Floorplan and Window Size/Placement in a new build- Please help!

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

New build - concern about lack of light in the kitchen. The builder has said the cabinet wall needs to stay as is. Thinking of adding these small windows (it is a west-facing wall) to brighten up the area.

What do you think of the size?

What do you think of the number?

Any concerns about the kitchen cabinets going higher than the windows?

Alternate suggestions?

Thank you!

Featured Answer

cpartist

4 years ago

The kitchen will be dark but adding windows on the west wall will not be pleasant in summer and the further south they are the less pleasant it will be.

Can they reorient the kitchen because the layout is not very good as it is. It really is poorly laid out.

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Comments (19)

chispa
4 years ago
No, do not do those little windows! It just looks odd.

Do you need that hutch? How about doing a nice sized window there and placing a sideboard under it?
T Go TX thanked chispa
T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
I was afraid of that. My parents are actually building this house and really want to keep the furniture the bought for their old house. If they don't add windows somewhere, it seems like the kitchen will be dark. I appreciate the feedback.
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Ok, lots of stuff to respond to here, I’ll just start one part at a time. Regarding the screen porch; lavender_lass, we think you are right about moving its location. We had gone back and forth about its location before, but located it off the living room for various reasons. My parents have a house with a similar arrangement with an open deck off that location, and we love it. Also, we wanted to sit out there in the best spot with views on 3 sides. However, a screen porch is not an open deck. In the pic below, you can see the wall of windows on what will be the north wall in our house (this is from the video at the link above that shows a house with a very similar floorplan. We modified the design of this house for our site). Those windows make that room, and will show our best views. A screen porch would limit the windows (the second row would not be there), and block some of the view. More than one person (not just on gw) has said we should move it, and we agree, so it’s getting moved. (Don’t have drawings yet). On fireplaces vs woodstoves: Yeah, I do really seem to like the big stone fireplaces (they are also very typical in “cabin”, log, and timberframe houses, so there aren’t a lot of pics showing something different). However, we are both function over form people. We intend for this house to be extremely energy efficient. We will have a woodstove, but that does not mean it has to sit on its own like the bottom picture you used to compare (although I still think that looks cozy). I would like to have some sort of stone hearth. I really need to find the right inspiration pictures as I’m not sure about the design, but I do know I want a stone hearth with a fair amount of “presence”. I agree that our particular room really calls for it. (Again, see the existing living room pic in this post). As far as location, I think I still disagree with you. I like the woodstove in the middle of the house, its better if we actually needed to use it as a heat source if the power went out in the winter (again, rural area). I’m also still stuck on sitting facing west, and being able to see the fireplace, tv, and views from the couch.
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You've eliminated the dining room and created a small breakfast nook without its own windows. Even if future owners convert the office back to a dining room, they'd have to squeeze past that tight little nook just to bring food to the dining room. You seem to want to create a kitchen tucked away from the living room, which makes your retrofits of that space invariably awkward for most future buyers. (I know...it's your "forever" home. But a lot can happen over a lifetime. I'm on my 3rd "forever" home, and I sincerely believed each one was perfect forevermore...at first.) Try not to get too hung up on creating your dream vision...what you are doing to that kitchen/dining area may make the house into a white elephant that is difficult to sell. I know it would be a dealbreaker for me, unless my husband agreed to spend $80-100k to gut and rebuild the kitchen into something that probably would look like the original kitchen from the original plans. Lastly, you haven't left yourself any wiggle room for future needs. Having eliminated the stairs, you're obviously not going to have a second floor or basement. What if the kids want to play video games while you and hubby have company in the living room? Will the kids have enough room in their bedrooms for a desk and shelves, or will they need a study space? What about a guest room? A play room? An exercise room? Putting back the stairs and a basement would give you options for the future. What about storing the kids' bicycles and sports equipment? Where are you going to store your lawn tractor and accessories? How about expanding the garage to at least 3 bays so you don't have to build a shed that becomes a home to the mice and spiders that will take up residence over the winter? You're building 3800 sf of luxury home without any of the features that would make most people consider it to be luxurious. Again, "forever" homes rarely are forever, so building something others would want to call home is an important consideration, assuming you don't want to keep your house listed on the market for 785 days before that needle-in-the-haystack buyer decides your former home is his new dream home.
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While I'm not a fan of WIC in the bathroom, I realize many people like them. That's a personal decision. However like was explained many of the things in this house don't work because they are just not good design. Here's the changes I made to the first floor to give you better flow and to put the things needed where they will work the best. 1. Since you don't use a bath, get rid of it! If you want a bath on the first floor, put it in bedroom 2. 2. Your master closet is actually now larger. However I was able to pull in the wall so it now matches the wall of the dining room. 3. Now you have a straight shot from the master suite to the bathroom to the closet. And then as an added bonus if you don't want to wake your spouse in the morning, you can now leave through the laundry closet! 4. Instead of the powder room by the master suite, I moved your laundry room there. Think of how easy it will now be to do your laundry. 5. I pulled the closet across to meet the study. Even though it makes the house a bit larger, it will actually save money because you won't have the extra bump outs. 6. Your study is the same size but by moving it down, you now have an actual hallway that creates a "spine" for the house, so you're not making a jog through your great room to get to the master suite. 7. By moving the powder room to where the laundry was, it freed up space so you now have a good sized entry from the mudroom door and the garage. No more trying to shove one another out of the way. Plus there's now more room to store all those kids things. 8. The powder room is now near the side where the kids will enter and it's convenient still to guests. 9. I moved around your layout for your kitchen too. It didn't work. Lots of space but not well used. I moved your cleanup sink to under the window with the dishwasher next to it. Lots of storage space in drawers now to the left. I moved your fridge so it's now in the work "triangle". So now you take food out of the fridge, move it to the prep sink on the island to wash, then prep to the left of the prep sink, and then carry it to the cooktop to cook. 10. In the master bath, if you're planning on a glass shower enclosure, I would probably flip the toilet closet and the shower so the toilet isn't against the master bedroom wall.
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You’re letting the gag rage define the House. Everything in the house is about that odd angled connection. And the bulk and domineering visage of it is what will define your house. Do you want a GARAGEhouse? Why are the cars more important than the people and the house’s relationship to the surroundings. Angled garage plans are a plan of last resort. They are usually a cliche done by the inept in order to “add interest”. The architectural features of the house are what should be interesting. Not your Hulk of a garage.
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T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
Reorient like flip the plan so this space is on the east side of the house or change-up the kitchen plan altogehter?
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cpartist
4 years ago
Also how old are your parents?
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T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
early 70s
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cpartist
4 years ago
I'm looking at that hallway and it looks very narrow. At a minimum at their age all hallways should be 42" wide for any future problems with mobility.

Additionally that kitchen is not well suited if they have any future problems. Look at all the steps they have to take just to prepare a meal.

They take food out of the fridge, have to cross the aisle to the sink, wash the food and prep it and then carry it to the stove. Also the dishwasher is in the way of moving from sink to stove so if someone is helping...

One other thing the house will be extra dark because the back of the family room faces north, which means no real light entering.

Where is this house?
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chispa
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
T go TX, I would rather have a nice sized west facing window, than no window at all, and plan on managing the summer sun with a semi-opaques cellular shade, that still lets light in. Just don't do those small windows!

My parents just downsized, again, and the new place has 3 of those small windows over the living area and they are just a pain to decorate around. I designed an insert with a laser cut design for them to put in there, so it doesn't look like 3 dark holes at night. Waiting for the inserts to arrive soon. The builder could have put a narrow tall window to the left of these 3 windows, which would have been a better design choice.
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T Go TX thanked chispa
btydrvn
4 years ago
If possible i would switch the sink and the stove....sink on outer wall...because moms always like to look out the window when washing dishes...big sink ...big window...both make life easier and more pleasant in the kitchen
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T Go TX thanked btydrvn
btydrvn
4 years ago
There are lots of ways to make some shade for the window if necessary....
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btydrvn
4 years ago
Whole walls with no windows are not good ...especially in this area of the home...
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T Go TX thanked btydrvn
T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
cpartist The house will be in TX.
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T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
cpartist - I share your concerns about the north facing windows. We have a lot of large, north-facing windows in our house ... and no light. It drives me crazy.
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cpartist
4 years ago
I would also be concerned about the layout of the kitchen. How far along are they?
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PRO
N Dobos Architecture
4 years ago
You need more windows. Can you post a bigger plan? What’s happening around the powder room wall? Can the layout be rearranged to use this wall?
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T Go TX thanked N Dobos Architecture
lafdr
4 years ago
I like the windows. The high up windows give peeks at the sky and more light. What else would be on the wall space? If there is a 2 story house next door, be sure they can't see in. That could be awkward.
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T Go TX thanked lafdr
mnmamax3
4 years ago
I think some high transoms are a fine idea but I would put them together a bit more so they don't look so busy. Send us pictures of the hutch and bookshelf. Could they be grouped together with some art or a plant on either end? Breaking up that large wall could be done like this... (bedroom but this was also the design for our dining room).

Make sure to allow enough space for your hutch. You could also choose to build out a space to make the hutch look intentional.

I would take some time to draw furniture on that plan. It appears to be both quite small and also wasting space... The entry door in the middle of the family room seems out of place. Is this the main entrance or access to a deck?
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T Go TX thanked mnmamax3
T Go TX
Original Author
4 years ago
I appreciate everyone's comments. This morning they told me they've decided to go forward with no windows on that wall and the plan as is. So, while I appreciate the feedback and concerns (many of which I had already raised), I don't want to waste anyone's time.

Thank you again to all of you Houzz folks and especially to cpartist, who has helped me in the past.
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chispa
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Parents! ;-)

Mine didn't listen to some advice I gave for things to add in their first house build in FL, but they did add them in their second house!

Floorplan and Window Size/Placement in a new build- Please help!

cpartist

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chispa

T Go TX
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Floorplan and Window Size/Placement in a new build- Please help!

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