Critique my plan, please!
homegirlnh
6 years ago
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Critique my plan please.
Comments (12)I also hate the garage "out front" and the idea of the driveway coming right up to the door. I know, you've explained your thought process, but it's something that lots of us just don't like. I'd swap the den's door around so it opens from the entryway. It makes no difference in the function of the room, but it will provide more privacy in the den, which looks like it'll be serving as an "away room". That "disappearing door" in the great room is really cool -- we stayed in a condo once that had one right on the ocean, and it was wonderful. However, I'm not sure I'd want to have it in my own house. 1) It's outrageously expensive. IF budget becomes an issue, this is the first thing I'd cut. 2) Depending upon where you live, if you open it, you're going to lose all your air conditioning, and it'll be expensive /take time to get the house back to cool again -- as such, I can't see it being used a whole lot. I like the 1-2-3 layout of the great room - dining area - kitchen. I think it'd "live comfortably". The kitchen could be laid out more efficiently. I suggest you take it over to the kitchen page. At a glance, I'd point out that an L+island (with a large pantry on one end instead of countertops) gives a more efficient work space: The pantry is better storage than expensive cabinets, and that extra run of countertop never ends up being used anyway. I would simplify the bath nearest the garage. I'd do away with the back-into-the-closet-to-use-the-toilet design, which is difficult to clean -- and if this is a child's bedroom, you're going to hate potty training in a closet. This small vanity cannot support two sinks. If you expect these two secondary bedrooms to eventually be children's rooms, I'd lose the exterior door in the back bedroom. You don't want to wonder whether your toddler is going out into the back yard . . . or who's coming into your teen's room. I hate the long hallway to the laundry room. Laundry is a thankless chore at best; don't add a lengthy walk to the task. At a glance, I'd look into switching the laundry room with the adjacent bathroom. The bathroom would still be accessible to the bedroom, but cutting out that corner and extra steps to the laundry would benefit all three bedrooms. With two full baths for the secondary bedrooms, I would not put in a powder room. I see no reason guests (who are only around twice a month anyway) can't use the children's hall bathrooms. Kids are capable of keeping their bathroom neat and clean -- if they're taught to do it....See MoreCritique my plans please
Comments (5)steener, A couple of things off the top of my head.... I agree with houseful, more windows. "A Pattern Language" advises us to light each room from two sides (if possible). Many of the best house ideas from this book are summarized in "Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design" which I would recommend checking out from your library. I you are hoping to add value to your home, the single best thing you can do for a 3BR is to add a 2nd BA. So I would skip the laundry room and add another bathroom. The laundry room is a long way from your mud room, and I think it would be nice to connect them somehow, or move the laundry into the mudroom. I don't know where you live, but when my kids come in from weather, they strip down right there in the doorway and it goes right into the washer. With only one bathroom, I would separate the toilet area from the rest of the room, instead of the extra shower stall. Just a weird pet peeve that I have, but since my DH and I share, it's nice when one of us can go in and take care of business in the potty room and the other one can still brush teeth or put on makeup at the sink. Hope this makes sense. I think it will be even more important with 4 people sharing a bathroom. Hope I've been able to give you a few points to consider. Good luck with your remodel. Lisa A....See MoreCritique my cabinet plan, please
Comments (10)I did get SOME sleep last night - though I had to take a pill to get it. :( We also are waiting for test results to find out if the original flooring contains asbestos. But that's another story. mtnrdredux: what a great idea - I am so much a visual person, this will really help me. I will do that this afternoon when I have some time. chris - that side of the wine rack is the end of the cabinet room and is facing into the open dining room, as is the island overhang. I'm already encroaching into the existing dining room space by about a foot and don't want to do more than that. So, adding another cabinet into that run isn't possible. Two possibilities I can see for relocating the wine rack (if insulation doesn't cut it) are: 1) put it in the walk in pantry - hadn't thought of that, thx chris. 2) put the wine rack under part of the island top where I currently plan to have 2 side by side drawers over 2 open shelves. (This is the side away from the ovens) Which idea do folks like better - or do you have a third? Sadly, if I move the wine rack, I still am not sure about moving the ovens to the right. I need a flooring transition in that area and had thought of a straight like between island base and the transition between ovens and wind rack. I want the counter height stools to be all on the same flooring as the dining room. If I turn the base between the ovens and dishwasher into a full drawer bank, it would end up being about a 16.5" drawer base. Is that wide enough to be useful? How wide would the interior of the drawer actually be, and - in general - what size drawers are good for what function? I guess likewise, if I omit the tray divider in the island, I could use that space for drawers; that would give me 33" - is that enough for 2 side by side drawer bases? One for silverware, table linens, etc. and one for measuring spoons, garlic presses, spatulats, bowls, etc? florantha - DH and I are the only ones here (other than the cats and chickens). If we do what we've always done, more prep work will be done at the clean up sink than the prep sink, unless we both need a sink at the same time. I do most of the cooking, he makes his own breakfast and both of us lattes in the morning. Somewhat often, we'll both be in there together; one prepping veggies or making a salad, the other doing something else (eg, getting meat ready). So access to 2 sinks in the kitchen is key for us. My concern about putting the small sink "outside" the kitchen is that that is the main traffic flow between the back door (read main door) and the rest of the house. All our friends plus us arrive and leave through that door. Having said that, it will be a smaller sink, and I can skew it towards the middle of the end some so it's not right on the edge. I will try a mock set up and see how it feels Thanks for suggesting that!! Best way to know if it will work is to try it. For hand washing of folks not working in the kitchen, there will be a pedestal sink in the half bath/laundry room and another outside the back door where we can wash up after "farm chores." Back to the wine rack question - In the meantime, I got a message from my cabinet maker. He said the side of the oven cab is 3/4", then there's 3/4" air space, then 1/4" back to wine rack - he suggests heat won't be an issue. Anybody think this is enough to take care of it... or not?...See MoreCritique my "Salsa Plan", Please!
Comments (8)I don't see any obvious problems with your plan but the answers to your questions <So--my question/concern is: I know they will be watery, so how much "water" should I drain off? And do I measure the cups of tomatoes before or after draining? Or should I measure them after they are thawed?> depends on how you drain (collander, sieve, cheesecloth all drain differently), the type of tomatoes you pick (different types have very different levels of juice), the recipe you are using and how it is worded as it should tell you if you measure before or after draining. ie: X cups of chopped tomatoes, drained vs. X cups of chopped and drained tomatoes. As very general guide you'd want X cups of chopped tomatoes with at least some liquid in them. In general tomatoes that are only partially thawed won't drain much. Not compared to fully thawed. So what little drainage you'd get from using partially thawed shouldn't pose much of a problem with the end product - remember it has to be sloshy in the jars and only fully drained AFTER opening the jars. But fully thawed tomatoes can be drained too much and like trying to make salsa with Romas, it ends up too dry. And your last margin of safety for what of a better term, is in the way you fill the jars. You use a slotted spoon and fill the jars about 3/4 full of solids and 1/4 with liquids. So will you have liquid left over in the cooking pan? Probably some. If no then you may have over-drained them and need to adjust it. If a geat deal is left over then you likely filled the jars with too many solids. Follow me? Dave...See Morehomegirlnh
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