Layout question: Pls share your ideas for first floor

Nadia G

5 years ago

Would love to fit a butlers pantry but dont think space is big enough. Do you like my design plan?

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cpartist

5 years ago

Who designed this? I ask because it could be so much better. You have lots of foyer space but little space where you need it. Upstairs you wanted to turn the 3 bedrooms into 2 saying you have a bedroom downstairs. You don't. You have an office. It's too small to be a bedroom at 9'8" wide.

Assuming you want to put a queen bed in the room if you have guests, that leaves you with only 56" assuming you don't want the bed up against the window wall. That leaves only 28" on either side of the bed and doesn't account for how you'll open the closet doors.

You don't have enough room for an island with seating or even an island in the kitchen. You have a width of 9'7" which is 115" of width. Perimeter cabinets take up 25.5" because we always measure space not from cabinet to cabinet but from counter edge to counter edge. So 115" - 25.5" = 89.5". You need a minimum of 42" for aisle space and that's if only one person is in the kitchen at a time. So that now leaves you with 47.5". An island with seating takes up 42" leaving you with 5.5".

Sounds fine except your dining room is only 8' 11" wide. That is 107" wide. From the side wall to the table you need a minimum of 36" for people to pull out their chairs, etc. That leaves you with 71". A standard dining table is 42" wide which now leaves you with 29". Between seating at the island and seating at the dining table you ideally need 60" although that can be fudged a bit. However you only have a total of 34.5" between your dining table and your island. Not even enough room to walk between. If you went with a 36" wide dining table you'd still only have 40.5" of walking room. Still not enough.

You have a similar problem with your living room and fitting furniture in. Your living room is 11' 5" wide. However you need to be able to walk between any furniture and your island which will leave you with a living room of 8' 5" wide because you need a minimum of 3' of walking space.

On the exterior a 3'11" deck isn't even wide enough to stand on. I would highly recommend you work with someone who has design skills and understands sizes to design your house.

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Comments (12)

everdebz
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Idk how much you'd want to make changes: what if front door opens to "face" the FR, and instead of stairs straight ahead, place office there, with ok-looking doors [french?].

With office next to kitchen, room for your pantry?
Nadia G
Original Author
5 years ago
Oh, I like that idea. Especially because I dont like opening front door to staircase. Thank you!
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everdebz
5 years ago
Curious how many feet from front door to first stair / basement door? it might be adequate to feel a bit roomy.
whaas_5a
5 years ago
That is a very very narrow living room. Have you laid out your furniture along with TV placement? Looks problematic for flow near the kitchen island as well.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
5 years ago
When working with a modular home, changes should be made through the modular home company; they know the constraints of their construction.
Nadia G thanked Mark Bischak, Architect
pink_peony
5 years ago
Do you mean a pantry or a butlers pantry? A butlers pantry is a whole different animal than a pantry. Generally placed in the span between a formal dining room and kitchen in todays homes Often with a bar sink and additional cabinets top and bottom and counter space. . In older homes they were a space where extra dishes and counter space could be found as well as where the mess could be stored and washed to keep the kitchen cleaner. They were used during entertaining to keep the mess hidden basically. In your square footage a butlers pantry would be somewhat of a stretch.
bpath
5 years ago
Mark, education opportunity: what are the indicators that this is a modular home?
Suru
5 years ago
It appears that everything will be a little tight. Is there anyway you could take some room from the entryway and add it to the kitchen/living/dining area? The kitchen island seems to take up more room than what the additional storage is worth. I think you could remove the kitchen island and use a rolling cart or something that you could tuck away.

The only way to the deck is through the small dining room. You will be walking around a table to get out. Trust me, that will get old and pretty soon you won't be using the deck.

Also, you might want to put a window at the stair landing to bring in more ventilation and light.
Nadia G thanked Suru
Nadia G
Original Author
5 years ago
Great feedback everyone! Thank you. Unfortunately it will be a narrow house and yes it is a modular home.
cpartist
5 years ago
Do they have designs already? Can you find one that would work better?
Nadia G
Original Author
5 years ago
I will go back and see what they can do but this was what was offered for the size of my lot. Lose a lot because of it being a corner and setbacks..

Layout question: Pls share your ideas for first floor

cpartist

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everdebz

Nadia G
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Mark Bischak, Architect

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Layout question: Pls share your ideas for first floor

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