Who will be using the house? How often? How will you live when you’re there? Do you anticipate keeping much there in the way of clothes, beach toys, etc..?

Hi Kristin,

I will be using it with hubby and two young children primarily on weekends and some full weeks in the summer. We expect to have friends and family visit often. We will keep some summer clothes there, and yes - beach toys, beach chairs. We will have an outdoor shower and backyard as well. Thanks!

You don't have room for an island and a table as drawn.

You have 225" in width.

Your perimeter counter takes up 25.5"

225-25.5 = 199.5"

Ideally you want a 48" aisle but 42" can work.

199.5" - 42" = 157.5"

You have your island at 38". That is not wide enough. Cabinets are 24" and overhang is 1.5" and then you need a minimum of 15" on the seating side for a total width of 40.5" minimum.

157.5" - 40.5" = 117"

The minimum between island seating and table seating is four feet. Five feet is actually better but being a small house, let's go with 4'.

117" - 48" = 69"

A standard table is 42".

69" - 42" = 27" Minimum needed between the table and a wall is 3'. You don't have enough room.

As for the master bedroom, I'd flip the bathroom and closet so the bathroom can have a window in it. I would also put windows on the other wall in the bedrooms even if just high windows.

@cpartist Thank you for adding that up! We talked about doing a banquette / bench along that wall for the dining table.

Do you think that is still too tight and we are trying to do too much in a small space?

We also talked about maybe moving the bathroom behind the stairs and making the kitchen flowing to the dining room flowing into the living room..

Yes you could do banquet seating but not with 4 seats on the banquet side because then how do the middle people get out.

@cpartist Good point.. darn. We were hoping for more seating since we expect friends and family to often visit. That was one of the few parts of the rendering that I actually didn’t have any issue with!

I wouldn't give up the big dining room table with real chairs. I would give up island seating, personally. It's just as easy (and more comfortable) to sit at the table instead of an island when the table is that close to the kitchen. If you want the extra work surface in the kitchen, you could do a narrower freestanding kitchen island like this. https://www.crateandbarrel.com/french-kitchen-island/s131558

For the entry closet, I think what you show is the best option. You could consider flipping it 90 degrees with the door opening toward the exterior wall if you're worried about the door conflict.

I might also look at whether switching to reach in closets for the master frees up space that could be better used in another room. I think you'd get a much storage out of two well-designed reach in closets as you do out of the walk-in as currently shown.

I like this plan. I like the simplicity of the layout.

couple of thoughts. I too would ditch the island. I deleted mine from my plan and it freed up a ton of space. in my case about 280 sq ft.

It looks like you're in the planning stages but I would design the first floor toilet wall thicker to allow you to add a gap and another layer of sheetrock for better soundproofing since its right there next to the living room

great job.

Thanks for the thoughts so far!!

For entry - I was wondering if we should lose the existing window by closet and extend that closet out another 2 ft or so to make it bigger? The homes in this beach town are very close together so you would not miss anything by losing that window - not even much light really on that side.. the other side of house has much more space and light coming in..

In kitchen - I hadn’t pictured losing the island entirely.. was thinking a narrow one was better than nothing. But that makes sense - it is a small space and we really will not be doing all that much cooking. And the table is right there for a seat..

In the master - I had not thought of reach in closets b/c the space (made by the bathroom wall is a bit deeper) would a pocket door there make it any better? I had thought of doing pocket doors for other two bedroom.. but thought consistency of two same doors in master made sense? Could also make those doors both open outwards instead of inwards.

For the master - does anyone think it might be worth losing a foot to add to one of the other bedrooms? I do worry about the washer/dryer taking a little space out of bedroom 1.. they are small already..

Is anyone bothered by washer/dryer location?

Does anyone think we should look at moving 1st floor bathroom to open kitchen/dining/living room space up to railroad style? We have totally open living in our apartment but thought it actually could be nice to have some separation between kitchen and living.. Just really not sure...

THANK YOU!!

I'd swap the master closet and master bath. This moves the bath to the corner and allows the closet to insulate any bathroom noise from the adjoining guest bedroom.

I like your idea of removing the window and making the closet bigger, since you have lots of windows on the other side and you say there is no view anyhow.

I am not bothered about the washer dryer location since this is not your main home. I also like that it repurposes that hallway to make it more functional.

Im indifferent to the downstairs layout not being as open. If it were me I would prefer it to be fully open but it still works.

I am not bothered about the washer dryer location since this is not your main home. I also like that it repurposes that hallway to make it more functional.

Except in a beach/vacation town there is lots of laundry to be done. Towels, linens, bathing suits, etc.

"thought it actually could be nice to have some separation between kitchen and living"

I agree with cp's reasons to open up the space. In addition, at a beach house you'll want as many seats and spaces as possible to see the view, or at least toward the view, and opening up the floor plan could help with that.

re: laundry: "hubby wants to move to basement but it is totally unfinished and dingy and gross and I just can't picture doing laundry there"

So... finish it, clean it up, and add some bright lights! I think you can do this fairly inexpensively with an easy care laminate floor and some inexpensive cabinets, or even a sturdy folding table as a sorting/folding surface. As mentioned above, visitors to beach/vacation homes can generate lots of laundry, from towels to linens for the guest rooms. You might also then use the space more for storing beach toys, extra chairs, etc.

Since you are rethinking the kitchen, why not put a laundry closet against the back wall of the bathroom? Much easier to monitor, switch loads. Include hanging area for wet suits that don't go in the dryer.

Also, why have an entry closet in a casual beach house? Bench with cubbie storage and a row of hooks on the wall will give ready access and take up less room.

Also, why have an entry closet in a casual beach house? Bench with cubbie storage and a row of hooks on the wall will give ready access and take up less room.

Storage for vacuum, cleaning supplies, etc.

The vacuum, cleaning supplies should get room in the laundry closet. Or add a cleaning closet to the kitchen area. If you want a cleaning closet, just call it that instead of "entry closet".

Downstairs thoughts:

- I agree that the island and the table are too close together. I like the space-saving idea of a banquette bench behind the table. Go ahead and put in a long bench, even if people are trapped in the middle; people don't get up and down from the table that often, and you won't have a full table most of the time anyway. Narrow the island down to 24" width.

- Could you put in a bay (or box bay) window by the dining table? It really wouldn't make the space larger, but it would make it feel larger.

- Why do you need a full bath on the first floor?

- I'd ditch the stacked washer/dryer and go for full sized machines where you have the entry closet now ... no, not ideal, but you don't have enough space upstairs.

- Where's your TV in the living room?

Upstairs thoughts:

- The kids' bathroom is nicer than yours, but the vanity doesn't look big enough to support duplicate sinks.

- With space at a premium and given that you don't intend to live here full-time, could you go with a reach-in closet to get a larger bathroom? You could have a very deep shower and a set of shelves opening into the bathroom.

We were hoping for more seating since we expect friends and family to often visit. That was one of the few parts of the rendering that I actually didn’t have any issue with!

Will they sleep elsewhere? Your dining space outstrips your sleeping space. If you're thinking they'll all stay in this house, perhaps you should go with a bunk room.

For the entry closet, I think what you show is the best option.

It looks like the only option. Couldn't you make it wider?

Is anyone bothered by washer/dryer location?

Yes, I think the washer/dryer is going to be a real problem. You generate lots of laundry in a beach stay.

What bothers me about it is how there is absolutely no room for sorting or keeping laundry detergent.

Yes, I'm not advocating a bedroom-sized laundry, but you do need space for more than the machines themselves.
Plus I'd prefer the toilet far from the action so no one hears any "action".

The house is small. This is unavoidable.

So... finish it, clean it up, and add some bright lights! I think you can do this fairly inexpensively with an easy care laminate floor and some inexpensive cabinets, or even a sturdy folding table as a sorting/folding surface. As mentioned above, visitors to beach/vacation homes can generate lots of laundry, from towels to linens for the guest rooms. You might also then use the space more for storing beach toys, extra chairs, etc.

Yes to this whole paragraph ... and I'll add this: when the kids are teens, you will probably want to set up a second living space in the basement, and laundry can be a part of that.

Storage for vacuum, cleaning supplies, etc.

Good point. This is a case of, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The vacuum, cleaning supplies should get room in the laundry closet. Or add a cleaning closet to the kitchen area. If you want a cleaning closet, just call it that instead of "entry closet".

Right now her laundry closet is upstairs and is only large enough for a stackable washer/dryer. There isn't even enough room for shelving.

The kitchen doesn't have enough room for a cleaning closet either. This is a beach house and in a beach house one needs to be a bit more flexible as to what things are called and how they're used.

Nicely done MrsPete.

Do you need a full bath on the first floor? Perhaps repurpose it as a powder room/laundry with storage for cleaning supplies.

Sorry if I'm misreading the plans - is there a set of stairs that go up from the second floor?