Modern farmhouse/barn plan - feedback request

7 years ago

Hi, we're trying to nail down a final design of a modern-ish farmhouse/barn style home. We were initially inspired by this set of plans. We've went through a few rounds of changes with our designer/draftsman, and are pretty happy with the attached layouts (we do not currently have elevations), and was hoping to get some feedback.

2 adults, no kids but frequent guests, and this will be home for 25+ years. Being built on a 5 acre view (mountain) lot in a rural area of Los Angeles County. Trying to stay below 4,000 sqft, which puts us on the small side for the area (typically 4,000 sqft to 6000 sqft).

Things we like:

Odd/quirky nature of the design
Large open living/dining/kitchen area
Each bedroom has its own bathroom
Lots of covered outdoor space
Large kitchen area with a lot of counter workspace
Walk in pantry

Things we're still not sure of:

Entry way/foyer open to 2nd floor. Not sure if it really adds much, also not sure what else we'd do with the space on the 2nd floor.
Kitchen layout is the best compromise we could come up with. May put an additional sink in the island in order create a fridge/sink work zone.

Thanks, finally being able to post a "plan feedback" post has been a bit of a dream of ours since we closed on our lot. This feels like a major milestone!

Featured Answer

lazy_gardens

7 years ago

Looking at the inspiration plan ... where you changed things in the utility areas, you didn't improve them. Look where the mudroom and powder room are.

That curved entry change, open to below, plays havoc with the traffic patterns, the room shapes and doesn't fit the barn feeling of the place.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

Ray Switzer
Original Author
7 years ago
Opps, looks like Houzz shrunk my images. Here they are at a more readable size: http://imgur.com/a/CbSTl
cpartist
7 years ago
Will you be living upstairs or downstairs? If upstairs why would you want your laundry room downstairs? Lots of shlepping. Especially since you have such a large master closet.

I ask because your downstairs guest bedroom looks like it could be a master bath. would guests need a closed toilet or two sinks or a walk in closet? I think one sink with extra storage would be more appreciated, especially when you consider guests need space to store temporary things and hate the idea of putting them in "your" drawers.

The toilet in the master bath is quite a haul in the middle of the night. Maybe not now, but as you age it might become more of a haul. LOL.

Also if you're planning on living there for the next 25+ years, I'd think a bit more about it being able to be converted to being ADA compliant. Is there a place you can add in an elevator if it's ever needed? Your bathrooms would be quite difficult to get into and out of.

Would you be able to use the powder room if you needed a wheelchair or walker?

The kitchen needs help. I would suggest posting in the kitchen forum and let the guru's there help you design an efficient kitchen. This isn't quite it.

The upstairs guest bedroom is a bit oddly configured. Have you tried putting furniture in the room?

In the upstairs guest bath, there isn't enough room between the toilet and the wall, and it will be quite a tight squeeze to get to the shower.

What is the point of the 6'6" loft area? It's too small for much of anything but looking down.

Frankly, I think that extra guest bedroom/bathroom/loft area needs work.

Love the his and hers drop zones. :) Wish I had thought of that.
Related Discussions
Modern Farmhouse Plan
Q
Comments (6)
It's an interesting Modern Minimal Traditional design by an Oklahoma builder who seems to have embraced modern developer detailing with a passion. A "farm house" is not a house style but a use. It can be of any style but the most common historically was the Greek Revival Style and, of course, the Folk Style. What is common to most older farm houses is that they are 2 stories with porches and the barn and other utility structures are not attached directly to the house. It is the "cheek by jowl" relationship of the house and garage in this example that makes it look like it belongs in a suburban rather than a rural location. To me it has more in common with a Raised Ranch than a farm house. But you can't blame a developer for adopting whatever marketing approach attracts buyers. However, I draw the line at misleading advertising copy. The developer suggests that a buyer can "Serve Thanksgiving dinner in the formal dining room", but I could not find one on the plan. If I wanted this kind of house to look more like a farm house, I would pull the garage away, push it back and connect it to the house with utility structures so the main house could stand alone as much as possible. Making the porch deeper and wrapping it around two sides with part of it enclosed can be very effective. Here is a link that might be useful: Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn
...See More
Floor plan review - modern farmhouse 4 BR, 3.5 bath
Q
Comments (19)
Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate the feedback! We really have given thought to the doors, and the architects have been great about incorporating our real life into the house flow. Also, this house really doesn't have a front/back/side, it uses all sides, which is fine because we're not on a regular lot and I didn't want it to feel like we were. Here's probably more info than you want, but: marthaelena is right, there's a parking area in the front of the house. So front door is for people who park there, namely guests and my kids when they're old enough to have their own cars (which makes me break a sweat just thinking about it). You probably can't see it on the plan, but there will be a low stone wall or concrete wall directing people from the parking area to the front door. We need to add an entry closet. The mudroom door is for people parking in the garage. The side door on the west side (facing south) is especially for my husband. He gets dirty farming, plus has a farm truck that will be parked outside the garage, so that's a great place for him to enter with his muck boots on. In fact, I've talked about having an outdoor shower by that entry so he can clean up right there. That would be awesome! The door from the laundry room to the north is so I can carry laundry out to a laundry line. The line should be fairly out of view if I put it on the north side. The main outdoor area will be to the east. We haven't finalized it, but it'll either be a big deck (as shown) or a deck outside the dining area with steps leading down to a patio outside the living room area (steps will go down about 6'). If a deck, then we'll have doors from the living room and dining room out to the deck. If a deck/patio combo, then just a door from the dining room out (because the living room will be up 6' from patio).
...See More
My farmhouse plan, nearly final, feedback requested
Q
Comments (7)
Thanks for all the great comments! Yes we have 3 kids, 11,13,16. So not as big of a concern about 3 BR's up in our case. We did look at a plan with a a MBR and aniother on the main floor but ultimately decided on this one, The window in the kitchen is south facing and is 3 2'x4' widows mulled. Hopefully that let in enough light. I do hope to carry at least a little light thru the large pantry window as well. It is 3'x 6'6". We will likely have that door open more often than one would think.. Teenagers arent the best with closing doors and drawers :) I like the idea of limiting front materials. I will have to think about how to do that. Thanks for the suggestion on the bathroom door, that is an easy fix. As far as the upstairs storage areas, those are only there bc the roof line creates them. Seems a shame to not put a door in to access an area for storage even if it isnt terribly useful. But I agree, I wont be. However we will have an upstairs heater in the one to separately heat the upstairs. Our basement will be unfinished and will function as the main storage area so storage isnt a huge concer.. Additionally there will be a workshop above the garage with 8 ft ceilings that isnt shown very clearly on the plans. The 4th BR closet is quite small but it will be for my 16 yo boy who doesnt need much room. We could look at chewing into the BR space a bit to make it bigger for sure.
...See More
Plan feedback for farmhouse landscape
Q
Comments (6)
Farmdrmer, you are in the right place to get help so just need to proceed with organizing the request. It is fine to have multiple simultaneous threads running, with each one relating to a specific area. If we talk about all areas of your yard in a single thread, it will become unduly long and likely be confusing and one would always need to mention what area they are talking about. When taking pictures to let people here see what now only you can see, it is best to square up with a house face and then take slightly overlapping pictures that pan the scene from far left to far right. You need to be close enough to the house so that detail can be seen, but far enough that everything will fit in the pictures without massive distortion. For the front yard, that is probably anywhere from 25' to 40' from the house, usually, in line with the front door. If the front door is far off center, then stand in line with the center of the house. All pictures for a single scene would be taken from exactly the same position while merely pivoting the camera. You must include space beyond the ends of the house. If the house and flanking space is long, it may need to be broken into two scenes. In addition to the aforementioned pictures, you should include a picture taken from a distance away, as one would approach the house, to show the approach and how the house sets in its surroundings. Again, it would be helpful for you to talk a little about your goals and expectations for the yard. You just mentioned cistern/septic/children/dining on porch/shade ... all those kinds of things are helpful information. What else is important to you? Online resources and books may be helpful for inspiration, but the difficult part for most people is transferring that information to one's specific needs. That's where the forum is most helpful.
...See More
lazy_gardens
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
You are losing an amazing amount of living space to hallways. And the utility hallway, which would make a good mudroom area, doesn’t have the powder room accessible. To come in muddy from gardening you have to go through the entry to the kitchen.

And then I don't think the bathrooms are going to be accessible if you have a walker or wheelchair** ... start with the ADA recommended spaces and work out from there.

And yes, that is one heck of a trek to the toilet.

**The SO has been through a broken leg, ruptured achilles tendon, and a knee replacement ... we're sensitized to this stuff.
just_janni
7 years ago
So, I love this modern farmhouse inspiration. It will be tricky to execute correctly - as some of the features are specific (white house, black framed metal windows that have to carry a lot of structural support, etc) so having a good designer / architect AND engineer will be critical. And you MUST get your elevations at the same time because they are critical to the overall feel of the house.

Couple of feedback items:

Large guest bedroom down is really a second master. Make it friendly to age in place - that means things like a nice "roll in" shower, at least one sink that can be used by a wheelchair using person, plywood and concrete backer board in the shower for "anywhere" installation of grab bars. Probably remove the tub and make the toilet either in a larger room or open so that you can transfer to it from a chair placed beside it.

The dual laundries are a nice idea - esp for longer term guests - they can do some of their own laundry and you can throw guest sheets and towels in the downstairs room when they leave.

Not sure about the curved staircase and the curved 2 story foyer. I would need to see some renderings or at least some Sketch Up views - as right now, I don't see it blending with the linear feel of the rest of the space.

Post the kitchen in the Kitchen forum and prepared to be wowed...

Overall, (pending thoughts on elevations) I like this and think it could be REALLY cool sited properly to enjoy a yard and views. But it will be imperative to site it correctly - managing these views, how you enter the site / first see the house, where the parking gets placed, etc.

Exciting!
PRO
Virgil Carter Fine Art
7 years ago
I like the simple, yet sophisticated concept. It looks like a small house, but it's over 3,000SF, so it's not small. There's a lot of duplication in the design--two laundries, two master bedroom suites--but if that fits the living patterns, so be it.

I like the spatial variety in the living area. It will be challenging to design proper building systems, lighting and controls for this space, but it can be done if given proper attention. Acoustical treatment may also be necessary.

I agree about more thought being needed to make this truly a long-term, 25-year place to live. There will likely come a time when one or both owners no longer want to climb stairs (or are able to climb stairs), making the first floor living design very important.

At that point in time, not only will there likely be a need for ADA access, but also for separate sleeping areas for the two adults! Just things to consider.

Modern farmhouse/barn plan - feedback request

lazy_gardens

Comments (6)

Ray Switzer
Original Author

cpartist

Related Discussions

lazy_gardens

just_janni

Virgil Carter Fine Art

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Modern farmhouse/barn plan - feedback request

lazy_gardens

Comments (6)

Ray SwitzerOriginal Author

cpartist

Related Discussions

lazy_gardens

just_janni

Virgil Carter Fine Art

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Ray Switzer
Original Author