Thoughts on floor plan please!

3 years ago

I’m tossing my hat in the ring for a floor plan review. I’ve followed this board for several years and it has helped me immensely with my own house remodeling projects. You all are so gracious to give such knowledgeable and helpful advice. This floor plan is actually for my daughter and son-in-law. They are in just the preliminary thinking stages of building and I just thought I’d try to put on paper their initial thoughts on a floor plan. They have 3 kids ages 9, 3 and 1. Purchased lot is is in a small rural subdivision, at the end of a cul de sac. Pie shaped sloped lot with expansive views west, north and east. Planning walk out 2 story with angled garage due to narrow footage at front of lot. House in WI, front of house facing south, back of house with views facing north ( and will also capture views from east and west).

Must haves for kitchen are windows flanking the range hood and no sink on island. I struggled with the layout, am concerned about island not being centered with range, but maybe that is not such a big deal.

Again, these are just very preliminary, but I would appreciate your advice very much to see if they are headed in the right direction. Thanks! And sorry for my rudimentary drawings!

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Comments (7)

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Mark Bischak, Architect
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
It is difficult to evaluate a floor plan without knowing how the site is designed and where the house will set on the site plan; not to mention when walls are shown as 1/4" thick. Provide a site plan and have the plans drawn to scale with 3 1/2" studs for interior walls and 5 1/2" studs for exterior walls. After that is done the comments will be more meaningful.
fissfiss
3 years ago
A covered porch on the north side is going to make the kitchen really dark....I would not have a walk-in closet in the mud room, children just dump and run, bench, hooks, and cubbies in that closet space instead. I would put the door to the powder room in the mud room space, just so there is less tracking of mud further into the house. It’s a good start. Mark is right, walls take up an annoying amount of space, but including the 4” is important.
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I made a couple more changes and updated SF. Total SF is a little under 3600. bpathome, I moved the sink to the front of the pantry. My wife uses the Keurig every morning so it probably makes more sense to have that at the front of the pantry adjacent to the sink. Does the pantry look good now? I also decreased the offset between the kitchen and the foyer by a foot (adding a foot to the south for the kitchen), which added a foot to the pantry and allowed me to move the island a little bit farther south so it doesn't block the walkway from the garage to the great room/master suite. I added a foot to the north for the great room and dining area, which decreased the depth of the covered patio to 11 feet. Is this deep enough? We want to have a sitting area on the covered patio, but also don't want it so deep that it severely limits natural light in the back of the house. I could add a foot to the north for the laundry room and sitting area if the patio needs to be at least 12'. Jackson, We appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think I want the laundry room directly behind the great room (in case the laundry is running while watching TV, etc) and would prefer the W/D to also be a little farther from our bed. We're not concerned about having to walk through the master suite to get to the laundry. Other than kids bringing dirty clothes in there, my wife and I should be the only ones using that room. We would love to have more suggestions for our floor plans. We have incorporated most of the suggestions from our first thread into the updated plans, but would love to hear more ideas! Thanks again! Updated floor plans:
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This plan reminds me a lot of another plan we've worked on in the past year... The interior laundry is what reminds me of it. One of the things we had to work through on that, was how to vent the dryer. It is a LONG ways to anywhere to vent this one. Yes, it needs more windows. This has hardly any, and I am surprised the one shown for the front lower bedroom is even large enough to meet egress. I think the Master bath could be better laid out, and with a window. And, you MUST make sure you have pocket or out-swing toilet room doors (this applies to your master WC; they did it properly for the 1/2 bath in the hall by the pantry). I would try to stagger the location of the sink/stove in the kitchen so that you can have a person at each station there without bumping bums. And, I'd figure out how to get the fridge nearer to the eating area. I wouldn't want people walking through my work zone (stove/sink area) between table and fridge... best to keep them out of that flow of traffic.
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Actually had the house flipped to begin with, but the winter wind comes from the north west. Putting the garage on the northwest end creates a barrier, and also allows a porch on the south/southeast side (where the view isn't bad either.) However, if I lose the dormers as MrsPete suggests (HUGE fan of a simplified roof line) then it is true the master would have a better view from the other end. It would also be colder in the winter, however, because I'd lose the southern exposure. The square dining room is 3x3 table, expandable. We don't often have company, but when we do, it's generally a LOT of company, so we end up rearranging and setting up other tables anyway. The walkway between the table and the sitting area...yeah, that's a compromise. Yes to all questions regarding the wheelchair, at least as far as my dad's manual one is concerned. Not sure about an electric. If I said that downstairs bathroom door led to a closet, would anyone think to object? It's over 16 feet away from the front door... I like the idea of making the wall to your right (as you walk in) shorter to make the entry shorter, but then I'm not sure there will be room for the piano on the other side. I think I could bring it down a foot...will check that again. Could possibly put the piano in the entry, to the left of the bathroom, on the stair wall, but would lose some railing. Really want the bathroom and bedroom attached, so that prevents putting the bedroom/office where the kitchen is (as far as plumbing goes.) But - speaking of complete re-works - I've also thought about doing a true two-story for the main house (regular roof over the garage) and then I'd be able to put that staircase any old place I wanted, plus gain windows on the top front for the view without worrying about dormers.
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I like the changes to the living, dining and kitchen -- but if you remove the walls around the dining room, you'd really open up the whole space. It'd feel absolutely huge; you'd have a view of the lovely staircase (imagine the greenery and lights at Christmas) all the way from the living room. An engineer might say you'd need some posts, but that's better than walls. And you have the den as an "away space". Nice. Mudroom /garage entry changes: I'd move the washer/dryer to the exterior wall ... and move the garage door towards the left (centering it between the two cars -- more convenient for both people) ... and then you'd have a longer space for a bench /coat hooks. I can't quite figure what's above the laundry room, but could you fit in a laundry chute? Upstairs looks pretty good ... except that the jack-and-jill bathroom has too many doors fighting for space. And I'd switch the master closet door for a pocket door.
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bpath
3 years ago
Re the closet by the garage, if you have cubbies or hooks on the right-hand wall, the wall-in closet is good for sports gear and outdoor games, and for out-of-season winter wear.
michelspa
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes, there would be lockers on the R-side wall. Thanks for the comments and Mark, I agree that the house and site plan is needed...not to mention proper walls! I did try to do that on a floor plan app but it didn’t work very well (I’ll blame it on the app and not me, haha). I guess I just wanted some feedback on the general flow for now. Thanks everyone!
cpartist
3 years ago
Have you considered suggesting to your family that they work with an architect to create a plan that will work for them? Wouldn't it be best for them to create a list of their must haves, wants, needs, and wouldn't it be nice to haves, along with an idea book of what styles they like and present that to an expert who can with their direction make their wishes come true?
emilyam819
3 years ago
I like it. But if no prep sink on island, the main sink and cooktop need to switch. Also I’d try to get the closets in between the two bedrooms.
michelspa
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes, I did suggest an architect, especially since their sloping lot will be challenging, and from this site I have seen the value of working with the proper professional.

Thoughts on floor plan please!

Comments (7)

Mark Bischak, Architect

fissfiss

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Thoughts on floor plan please!

Comments (7)

Mark Bischak, Architect

fissfiss

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bpath

michelspaOriginal Author

cpartist

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michelspaOriginal Author

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