Here goes....floor plan feedback
M R
4 years ago
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New and in awe of the feedback provided here!
Comments (2)Welcome! If you've been involved in home building for three years, you probably have tons of hard-earned insights to share. Look forward to hearing more from you....See MoreFollowup to overwhelmed post & feedback needed on 1st floor plan
Comments (5)Oh Robin, I just read your original post and your recent post. First I am sending a hug. You might need to send one right back to me as we just bought a fixer-upper ourselves out in Scotts Valley. As I read your original post I kept thinking, yep, that's us. Yep, that too. (Except your listing photos are gorgeous and ours, well, they are not.) I do think you make a great point that people need to think about how they will use a house. We will likely lose one bedroom with moving some walls around (not load bearing, thank goodness) and I have people telling me how horrible that is for resale but this is our forever home and we need to do what is right for us. I don't have much to offer in the way of ideas but will send a barrel of emotional support up the peninsula to you. Good luck!...See MoreFloor plan feedback
Comments (22)1. Definitely put your master in the corner and move the bathroom & closet. The benefits of that is you're not going through the mud room to get to your bedroom, you can get windows on 2 walls in your bedroom, and you can set your bedroom up so you both can access the bathroom without walking around the bed. You can also add a window/pass through/pocket door from your closet to the laundry room. 2. If you keep your bedroom set up as it is now, put your bathroom on the exterior wall instead of the interior wall. As it is now, your toilet is on the same wall as your dining area. No one wants to hear anything going on in there while they're eating. Also agree with moving the closet door closer to the bath entrance and moving the sinks back. 3. DO NOT give up closet space for cubbies and hooks in your mud room. You live somewhere with snow, which means your gear will take up more space than you will have with hooks and cubbies (BELIEVE ME-we have a closet and hooks/cubbies and our mud room is still a mess). You can easily change your laundry to be stacked WD if you feel like you need more cubbies. If you change your master bedroom, you can have more wall space for hooks in that area anyway. 4. Hidden pantry doors work for set ups where there isn't a better access to the pantry. You have a better access point, so the hidden pantry is just taking up valuable real estate. Plus, opening and closing pantry doors is a total pain, and you'll have to close them all the time. If you move the door behind the fridge, it can be open most of the time. You may think it's cool but you shouldn't choose form over function in your kitchen. 5. Your fridge would be better off at the end of the range wall by the nook for easy access during meals. If you keep the fridge where it is, move the dishwasher to the other side of your sink to get it out of the prep area. 6. Add windows in bedroom 3....See More1st time home builder, here are our plans and would love your feedback
Comments (37)1. Your builder may have an interior designer on staff that will help with all of the interior decisions. This, of course, comes with a pricetag (maybe not a line item, but it would be included). If your builder doesn't have one on staff, your best bet would be to hire someone. When we got bids on our house, we spec'd out generals: windows, floor type, cabinet type, shower material, counter material, etc. We didn't pick the EXACT material - those were included in an allowance. When it actually came to picking WHAT floor or cabinet style, we would have used the interior designer. 2. Your stairs are narrow. 3'0" is code minimum, but that is not comfortable, especially for stairs that will be used all the time. Ours are 40" and widen to 44". You'll be going up and down them a lot so you may want something a bit roomier. 3. I agree with others about all the 2 level rooms. I would close that up in an instant. 4. You walk into your master straight into a wall. Or a closet. Consider if that's the look you want. Plus I am not a fan of double doors. One will never get used. Where is your light switch? 5. You don't have room for a freestanding tub in your master bath. Toilet room is too small for an inswing door. 10' is a HUGE vanity. 6. You'll be hauling 3 kids' laundry upstairs to do it. Consider either adding a 2nd laundry space on the main level - and teaching your kids how to share laundry machines - and/or putting in an elevator. You will not have an entirely private level unless you plan on doing all of your kids' laundry forever. 7. Having the powder room right off the kitchen may make that bath really uncomfortable for guests to use. 8. Get rid of the pocket door into the shared bath and flip that bath around so the toilet is up against the closet. That bathroom is just about the worst of a jack and jill. Consider adding a tub/shower combo in that room for resale (anyone with kids under 5 or planned kids won't want to buy your house because they'll have to have their kids bathe in the master bath and truck up and down stairs with all that goes with that). 9. Any deck that you want to use for anything other than a couple chairs needs to be at least 10'. For dining, you need at least that width for a dining table. For comfortable living room type seating, 12'-14'. 10. Do you plan to watch TV in your living room? If so, consider flipping the living and dining room, and put the TV on the bar wall. And insulate that wall. 11. Kid in the middle bedroom gets screwed. Smallest room, no direct bathroom access, and toilets on both shared walls. 12. Reconsider pantry window. Typically food should be stored in a dark place. 13. Consider having seating on the edges of your island as well - this will make for easier conversation if you actually plan on eating there. 14. 3'-6" is pretty tight between a fridge and island. This probably doesn't include fridge handles or counter overhang, either. We have 4' between ours, and it only works because it's a french door fridge....See MoreM R
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