!

    Overall I like your design, but it could stand some modifications.

    I'd bring kitchen/dining to the kitchen forum for some assistance -- it looks like you have two islands, and the seating at the second one is all in a row. Do you plan to have a table somewhere where people could face each other, too? Anyhow, the kitchen folk helped me out tremendously to optimize flow.

    You have absolutely no windows on the right wall, anywhere. Both those bedrooms could stand some cross-ventilation with an added window. The Master could gain more light with a window on the left wall.

    I'm fine with the powder room where it is - but it looks just as claustrophobic as my current powder room that I can't wait to vacate is. Extend it back left at a foot or two into the laundry space.

    The hallway to the master -- make it at least four feet wide -- a little more if you can swing it.

    I'd smooth out that bump-out inside the garage - serves no purpose, adds to the cost of both the roofline AND the log construction. Similarily, I'd smooth out the line between the music room (nice idea!) and the bedroom to its right. This will change the elevations to the better, I think.

    Coat closet? Okay, it's Mississippi, so it doesn't get cold there, but it DOES rain and get muddy. At least some sort of bench, and a place to hang coats close to the front door?

    I'd personally prefer a single bath (entry from the hall, not from the bedrooms) for Bedrooms 2 and 3, but either way is okay.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thanks for the input everyone! To clear confusion, I've seen the mention of log Construction twice and I am not building a log home. I'm guessing that's coming from "build log" in the title, by that I meant that I may use this thread to post the build as it progresses along.

  • 8 years ago

    Yes, show us the house on the lot. It's interesting in that the only exterior photo in your "ideabooks" shows a house relating to what's beyond the walls and your drawing is a bunch of rooms floating in a spaceless void.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Another thing to note as far as the layout of the hand, the house is on an elevated part of the lot with open views on the right side and front. The left side and back are surrounded by trees. I took some of the advice here once again and made a couple changes


  • 8 years ago

    Here is a photo of the lot


  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If you are building in rural Mississippi, on 4+ acres, why in the world would you want your garage sticking out the front of the house?

    And if the left and back have the best views, why not design the house in such a way that more of the public areas see that view and are not blocked by a garage, a master closet, and a utility room!

    Have you considered working with someone with the design skills to help you come up with a plan that really takes the best advantage of your beautiful lot? Someone who will think a bit outside the box to really get you the best you could?

  • 8 years ago

    I'm happy with the general layout of the House, on the side of the house with the utility and garage there's gonna be a huge detached shop.

  • 8 years ago

    So now you're going to also put another thing blocking what is supposedly your best view? A huge detached shop? Why would you want your best view taken up with a garage and a shop?

    Oh and which direction is north?

  • 8 years ago

    As I posted on another thread, you are trying to fit your lives to work with this house instead of the house being built to fit your lives.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I'd say the best view is not the trees but the neighborhood, the shop will be on the tree side. For directions, on the lot picture the top is north. The front of the home will be facing north which will have the master wing along side the trees

  • 8 years ago
    any further decisions/progress?
  • 8 years ago
    Here's where I am at so far, I just need to work out the appliance layout and the plans should be drafted up mid-June and I'll hopefully break ground by July.
  • 8 years ago

    I would post your kitchen in the kitchen forum. You really do not want your cooktop on the island for lots of reasons.

  • 8 years ago

    This plan has numerous issues with integrating into your lot, and your lifestyle. The giant schnozzola garage out front makes it far less aesthetically appealing than a side load garage tucked back from the facade. The kitchen is poorly thought out for zoning, and workflow. The master is over sized and access is awkward. Removing the stairs and bonus room will result a squat broad porkpie hat roof that is likely to be the secondary dominant feature to the home to the giant schnozzola

    You really should consider professional help. A "floorplan" is not a house plan. Remuddling an existing plan's interior without considering the effect on the exterior is a classic non pro mistake. The two are designed together. Each change you make affects the whole.

  • 8 years ago

    There are many things I like about your plan! But the powder room is awkward. Picture trying to tell a guest how to get to it "turn left, left not right from the kitchen hall then it is the first door on the right" or from the other hall by the dining room "it will be the 4th door on the left" I can just imagine your guests opening multiple wrong door before finding the correct one! I can see a few ways to change it by moving the garage door and ? storm room doors so the powder room can be the first door down the hall. I really like each bedroom being a suite with their own bathroom and closet. I would make them walk in closets while I was at it. I would stretch the house out more so it was not so deep so the dining room could have its own windows to the front and the office could be next to it instead of in front of it. With that much space there is no need to have darker interior rooms. Take your time adjusting your plan as you will like and you will hopefully know when it is right for you and you :) lafdr

  • 8 years ago

    Why is it you've changed the left and front walls? I think the 2nd last plan you posted had the advantage of more flush walls. don't underestimate the effect of simplicity. it affects roof, appearance, safety, etc.

    You've also removed the passage to closet door, do you not want that?

    Also, ARG has mentioned the lengthy, narrow passage which can easily be improved on. I do think you should reconsider and adjust that.

    According to your latest plan, there will be no wall separating the dining room and great room. That will help with lighting to dr, but do still consider lighting of the the entire area carefully. Though the covered porch is a good idea, it does darken the interior

    In addition, if you at some point in the future have kids, consider that their rooms are quite far from yours.

    The plan is not bad, but could do with improvements

  • 8 years ago

    Hmmm, drafted by mid-June and breaking ground by July? Permitting goes that fast in your neck of the woods?

    It looks to me like you posted an earlier variant of your plan?

  • 8 years ago

    how you heating & cooling?

    where will equip & ducts be located?

    one unit...two units?

  • 8 years ago

    You've eliminated the dining room and created a small breakfast nook without its own windows. Even if future owners convert the office back to a dining room, they'd have to squeeze past that tight little nook just to bring food to the dining room. You seem to want to create a kitchen tucked away from the living room, which makes your retrofits of that space invariably awkward for most future buyers. (I know...it's your "forever" home. But a lot can happen over a lifetime. I'm on my 3rd "forever" home, and I sincerely believed each one was perfect forevermore...at first.)

    Try not to get too hung up on creating your dream vision...what you are doing to that kitchen/dining area may make the house into a white elephant that is difficult to sell. I know it would be a dealbreaker for me, unless my husband agreed to spend $80-100k to gut and rebuild the kitchen into something that probably would look like the original kitchen from the original plans.

    Lastly, you haven't left yourself any wiggle room for future needs. Having eliminated the stairs, you're obviously not going to have a second floor or basement. What if the kids want to play video games while you and hubby have company in the living room? Will the kids have enough room in their bedrooms for a desk and shelves, or will they need a study space? What about a guest room? A play room? An exercise room? Putting back the stairs and a basement would give you options for the future. What about storing the kids' bicycles and sports equipment? Where are you going to store your lawn tractor and accessories? How about expanding the garage to at least 3 bays so you don't have to build a shed that becomes a home to the mice and spiders that will take up residence over the winter? You're building 3800 sf of luxury home without any of the features that would make most people consider it to be luxurious. Again, "forever" homes rarely are forever, so building something others would want to call home is an important consideration, assuming you don't want to keep your house listed on the market for 785 days before that needle-in-the-haystack buyer decides your former home is his new dream home.

  • 8 years ago

    One postscript: my standards for a dream home were very different before kids vs after. You may not want your kids on the opposite end of the house. A sick baby who you'll want to keep close to during the night, a scared preschooler whose cries for mommy go unheard, breaking up sibling fights, friends who come tapping on a teenager's window late at night...unless you plan to keep a baby monitor running for many years past their infancy, there's much to be said for keeping the bedrooms closer.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the feedback. Most of the criticism I'm getting are the same concerns I have about the plans myself, so much so that I've actually started taking a look at my backup plan that's a smaller house but has a more ideal layout so the changes I'd make would be minimal. Smaller house also means more funds could be allocated to recreational addons such as a pool and pool house/garage both of which I'd like with the garage/shop being a must have, I need a spot to store all of the "toys" and somewhere I can tinker with hobbies as I have lots of both.

    Here's my second plan: https://www.houseplans.com/plan/2525-square-feet-4-bedrooms-3-bathroom-european-house-plans-2-garage-25550

  • 8 years ago

    Yes where will guests go to the bathroom? Will they have to go into one of the future kids bathroom?

    Do you need a dining room, bar seating and a breakfast nook?

    Do you need a separate music room and a separate media room?

    The kitchen with that angled counter is not good. Ask anyone who's had it like that, and the majority can't wait to get rid of it.

    The master bathroom is very large but your vanity is small in comparison. Maybe 5' wide? So much room is taken up by that angled tub.

    Your master closet could be larger.

    All the ceiling height changes will add to the cost.

    Your great room usable space is actually only 13' 2" x 14' when you add in space for walkways and for the fireplace wall.

    The door into the bathrooms in bedrooms 2 and 3 means you have to open the door, then walk into the cabinet practically and then close the door to get to the toilet. Very poorly designed.

    How will you feel about not having a mudroom once you have children?

    Where is the coat closet? Broom Closet? Storage?

    Where is the space for the mechanicals?

    Honestly, this house might be fine for a single couple or someone with older children, but if children are on your radar, this is not it.


  • 8 years ago

    As Green Designs suggested:

    "You really should consider professional help. A "floorplan" is not a house plan. Remuddling an existing plan's interior without considering the effect on the exterior is a classic non pro mistake. The two are designed together. Each change you make affects the whole."

    Especially if you're hoping for children and to make this a long term house for you and a family. A professional will help you realize what your needs are now as well as in the future once babies show up.

  • 8 years ago

    A friend of mine has a kitchen with this exact design and I can tell you, it is AWFUL.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    a separate music and media room is a requirement, and I prefer the master wing away from the other bedrooms. I like this plan as well, I'd just move the wet bar into the study or forgo it completely as it would be the media and the media room would be a music room. That would allow more room in the laundry for shelving or perhaps a hanging rod

  • 8 years ago
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