House Design feedback?
Sarah Moore Laja
2 years ago
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Sarah Moore Laja
2 years agoRelated Discussions
House design feedback
Comments (7)It's a pleasure to see a small, simple house designed in a creative and imaginative way! Congratulations for avoiding all of the clichés so prevalent in today's housing designs. This should be a very livable and serviceable house for many years. Some questions and comments: --What is the corner room above the kitchen-dining area? --Do you really need a 3-car garage, which is nearly 50% of the first floor coverage? Making a second level deck above an enclosed, weather-tight space on the first level is highly dependent on proper design, detailing and construction methods if leaks to the first floor are to be avoided. Pay very close attention to how this area is designed and constructed. Otherwise, make it enclosed space on the second level and avoid the potential for leaks over time. The living room seems small for a family of four, particularly with children who may fill it with scattered toys. As drawn, it will seat just four people. What do you do when the in-laws are visiting? Do they remain in their second floor bedroom? Or are the children not allowed in the living room? The space seems too small for four people, much less a larger number. There is no thoughtful "entry sequence" for guests and visitors arriving at the "front" of the house; just open the front door and Bang! One or two steps and visitors are right in the middle of the living room! Where do guest coats go? I know you've suggested that the front entry is "no big deal", but you may want to give this some further thought. The open space in the ceiling of the living room is really not located, nor proportioned to do anything positive for the first floor. The two chairs in the living room are located in the open space, while the couch is located under the ceiling, making sitting in the living room rather odd, since the ceiling above the sitting area varies depending on where one sit. All of these thoughts suggest that the living room and upper area on the second floor deserve some further design thought. Post the elevations or exterior perspectives when you have them. The design should be interesting and instructive. And certainly a pleasant contrast with so much of what we see here. Good luck on your project!...See MoreFeedback on new home design
Comments (43)As for the garage its 23x27 (621 sq ft) which is enough room for 2 cars. It's just one garage door. That seems like a good size. Huh, looks much smaller on the plan. One concern mentioned that also concerns me is the width of the dining area and the one path to the back yard. Something you might consider: Do away with the island seating /instead put upper cabinets on the "back side" of the island ... more storage, more space for the dining area. If you do keep the island seating, choose stools that will scoot COMPLETELY under the cabinet overhang: Move the washer and dryer to the WIC closet area so they are upstairs. I agree that the washer/dryer need to move out of the basement (so many unnecessary steps), but I wouldn't be willing to give up space in the modest WIC. I think the majority of people here have a lot of STUFF. We don't. We even have empty closets in our current house, so there's that. I really don't have too much stuff, but I am looking forward to having better-planned storage in the right spots in my new house. But I’m in the Empty Nest stage of life so the small rooms don’t bother me too much. The best goal is "right sized" rooms. I suggest that the OP measure rooms in his current house, other people's houses ... measure beds and dressers ... and after a while, he will have a firm idea of what "right sized" means to him. I'm close to being an empty nester, and I agree that I don't need large rooms -- but I do want a guest room that's big enough for at least a queen sized bed ... and a bathroom with space for storage. The designer needs to be a little bit less stingy with some of the floor plan spaces, and also more honest with this compact home: I'd get rid of some of the elevation bells and whistles (no purpose in some of them). I like the layout in general That's a good sum-up....See MoreNew home design - FEEDBACK Needed
Comments (46)artemis_ma, I'd rather not walk from bathroom to closet through the bedroom (I get dressed after I shower). I definitely don't want to rely on my DH to remember to close the bedroom door behind him (because invariably he'll forget) so that I can go from bathroom to closet without putting on a show. I'd be in the same bind if the bedroom shades/drapes were opened while I was in the shower. (Why, hello, neighbor! lol) To each their own. =) Andrew Page, finally you tell us that yes, you need the 4th bedroom! This is information that should have been included in your original post. Off to delete the idea I was drawing up.... I'm assuming that, in addition to the stairway location, the center wall, front to back, that is one side of each module needs to stay as drawn on your plan. Is that true? If it isn't, then there is more flexibility for room lay-out, as damiarain's plan shows. That said, with all the changes that need to be made to make your plan more functional, why not consider other plans or other modular home manufacturers as katinparadise suggested to find one that meets your needs with little or no modifications. I would think that all the change orders required to modify your plan will increase the final cost. A frosted glass door for the upstairs laundry room would help (good idea) as One Devoted Dame suggested, but even so, I'd encourage you to find a way to add an additional natural light source for the upstairs hall. Our upstairs landing is open to the 2 story entry and the 6 x 6 window over the door but because the entry faces northwest, the upstairs landing and hallway aren't as brightly lit as I'd expected when we built, especially on gray days....See MoreFeedback For Custom Home Build Design
Comments (21)@bpath we only need desk space for 1 person at a time. We considered windows along the other master bedroom wall but decided we wanted a bed against a windowless wall. Dining room view will be of neighbors front elevation. Coat closet and butler pantry share a wall and we had a deeper butler pantry at first, but decided to split the space for winter coats, shoes, kid junk. We will have as much of a Harry potter closet under the stairs as possible, kids loved this in old house and used as a pseudo playroom, which I didn’t mind to get toys out of sight! We added another closet upstairs for storage, will be using the pantry too for those Sams Club trips, and master closet for luggage. We will have a handheld shower head so hopefully not have to get in! Thank you - we are making changes based on your ideas @homechef we enjoyed the candor in your comments. DH also enjoys that water closet. Why do you use the dog shower rarely only? Thank you - we are making changes based on your ideas @dan we would love 3D models and even better “fixer upper” renders. I’ll search online to see if we can find that type of service Thank you for the actionable feedback. We are considering these changes: 1) 12’ W vs. 14’ W screen room, 2) Swap utility room cabinet with mudroom cubbies, and change door from garage straight to utility room. Shortens trek to pantry, extends bookshelves and maybe desk space (DH will love this), and keeps all “dirty” things zoned in utility room, 3) Architect friend suggested skylights to add natural light in great room/kitchen, 4) Slide door to guest bath down hallway for privacy, 5) Extend stairs to 4’ by reducing foyer width...See MoreSarah Moore Laja
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