Thoughts on our floor plan
amandaslange
3 years ago
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Thoughts on our plan C?
Comments (13)No, swapping the bathrooms with the dining room won't work - at least not without redesigning your front elevation. You can't have a wall attached to the middle of a window plus, you probably don't want a window over your vanities. (Where would a mirror go?) Even if you were willing to redesign the front elevation extensively, I don't think the front of your house would look very appealing with only a small high bathroom window or two facing the front porch! Besides which, flipping the bathrooms and dining room puts your kitchen pantry clear across the dining room from the kitchen which also pretty inconvenient. If you would like suggestions, it would help if we knew what your current floor plan is and had some dimensions to work with. (I never imagined for example that that room on the lower right was a garage because it looked far too narrow to fit a car into! I mean, the kitchen island is nearly as wide as the garage!) On a copy of the house plan, mark where the walls of the current house are located and indicate which walls you plan to keep unchanged. Maybe use pale pink or pale green to mark where current walls are located that you plan to remove and a darker shade to indicate current walls which must remain. It would also help to know where the kitchen and bath are currently located because, the less you have to move water and sewer lines, the cheaper your renovation will be. It would also help to have a front elevation drawing or a photo of the front of your home because already existing windows and doors that you don't plan to move WILL affect where walls can be placed. And of course we need to know how much room for expansion you have on the sides and at the back before you start bumping up against setback lines or other obstacles. Finally where will the best views from the remodeled house be located (back? front? sides?) and do you have strong feelings about the master bedroom, kitchen, and family room being at the back of the house or could one or more of those be moved to another location if doing so would result in a better flow to the floorplan? Oh, and when you post a floorplan, it is helpful if you first CROP off as much of the the extra white space around the plan as you can. That way, when the image posts, the plan will be larger and easier to work with....See MoreThoughts on our floor plan and elevation?
Comments (14)Laundry room size? Will 6ft wide be enough? My laundry room is 6' wide, and it is not spacious -- but that's because I have front-loader machines. If I had more compact traditional machines, it'd be more comfortable. I'd prefer a laundry room with more width. While we're talking about laundry rooms, consider the pathway you'll take (and back) every time you carry a basket of clothes from the master to the laundry ... so many turns, so many doorways : I want a locker/laundry combined. This area is our messiest. Closing it off just makes sense for us. This issue is connected to the laundry room issue ... your mudroom is quite large, yet it's essentially just a hallway. Thoughts: - Remove the wall /allow the whole space to be an open work room. You say this is the messiest part of the house ... so place doors in the red circle spots; this'll allow access to the half-bath, while still closing off the messy stuff. - I "flipped" the half bath so the door would accommodate the above idea. On the subject of the half-bath, I'd definitely remove the divider between the toilet and the sink ... a small two-piece bath doesn't need to be further divided. - I do like the location of the half-bath. Tucked away, yet accessible. Large enough for comfort. - Move the garage entrance to the red arrow spot ... this means you don't have to walk to the trunk of your car, then the length of the laundry room every time you enter the house. - Move the washer/dryer to the far left ... this will allow the dryer to vent sideways towards the porch ... will keep the laundry relegated to that corner /not right by the common entrance ... and will mean that when kids bring their laundry down the stairs, it's dead-ahead of them. - Place a good-sized island in the middle of the room to divide of the laundry portion. You'll have storage under this island, and it'll allow the bit of light from the one window to spread across the room. It would be a great spot for art projects, etc. that you need to leave out a couple days. - You have plenty of space in this area, so I'd enlarge the coat closet /make it a walk-through ... could be two hanging sides, or one hanging side and one shelf side. - Finally, I'd move the stairs forward a bit, eliminating that bump ... the stairs don't need to be "set back" in a little indent. - Of course, this means that anyone going upstairs must walk through your laundry area ... but that's essentially true of the original plan too. I don't really care for the location of the stairs. They're an expensive, large, lovely part of the house ... and they're tucked away past the laundry? - You have so much space in this area ... I wonder if this mudroom /laundry couldn't also encompass the office? You have ample space for a built-in desk. Does the house look heavy on the garage side? What do you suggest to balance it out? Simplify everything. It's overdone. Too much roofline. Too many gee-gaws, just too much for the eye to take in. I dislike the two portions circled in red. I dislike that you have two doors facing the front of the house. If guests can see that porch door, they're going to enter it ... instead of walking around the garage and into the entryway. You're going to the trouble of creating a lovely front foyer ... position your entrances so guests will use it! I'm guessing you don't like a house filled with natural light because this house will lack that. This is what is considered a fat house in that it has more than 1-2 rooms deep. Seconded. Another problem noted below by the red is the majority of your house is pathways to and from spaces and not actual usable space. Yeah, you're looking at perhaps 40% of your downstairs being hallways /pathways. That's a very awkward path into the master bedroom by having to turn a 90 degree turn. Why? I could understand if it were a dressing area for example, but it's just a narrow and dark hallway. Gotta agree with this ... I can see it creates privacy for the bedroom, but it'll not be a welcoming entrance. On the positive side, the master is nice and private, and the pantry provides a good sound buffer. Why the angled door into the bathroom? Square up the door and put it in that poor hallway. At least then the hallway would have a purpose. I'd be tempted to place the bathroom entrance off this hallway ... with a glass door or a transom, you could get some light into that hallway. It would also keep bathroom light from spilling out into the bedroom. In my current house, bathroom light falls right onto my side of the bed ... I hate it. What's the point of the fireplace since it really doesn't have enough room in front of it for sitting. Especially since you have doors out to the backyard on either side of it. This is really different. I'm imagining two overstuffed chairs and a small table in front of this fireplace ... a nice little seating area, but people don't usually put nice little seating areas smack-dab in the middle of everything else. Your living room being enclosed like it is will probably not encourage people to go into the room. I'm okay with the living room. It's a break from the all-too-common great room that doubles as hallway. long haul from garage to pantry. Yes, I noted that too. I'd either use pocket doors or swinging doors on the pantry. The pantry is huge ... but only has storage on one side /inefficient. I'd put in one more foot so you could have shelves on both sides ... or at least go with floor-to-ceiling pegboards on the other side /so much can hang on a pegboard. I like the concept of "small kitchen paired with large pantry" ... with minimal cabinets and all straight-run cabinets, your kitchen will be inexpensive to build (well, inexpensive as kitchens go). I think this would be enough counter space ... IF you had an "away counter space" as well. What I mean is, I think you have just the right amount of counter space for cooking ... plenty for cooking, yet not so much that clutter will accumulate ... but I don't think you have a space for the coffee pot to live, for a cake or a bowl of fruit to sit, etc. Unless you're looking at these things being in the pantry? Refrigerators need a "landing space" for the things you'll set down ... are you okay with this being the island behind the refrigerator? I'd want to bump the dishwasher to the other side of the island ... this would make it more convenient to the table /the dirty dishes ... and it would allow you to have a drawer for storage of glassware /you're going to want to store glasses next to the refrigerator. drumset falling down the stairs That's a descriptive phrase! Overall, I'd say this house contains some lovely details ... but they are surrounded and encompassed by cliches and poorly wrought ideas so that the lovelies are almost lost....See MoreYour thoughts on our kitchen plans?
Comments (8)We like the idea of putting french doors in the back/full bathroom but are concerned about the radiator that is built into the back wall (under the 2 windows). We would have to take it out entirely to put in any kind of doors. Thoughts? We also noticed the placement of the dishwasher perpendicular to the sink but were told there would be enough clearance ( I will get my boyfriend to post the measurements soon so you can tell us what you think). In thinking of alternate placements for a dishwasher, we have also considered the spot to the right of the sink at the front of the kitchen (if you are standing at the sink washing dishes) but there would only be room for a mini-dishwasher. What are your ideas, folks?...See MoreOur Modular Plan-thoughts on plan and changes we want to make.
Comments (19)I want to take the linen closet out of the master bath and put it in the laundry room and then see if there is enough room for a double sink with a good size shower (5 ft at least) and toilet. I would put a pocket door in that bathroom. While these bathroom changes are possible, I don't think they're wise. If you remove the linen closet and use all the vanity space for sinks, you'll have literally no storage in the master bathroom. Pocket doors are ideal for spaces that are rarely closed ... mudrooms, laundry rooms, closets ... but they're awful for doors that are opened /closed frequently. They wear out, and then the broken part is inside your wall. The other thought is to take out the double window on the back wall of the master bedroom and place one single window the the left of where the double hung is now and put a single door Here's what I'd do to the master bedroom: - Bring the master to the outside corner ... this separates the bedroom nicely from the rest of the house /gives an ample sound barrier in all directions. - Shrink the bedroom a little, allowing more space for the bathroom and the closet. - Yes to transom windows above the bed! These are not common, but they look great. Then add a sliding glass door straight ahead of the bedroom entry door, bringing in nice Southern light and making a nice sight line as you enter the bedroom. It also gives convenient access to the back yard ... and when you're outside, it's only a step into your bathroom. - Place the shower against the bathroom's far wall, allowing it to be large and luxurious. You'll have space for repetitive sinks, but I'd rather have a nice bank of drawers on each side of the sink ... good storage always trumps duplication. - The closet is now considerably larger than it was. I opened a door between the bathroom and closet, which eliminates the need for a linen closet IN the bathroom ... just plan a shelf for towels, etc. right by the door. - Note that I also changed your laundry room ... I moved the washer/dryer to the exterior wall. This allows the dryer to vent directly the outside; this is both cheaper and more fire-safe. I reduced the counter space a bit, but it will give you enough for a "waiting load" underneath, shelves above for storage, and ... just as important ... walking space. - I also doubled the space in the hall bath's linen closet. Alternate thought: You say it's just you and your husband ... do you need this linen closet? You have a small linen closet outside the two secondary bedrooms, which can manage guest towels and sheets ... you could expand this vanity to a more-than-minimal size. According to their website, "Almost any detail on our pre-designed floor plans can be changed. The size and location of windows, doors, closets, even entire rooms, can all be modified." So that's helpful. Yes, but you've said that your motivations are speed and simplicity ... if you make large modifications, you're throwing away the very things that brought you to this choice. Also I'd suggest you don't attach the garage to the house but have it offset a bit and have an enclosed walkway to the house. Make that the mudroom /pantry. Excellent plan ... I think this kitchen needs storage more than additional counterspace. It's a nice plan for a ranch house and reminds me of so many of the houses built in the 50's. I've lived in a house that was 90% this plan, and it IS a plan that works. Since you never do laundry when sleeping, put it where it is most convenient to you. I should have put my washer/dryer right next to my bedroom since the hallway there is wider, but I considered what if I did laundry when sleeping, which in all my years, I never did. Go figure. Keep in mind that when you move to a new place, your habits may change. Our homes do shape how we do things. So, obviously, the real question is, what's your ideal laundry method ... and how can you shape the house to support that? Also what about moving the stairs here creating a natural wall? Nice! I'd move one of those sliding glass doors so it makes a nice, bright sight line as you enter the foyer door....See Morebpath
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