House of many doors... Need help with floor plan!!
I really need some help with this one... Inherited this 1946 house from my mom when she passed in january. it been in the family since 2 years after it was built, 4 generations now. it has been added onto a few times, hence the windows inside the house and the two living rooms. it is on pier and stem.
the problem is that the layout of the house currently is practically unlivable. tearing down walls or opening up spaces is no problem, i have many years construction experience and have the skill to tackle just about anything. i'm just not very good at floorplanning and need help to make better use of this space. attached is a link to a 3d floorplan i put together on floorplanner. any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
*for some reason it shows the blank basement first, click the top left that says basement and switch to ground floor*
Comments (13)
Molly D. Zone4B
5 years agoMolly D. Zone4B
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help with floor plan in pole barn home
Comments (6)Just a few preliminary thoughts- Your room sizes add up to 50', which tells me you haven't included wall thicknesses. At a minimum of 4-1/2" thick walls, the 6 walls add up to 27". How are you going to get into the BR in the upper left hand corner? Center the doors on 8' wide closets so you have hanging space on both sides. And a 10 X 10 closet has wasted space in the middle. Cut it down to 8', or even 7' wide. What is that huge storage area for? Consider where windows will go, and what the potential view will be. We live in the country, and it's hard to express just how much impact our windows have on our overall feel. We don't even have window treatments except in the bedroom and bathroom because we have such privacy. If you are planning to work with an architect, don't spend too much time on lay-out, but instead consider what your wants and needs are, and then let them run with it. It is VERY important to design and site the house in proper relation to your property. I'm not much good at floor plans, but what you have seems to need a lot of work. Good luck- I'm looking forward to what you come up with!...See MoreNeed Advice on New Home Floor Plan
Comments (62)Resurrecting this thread with the 2 current floor plan possibilities. Until these I was absolutely POSITIVE the kitchen was returning the front of the house and thus much larger. I'm getting older and really don't think I will need a huge kitchen, besides we'll be much closer to decent restaurants. The MBR had become 23 feet wide because DH wanted a place to disappear. (It's a better size now.) It finally occurred to me to think hard about how we live and I decided what we really needed was a separate living room that could be closed off from the rest of the space. It is now the TV room with surround sound. The other living room will have the stereo and a small TV. It's still an open plan just not as open as it could be. Just because wide open is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea. My custom 7 foot cherry dining table (built so DH can get his knees under the skirt board rather than butted up into it) has been a bit of a problem to work around. I don't really need a formal dining room as we only use the table for major holidays. But then it's nice to have when I do need it. First planThe dining table just sort of sits there, floating sort of. I don't like the way the kitchen/TV room wall does not line up with the MBR/2nd living room wall, hence plan version number 2. Second Plan I like "neatness" of the walls though the MBR closet is smaller (I also widened the MBA aisle a little though technically 3'8" would be better for wheelchair access) This version has a vestibule-like area at the front door (hey, Mark!), which I kind of like. The dining room looks a little cramped but when I look at the 3D views I think it looks great. I dislike my exercise bike having to go into the garage and losing a linen closet, but, oh well. I am debating losing the soaker tub. which would free up some space to play with. Now a few reminders : The post frame and trusses are up so this is the final shape of the house. All interior walls are still moveable but those red posts within walls must remain where they are ( 12 feet apart) They cannot be cut and have headers installed, etc in order to move windows. The number of windows and is what I have to deal with without spending more money to have the engineer at the pole barn company re-engineer everything. The windows are mostly 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet tall though. They also have to remain within their respective 12 spaces unless we pay that engineer again. CP, I did manage to get DH to shift the house a few degrees so the back of the house is a little bit more toward the south but for the most part it's still has the front of the house facing northwest into the winter wind (thank goodness we planted a windbreak 20 years ago) and the back facing southeast. It is not the worst configuration up here. The furniture placement on the plan for the 2 living rooms is done with lots of chairs, most of which we do not own, and the sofa which we do own may be tossed. Just making sure stuff fits. Okay, rip it apart while I go try a plan with a master bath without a tub.......See Morehelp with floor transitions- 2 many decision makers here we need help
Comments (1)I thought this was a blank slate and if so why do marble in the bathrooms. I think I would need to see the house and the suite in the center is a bit of a mystery sow show that in a to scale floor plan . Where are you located? IMO all stone floors only work in the tropics they are hard on feet, backs and knees for sure....See MoreNeed to replace many patio doors but need help with mid range choices.
Comments (2)I have a 1956 MCM ranch with those great overhangs and we installed HD ( I have no idea of brand ) patio doors they are vinyl and have stood up very well in S. B.C. Canada in all the different weather we get. They were quite affordable we got triple glazed since they are quite large and we get very hot and very cold weather and also live up above a highway.Our doors are 96” wide and the same height as you have. You of course have all the rules in CA you need to follow so not sure mine would meet those criteria Those nice big overhangs are IMO awesome for controlling heat in the summer and where we live the sun heats the house in the winter so a great design. We do have one large window facing west that does let in heat and UV we have solar shades on that window and makes a huge differencr in the anmount of heat from that window, I think if I was to change all my windows I would go black metal with the skinniest frame possible like commercial ones....See Moresepukacheekray
5 years agoMolly D. Zone4B
5 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI re-oriented the plan with the front at the bottom, and went a little crazy.
Click to enlarge:
Compare side-by-side:
LR wall removed:
A different direction:
I assume you'll be consulting an architect--until then, I hope these plans help with ideas. You might want to cross post to Building a Home forum, too.Molly D. Zone4B
5 years agosepukacheekray
5 years ago
This design here is absolutely beautiful, i love it! A friend of my father's is a retired architect, and will be helping me with the finalization of my project. i would absolutely love an open rail staircase to the basement, however, with the way the basement is oriented i don't think i could have it where you suggested. i have drawn a crude dotted outline of the basement, and moved the stairs to the back of where the laundry room was.
The next question is what to do with the massive basement. currently it's just a massive open space, with a fireplace on the north wall. there is a small above ground windows on each side of the fireplace. i was thinking home theater/ entertainment room, or maybe break it in half and add a guest bedroom and have a smaller entertainment room? I'm not sure how to best utilize this massive space.
Thank you all so much for your help! I'm very grateful for the help, I've been absolutely lost up until this point.mama goose_gw zn6OH
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoIf you include a sofa bed or Murphy bed in the basement design, you can have the entertainment room, and guest room combined. You could get creative and attach a large screen TV to the bottom panel of the bed. Upstairs, if you locate the laundry as you've drawn it, you could stack plumbing for a basement bathroom. Does the basement have a floor drain? The layout of the bathroom could be flipped, but then someone exiting the bathroom might collide with someone else exiting the stairs--just depends on how you feel about the BR door opening off the kitchenette.
Also, upstairs, if you make the laundry a bit narrower, there would be space for tall cabinets on the laundry wall, for a bit of a buffer between it and the LR, and the cabinets could be used as pantry storage, or bookcases, display, etc.
When you open the current basement door, from the first floor, is there sufficient landing to open the door and step in on the landing? I had drawn the relocated basement stairs with a door swing into the hall, but I noticed you changed it on your version. If there is no deep landing on the stairs, you should have the door swing into the room/hall for safety. In my first drawing with the relocated stairs, I'd assumed that the stairs ran to the front of the house, but I now see they must run down along the back wall of the basement, correct?sepukacheekray thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHmama goose_gw zn6OH
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI don't know if you're interested in the (upstairs) kitchen plan as I drew it, but I added more detail. Since the DW is on the end of the run, in this version I moved the fridge up enough to add a side cabinet, which could be used as a pantry, but instead you could stack upper cabinets, with glass in the top cabinets, to store dishes near the DW and table. Or, dishes could be stored in drawers to the left of the sink, with trash in a pull-out under the sink.
sepukacheekray thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHsepukacheekray
5 years agoI love your creativity, it is very impressive!
The original staircase in the home has no landing and the door opens into it, which is pretty dangerous. My brother and I have almost had a few drunken mishaps... haha. It runs this way:
With the relocation i was thinking something along the lines of this:
This way the closet would be big enough to accommodate the safe that's already in the basement. it's way to large and heavy to get out of there. I think your basement design would add so much utility and value to the house.There is currently no floor drain or plumbing in the basement, i'd just need to add a sewage ejector pump. The house being pier and stem would make it really easy to plumb in the laundry room. my only worry with it being in the middle of the house would be the dryer vent and lint getting stopped up inside.
i like the way you have the kitchen set up, it utilizes the space well. I especially like the sliding doors in the dining area. that part of the yard is bare and i could build a deck with pergola there.
sepukacheekray
5 years ago
for reference, here is the layout of the property. it is on two lots on a corner across from a park.the red square is where the potential kitchen patio would go if i installed sliding doors in the dining room.
there is a detached two car garage with a 300sq ft efficiency built into it. I'm not sure what to do with the garage. this neighborhood is an old one, adjacent to the town's university. it's populated with professors, young families and students, and most of the nicer houses have built the garages into additional space for the home. anything done to the garage would be later on down the road, however having a plan in the works would be nice.there is enough space there for an additional 1000 square foot rental unit if i don't include the old aquarium. 1100 sq ft 2 bedroom rentals in the neighborhood run around 1200+ utilities, and are never wanting for tenants. so, add to house's square footage or invest in a rental unit? I'm not sure what the best course of action would be, but i have no use for a detached garage, i prefer to park on the street as the doorway isn't tall enough for my truck.
My grandfather had an exotic fish farm in the old aquarium, it used to have the greenhouse paneling for a roof, but it has since deteriorated. My little brother and I both live in this house now, he's going to school for a plant biology degree and i was thinking about converting this structure into a greenhouse for him.
sandk