Rear Elevation Southern Living Plan Wentworth Heights / Avington Place
Comments (23)
PROMark Bischak, Architect
6 years ago
cpartist
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Third round of house plan ideas- help please!
Comments (45)What a pretty piece of land!!! And since you have a corner lot you have all sorts of options regarding exactly which way to face your front door! On the other hand, because of the corner lot, you're also going to want both facades that face a street (south and west) to be "pretty" enough to be a front elevation. You won't be able to get away with thinking "well, this is the side of the house so if it doesn't look terribly well balanced, well, no one will ever see it anyway...." In fact, it appears as if people will also be able to look across the pond and see the east face of your home from the road as it curves back around the pond. So even that side can't just be left "plain" like one sees with the back and sides of many tract houses. So, all my comments remain tentative until we see the upstairs and basement plans and can start getting a sense of what the exterior elevations will look like. LOL! With either option, you should bear in mind that if/when you have children, it is going to be a long hike from the master bedroom to the bottom of the staircase and an even longer hike to junior's bedside when he wants a drink of water in the middle of the night. Other than that tho, as far as the floor-plan goes, both options look pretty livable although there are a few minor tweaks I would recommend. Eg., with both options I would suggest swapping the locations of the toilet and shower in the master bath. You don't want noise from the toilet waking your spouse up in the middle of the night so it is better not to have the toilet up against the bedroom wall. I'd also personally prefer having the vanities on either side of the tub instead of shower and toilet because vanities don't "box in" the tub as much as a shower unit and the walls of a toilet room. I think a garden tub looks prettier when it is more "open." In my mind, boxing a garden tub in with shower and toilet room walls recreates the typical "alcove tub" found in every tract house in the country. On both options I'd probably also want to reposition the powder room a little bit. It isn't terribly bad where it is right now but I feel like you would still have a little bit of a view of the toilet while standing in front of the kitchen sink and that would bother me. On both options, I'd definitely make the island a little bit smaller so that the aisleway between kitchen sink and island was wider. Since you might have someone squeezing past to reach the master bedroom while you're washing dishes (even tho there is another way they could go!) I would want 4.5 feet of space there. On both options, I'd probably want a second door directly from garage into the pantry in order to avoid the walk around carrying groceries. On both options, you have a "door conflict" between the closet door outside the laundry room and the laundry room door. On both options, the master bath area/master closet area is HUGE. If you find yourself needing to cut some square footage, I'd start there. BTW, I'm curious as to whether the square footage of either option is anywhere near the 2500 sq ft max you mentioned on your earlier post? I like the two double garages of option 2 but would want a man-door somewhere on that side of the house to make it easier to access the detached garage. I'd also want a man door into the detached garage. Who wants to have to open two garage doors to get to a car parked in the detached garage? I think I prefer the location of the office in option 1 to its location in option 2 and I know I prefer the larger front porch on option 1 to the small front porch on option 2. I suspect the front facade of option 1 can be made to look nicer than the facade of option 2 which, to me at least, seems out of balance with the office sticking out almost in the middle of the house but not quite. I like the u-shaped stairway of option 2 better than the C-shaped staircase of option 1 but wish there was someone to turn it so that you could have the landing up against the exterior wall so you could have a landing window. On both plans, I don't like that the only way to reach the powder-room from the office, lving area or dining room is to walk right thu the kitchen. Just my 2 cents. I'm sure you'll get opinions from lots of others....See MoreCritique Our Plans - MN Walkout
Comments (6)We have similar tastes: I designed my first and last new home from scratch, and it's also a walkout with lots of gables and a few rounded windows. LOVE the main floor: the realationship between garage/powder/kitchen is excellent, as good as I've seen. I also like the master bath and closet; but I'd push the wall behind the toilet back to the same level as the shower wall. It will eliminate an outside corner, and add more sq.ft. for less money. Might even give you room for an enclosed toilet knook. I'm also not big on the foyer: that's a lot of space that serves no function. A foyer is great if it isolates the family from every stranger that comes to the door. Your's doesn't. I'd treat the 'open to above' area as the actual foyer, and the rest as a conversation area associated with the living space, useing the same flooring. I'd also change the swing of the front door so it strikes against the pantry wall instead of blocking the stairs. My grade would be a solid A, nearly an A+. Second floor has a few minor issues: it's a shame people in bedrooms 2&3 have to traverse the open to below area. Too public for a comfortable early morning run to the bath. I'm also unclear on just how much space these rooms have due to the gables. If there's good ceiling height throughout, fine. I would rework the bath up here, but the good news is, you have plenty of sq.ft. to do it. I'd replace the tub with a generous shower, and seperate the shower and toilet areas. I may even move both sinks to the 'outside' vanity-- while a sink outside the bath is fine in a hotel, doesn't work as well in a home. People will keep their supplies by one sink or the other, and the person using the sink without shower or toilet facilities is getting the short end of the stick. I'd give it a C, but could pretty easily move up with just a little more effort. Basement: My only real thought is don't bother with infloor heat-- I didn't in my walkout. The comfort factor in what is essentially occasional use space isn't worth the extra bucks. Baseboard, whether hot water or electric, will be fine. General notes: -How wide a deck are you planning off the dining? The one over my walkout area is 6 ft., and is nice to sit ans watch the river. But it isn't wide enough for a table, or a face-to-face conversation zone. Works well for me because I have south and west decks for those functions, but honestly 8ft wouldn't have cut the light to the basement much, and would have been more versatile. If this is your southern exposure, I'd do at least 8 feet, maybe 10, including the roor overhang: big overhangs are great on southern exposures since it gives you sun in winter, shade in summer. -I'd consider using all french doors instead of sliders. I just like 'em better. -I love the 3 window arrangement in the 'tall wall' of the living room, but I'd make the side lights quarter circles so they tie to the center arch better. Sadly, an expensive change-- I know because I did it. -Other than the upper floor, you've dodged the bullet of long hallways, which is ultimately just walkthrough space that still consumes footage and dollars: well done! I've seen some plans that were at least 10% halls, which is just tragic. My over all score would be B+: good work, change a few details and you'll have an A!...See MoreFinal Preliminary Plans for Review
Comments (19)Thank you all for your comments! The weather is getting cold and I hope everyone stay warm and safe. Littlebug- For UPS person or guests, I expect them park on the N St and walk up to the front door. The bottom right corner of the house is close to the community gate. There are about 30 houses on N street and only 10 on W street. So people entering the subdivision will see the front first. In case we do not have enough parking spaces there, they would find a spot close to the front door on the W St. Since the sidewalk is adjacent to the curb (without any grass between the curb and the sidewalk), the walk does not seem too bad. I understand the current layout with garage in the back is not ideal for guest parking. The lot is too narrow (70ft x 130ft) for front-or side-loading garage. Annkh- Yes. Very good suggestions on the window sizes. On the east side, the wall to wall distance is less than 20ft. The current neighbor does not have a single window. We currently have three windows in the bedrooms and one in the 2nd floor kids bath. They are for lighting and ventilation. On the wall facing the west street, we had small windows to limit heat exposure in the summer as we are building in the hot climate of deep south. I went ahead and did some changes. On the east side, the bedroom window sizes are increased from 2050 to the standard 3050. On the west side, I added two 3050 windows (one in dining and one in garage). I feel good about the window addition in garage. Just not so sure about the one in dining. Other than heat, it may cause problem for furniture placement. In addition, the small game room windows on front and west have been increased from 2010 to 2020. The two windows in the kitchen have been enlarged too. I made some small changes to the window header height. Some of the windows on the elevations look too close to the eaves so I moved them down about 6”. Not sure if that is that is right. I will verify with the designer and talk to builders. The current design has two small kitchen windows below high cabinets. I proposed to move them up to allow better lighting. Kirkhall-That is an important point and very good question. I always think that the front is on the N street as that is the front setback at on the plat. It is an empty lot in an established subdivision so we have our address already. I need to check with the city to find out where the house address would exactly be located. Or shall I also check with the post office? Lavender Lass- Thank you for your continued support and wish you a very happy new year! We are moving slowly. Just started to get cost estimate on the build. The W street is not busy. There are only about 10 homes up on that street. Our house is close to the sole entrance gate. No through traffic. Windows on the west side wall are limited and relatively small as we are concerned about the very hot summer climate here. Yes. Guests are going to park on the street in front our house. The house has a front setback of 20ft along that side so I think that is supposed to be the front unless we apply for a variance. AnnieDeighnaugh- I appreciate your comments. We have struggled a lot regarding the kitchen layout and tried different designs with help from people in the kitchen forum. I understand that the up-down island orientation would make a lot of sense in normal situations. In our case, the area is about 15ft by 16ft which is limited by the walls supporting the second floor game room. We need another 1-2ft to rotate the island 90 degree. The sink is placed on the corner so that we have more prep area to the left of the sink and in front of the fridge. Based on the prep sink size, we would probably about 2’6” landing to the other side of the sink behind the cook area. I was first worried about the island as a barrier between the cooktop and the fridge too. Just hope the problem won’t be that severe as it does not cut into the traffic much and we do have about 4ft island clearance both ways. Yes. There is a potential problem with the oven door and the pantry door being open at the same time. We may change the swing door to a pocket door to the pantry. The game room has windows along three walls. The ones on the back provide some views to the back yard and the rest are just for lighting/ventilation/exteriors. I did increase the small windows of 2010 to 2020. The front elevation needs a lot of work to make it look right. I have no idea about the front door-pediment-roof pitch proportions. I would bring the issue to the designer and certainly appreciate any comments here. Many Thanks! JF Attached are elevations with some changes to the windows. I did it on the CAD file from the designer just to illustrate some of the ideas (more windows, larger windows, lower window header, front door with vertical panels). Front Back Left Right...See MoreHas anyone built Cedar River Farmhouse from Southern Living?
Comments (209)People can share THEIR finished $/sqft. but in reality it means little. Prices from even six months ago are outdated, prices are heavily locale dependant and if a house can be built for say $400/sf the same house can be built for $200/sf but with different flooring, cabinets, siding, trim, windows......etc. Basically a stripped down version of a more expensive version....See More
clove3415
6 years agoAnnKH
6 years agoclove3415
6 years agocpartist
6 years agoAnnKH
6 years agoclove3415
6 years agocpartist, I describe the property & family above. Assuming my post is visible to all.
AnnKH, Aesthetically, we thought we could achieve the look we are after with either plan. Some sample front elevations that capture the look we are after: soft white brink, black shutters, (synthetic) slate roofing. Inspiration pics below.
Our thoughts on each of stock plans:
Wentworth Heights:
+ separation of master wing from living hub
+ separation of kitchen from family room (like to avoid one giant kitchen/great room)
+ dedicated formal dining room.
+ functional space (laundry / mudroom) coming off garage into kitchen
- small breakfast room
- kitchen planning seems odd (i.e. fridge right next to tight breakfast room space)
Avington Place:
+ more visually pleasing.
+ like the idea of back stairs
+ better kitchen layout although breakfast room still tight
+ would change formal living room to study
+ easy access to add stairs to basement
+ open to below -> upstairs study / rec room
- tight closet space upstairs
- need to add coat closet (close off access to study/living room).
In summary, I feel like both are workable. Not perfect as are but can be tweaked. Would be curious to hear what is inherently bad about the plans (or rather what could be improved upon!). Won't get offended at anything. Just trying to learn :)AnnKH
6 years ago
just_janni
6 years agocpartist
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agocpartist
6 years agodoc5md
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
PROVirgil Carter Fine Art
6 years agocpartist
6 years agoFirst thing I would do is orient the whatever house you eventually build in a more north/south orientation so you get better passive solar heating and cooling. It will save you from brutal heat and light in the rear from the west sun and also help with heating and cooling bills.
Avington:It will be dark inside. The porches will limit the light entering the house and especially since it's not a north/south orientation. (see drawing) Notice how little light will enter?
Why does not a single public room or bedroom in the whole house have windows on two walls? Windows on two walls allow for cross ventilation and light within.
The best space in the bedroom (corners where you can get windows on two walls) are taken over by the closets.
Why are there double doors from the bathroom into the closet?
Why are there double doors from the bedroom into the bathroom?
What is the point of the angled shower and vanity in the master bath?
There is a fireplace in the master bedroom but it won't be viewable for one of you because the bed can't go on the wall opposite the fireplace.
The master bedroom is up against the family room. Noise can be a problem, especially considering the TV will probably go on the wall that shares with the bedroom.
The powder room toilet shares a wall with the master bedroom.
With walkways the family room usable space is really only 13'10" x 15'4".
The dining room is quite a hike from the kitchen. Now imagine carrying hot food, or a heavy turkey from the workspace in the kitchen to the dining room.
There is no coat closet near the front door.
The laundry room is quite a hike from the master bedroom and even from the upstairs bedrooms. (see drawing)
There are french doors from the breakfast room out to the back. That means 3' of the space is taken but the room is only 8'6" which isn't even really deep enough for a 42" wide table without the french doors.
The mudroom is quite small for a family of 5 with all their stuff.
Downstairs with the exception of the master closets, there is only one other closet to put things and that's in the laundry room.
If you have SUV's that garage is quite small.
To get to the door to the interior from the garage means walking around the car that is parked closest to the door.
More importantly if you're on 7 acres why would you want the garage attached to the house, where it sticks out in front of the house? If I had 7 acres you can bet my garage wouldn't be the first thing that's seen.
I see no mechanical room indicated.
The upstairs is actually better but I still see no windows on 2 walls.
I'm not a fan of jack and jill bathrooms because someone always leaves one side locked. YMMV.
The child in the jack and jill bathroom to the right will hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night since the toilet is on the bedroom wall.
I'm not a fan of open to below spaces. It means things being thrown down and more importantly noise rising. Plus it's harder to heat and cool.cpartist
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoNow onto the Wentworth. Not a fan of this one either.
Again in this house downstairs there isn't light reaching most of the rooms. In fact this house will be darker than the one above. The exception will be the master bedroom. In fact the master bedroom itself is fine. (see photo)
The reason for this again is because there are only windows on one wall in every public room and bedroom with the exception of the master.
Let's talk about the master bedroom. To enter the master means walking through a dark hallway past your closets and your entry to your master bathroom. Frankly, it's not very welcoming. (see pink arrow)
The closet to the left is basically unusable because it's barely large enough to walk into and then that space that's showing as a triangular corner is useless.
The fancy hallway is wasted space.
Again there is double doors into the bathroom?
What is with the angled vanity again?
I would hate to need to use the toilet in the middle of the night. In fact I would probably opt for the powder room toilet in the middle of the night since it's actually closer to the master bedroom than the master toilet.
One vanity is huge and the other is barely large enough to put a toothbrush on.
The study/bedroom shows a "walk in closet". It's not. It's a reach in as drawn.
The entry into this house is larger than the dining room and the study! What a waste of space.
The dining room is quite narrow.
The family room's usable space is actually 16' x 11' because of walkways, etc.
Again it is quite a hike carrying laundry from the bedroom(s) to the laundry room. (see drawing)
In the kitchen, I'm not understanding the pantry within the pantry. The outer pantry isn't a butler's pantry since there's no entry from the pantry to the dining room.
The garage is too small and again if you're on 7 acres why would you want a garage sticking out front? On a narrow lot, I can understand it. Not on 7 acres.
And like above, you'd have to walk around the car closest to the door to get inside.
clove3415
6 years ago
Architectrunnerguy
6 years agocpartist
6 years agocpartist
6 years agoLexmomof4
5 years agokmf10
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
Mark Bischak, Architect