Which floor plan? Or maybe an entirely different one? Need advice.
Maybe we need to hire a KD! Husband likes the first floor plan. I've been playing around with different ideas and came up with the 2nd plan with the island. The biggest issue is our current kitchen, which is about 12 X 14, has 3 doorways which eliminates a lot of wall space. In plan #1 my concerns are that there are still 3 doorways into the kitchen, the entry door opens right into the working space and next to the range, and that the peninsula is going to be under a header beam which I feel will be awkward. In the island plan, I moved the doorway to enter through our den to give us two whole walls to use, but he hates the idea of not walking directly into the kitchen. He also thinks the refrigerator is too far from the range and that the island would be "in the way". He likes the open floor plan better. Did I mention he's a chef and the cook of the house? We have no kids so it's just us and occasional entertaining. What do you think? (And I would be thriled to hear any comments/changes).
Comments (17)
realtorjess1081
8 months agoRelated Discussions
Need Advice on New Home Floor Plan
Comments (62)Resurrecting this thread with the 2 current floor plan possibilities. Until these I was absolutely POSITIVE the kitchen was returning the front of the house and thus much larger. I'm getting older and really don't think I will need a huge kitchen, besides we'll be much closer to decent restaurants. The MBR had become 23 feet wide because DH wanted a place to disappear. (It's a better size now.) It finally occurred to me to think hard about how we live and I decided what we really needed was a separate living room that could be closed off from the rest of the space. It is now the TV room with surround sound. The other living room will have the stereo and a small TV. It's still an open plan just not as open as it could be. Just because wide open is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea. My custom 7 foot cherry dining table (built so DH can get his knees under the skirt board rather than butted up into it) has been a bit of a problem to work around. I don't really need a formal dining room as we only use the table for major holidays. But then it's nice to have when I do need it. First planThe dining table just sort of sits there, floating sort of. I don't like the way the kitchen/TV room wall does not line up with the MBR/2nd living room wall, hence plan version number 2. Second Plan I like "neatness" of the walls though the MBR closet is smaller (I also widened the MBA aisle a little though technically 3'8" would be better for wheelchair access) This version has a vestibule-like area at the front door (hey, Mark!), which I kind of like. The dining room looks a little cramped but when I look at the 3D views I think it looks great. I dislike my exercise bike having to go into the garage and losing a linen closet, but, oh well. I am debating losing the soaker tub. which would free up some space to play with. Now a few reminders : The post frame and trusses are up so this is the final shape of the house. All interior walls are still moveable but those red posts within walls must remain where they are ( 12 feet apart) They cannot be cut and have headers installed, etc in order to move windows. The number of windows and is what I have to deal with without spending more money to have the engineer at the pole barn company re-engineer everything. The windows are mostly 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet tall though. They also have to remain within their respective 12 spaces unless we pay that engineer again. CP, I did manage to get DH to shift the house a few degrees so the back of the house is a little bit more toward the south but for the most part it's still has the front of the house facing northwest into the winter wind (thank goodness we planted a windbreak 20 years ago) and the back facing southeast. It is not the worst configuration up here. The furniture placement on the plan for the 2 living rooms is done with lots of chairs, most of which we do not own, and the sofa which we do own may be tossed. Just making sure stuff fits. Okay, rip it apart while I go try a plan with a master bath without a tub.......See More2 layouts to go! Need advice on which ones.
Comments (21)Prep space is generally sink-adjacent. So the island is not considered your primary prep space for either plan. Moving the DW to the left of the sink means that the area between the sink and the range is not doing double duty: 1. primary prep area and 2. clean-up/DW-open. And since the space in "C" between sink and range is larger, plus the island and fridge face the primary prep space, "C" is a better plan. ETA I see I cross posted with caligirl5. I would be interested in how either plan interacts with the open concept you've created - I think you had a vaulted ceiling?...See MoreFloor plan advice... Kitchen layout. Cathedral ceiling advice.
Comments (55)I think the back of the house could use a little dimension...it all seems a little flat right now and not sure how that will look from the exterior? I don’t know if there’s any specific nice view out the back that you want to preserve/enhance, but having 1-2 bump outs might be nice. They could also get you some new windows in different directions, bringing in some different light. For example, you could bump out your living room so it’s not in a flat plane with the rest of the house. If your living room currently has a western exposure (I forget what the orientation is), you could then get north and south exposure by adding windows along the sides of the bump out. You could maybe even add some doors to the outside on the side of the bump out so you don’t have to squeeze by the dining table to access the sliding door - that’s how my house is currently and it is sort of annoying sometimes. I’m not an architect, so I don’t know the term for it, but adding a little dimension along the back might be good, unless you’re going for a super formal symmetrical aesthetic, which I don’t think you are....See MoreReally need painting advice for open floor plan!!
Comments (7)You have a beautiful home! I like your current paint color. Do you know the name of it? I would suggest one color for the entire space. You might consider going a shade lighter than the current color. Take a look at BM Pale Oak. As a side note, I would remove all the items that are on the very top of the wall unit....See More
3onthetree
8 months agorealtorjess1081
8 months agorealtorjess1081
8 months agortpaige03
8 months ago
Verbo
8 months agolast modified: 8 months ago
decoenthusiaste
8 months agoGenerally, it is preferable to have the sink and fridge in closest proximity for ease of offloading items to be prepped under water. The island is a barricade between the range and fridge in both locations you've shown. I think the peninsula might be a better choice for you.
I would make the dining room opening smaller to accomodate something like this.
The Social Kitchen · More Inforealtorjess1081
8 months ago3onthetree
8 months agolast modified: 8 months ago
auntthelma
8 months agoherbflavor
8 months agolast modified: 8 months agorealtorjess1081
last monthI wanted to thank you all for your help with my kitchen! After about 100 re works of the floor plan I finally settled on one and this is the final outcome. We did the snackbar instead of the island. We also added a nice mudroom (to the right of the stove) with built in cabientry and added built ins in the dining room for holiday dinnerware, stemware, etc. We also a huge walk in pantry in another part of the house, instead of doing pantry cabients in the kitchen, which ended up working out great. I thought the distance from the refrigerator to the snackbar would be tight and worried about it for hours on end, but it's really just fine. Thank you, truly, for your time to review my designs, provide input and insight.
realtorjess1081
last monthrealtorjess1081
last monthThank you so much @jentstl - they are Hanstone Quartz in Montauk. I adore them, they have really light veigning of bright white (almost with a shimmer), grays and tan/brown tones. They go with everything. I am so glad I went with this and not a pattern with more vibrancy and movement, but that's just my preference. You don't really see the veigning until you are up closer to the counters, so from a distance it looks very quiet, if that makes sense.. Here are few photos of close up - hard to take good photos of counters close up but hopefully it helps!
herbflavor