House plan review

[stumpy]

Awhile back I posted a house plan for review. Well, we totally ditched it and started over. Here is what we have so far . . .
Attachment Deleted

Thoughts?
(I know we have some things we want to change . . . but would love some opinions)

[stumpy]

Side note . . . no kids. Two people. A pool and hot tub will be added to the back. In Florida if that that matters.

[whitemerlot]

I get an error message for the file.

[Deleted]

I like it. The only things that stood out to me were 1) I really like to have a "toilet room" in my master bath. This is totally personal preference but it came to my mind. 2)Is there a window in to storage room my the front door? Will this have blinds on it. I think it would be weird for someone to be waiting at my front door and staring into my storage space.

Otherwise, I think it is really nice. I like that the back bathroom is right near a door but does not actually have a door in the room. It is great to have bathroom access wince you will have a pool but I prefer not to have an exterior next to the toilet. Our old house originally had a sliding glass door into the bathroom. It went away when we remodeled.

[munkii]

Overall, it seems like a good plan. The only areas of concern revolve around this question: Is this a home in which you plan/hope to age-in-place? If so, there are some things you should reconsider.

For example, when the person who drew this tagged things like doors, was s/he calling out the actual door size (that's how I read it) or the clear opening? If it's clear opening, 32" is fine. If it's the door, a 2'8" isn't necessarily a wise option. Are the hallways at least 36"? If anyone is ever there with a walker, 44" would be better.

Also, why is the island so far away from the cabinets on the wall? Just eye-balling it, it looks like there's about eight feet. Is that required by your local code? If not, I'd go with NKBA guidelines, which state 48" for two cooks in a kitchen between work areas is the recommended width.

[meij]

I'd want a toilet room. Especially if that is a glass shower, I wouldn't want my view in a beautiful glass shower to be my toilet.

The utility room is odd to me, like it is too much floor room. I'd push back the fridge and counter on the other side flush to the pantry, which would make the w/d push in and lose some floor space. (Would have to move sink down too)

[kaylie]

I really like it. The changes I would make are all based on personal preference:
- I'd want a bigger pantry and would steal space from the utility room and hall closet for it.
- I hate bifold doors, so I would put french doors or pocket doors on the bedroom closets.
- In the front bathroom I would do a built in linen cabinet instead of a closet.

Overall it's great, much better than the first one.

[julygal]

While that is a huge laundry room, after living in FL, I just see it as extra storage so you can actually use your garage to park your cars! I agree with PPs about making sure the toilet has some privacy from shower, but that's because DH and I often get ready at the same time. Where would you store linens for the master bedroom and bath? I know you have 2 walk-ins, but I like having a designated linen closet. This is nit-picking, but something that drives me crazy is when opening doors blocks access to other parts of the home. For example, the closet by the bedroom 3 is illustrated so that opening the closet door blocks the bedroom door, which is solved by hanging the door to swing towards the wall, but something to be aware of as they build. Overall, I think it is a nice plan.

[TBM]

Sept 12, 2014 20:51:45 GMT -5 munkii said:

Also, why is the island so far away from the cabinets on the wall?

This stood out to me.  I am guessing that they did that to make the counter feel more like part of the great room, but to me, it makes it too far away from everything else in the kitchen to make it efficient.  I really dislike the way it lines up with the wall.

The only other thing that I would change was the window to the storage room.  I wouldn't want it visible from outside, and to me, light coming in to storage or a closet is just potential for damage.

It's an interesting floor plan.  I like it.

What does the house look like?  I am not a fan of garages that are forward of the house, but I am intrigued by the layout and curious as to how the window placement really looks from the front.

[nomad100]

I like it but, if you like to entertain, is the nook going to be large enough for a table with enough seating that won't then block the way to the 4th bedroom. I am assuming that this will be mainly used as a guest room since it is a en suite, versus the other 2 that share a bath.

With the island pushed out so far into the Great Room, I am not sure where you would put another table with out blocking one of the pathways. Which is why I assumed that you were using the nook as your main eating area.

We have a 12x16 dining room, which we thought would be plenty big until we got our table (seats 6-8) and a buffet and china hutch in there. Now it feels pretty small when we have everyone at the table.

And I know that there isn't near enough storage for us. Once closet and a utility room wouldn't cut it. (Thank goodness for living up North and having a huge basement )

[stumpy]

To answer some questions . . .

We don't want a toilet room or WC. DH is a big guy and doesn't like being closed in. (I actually went to my builders house and went in his WC and I hated the feeling of it.) We never get ready at the same time -- and we never use the bathroom in front of each other.

The storage window -- this was suggested by the builder so that it would look nice from the outside. I agree about looking into storage and potential damage. Might have to rethink that. I never thought the window would be one you could just peek into . . . but I am not really sure.

This will hopefully be our forever home. So, we will be aging here.
I will have to check about clear opening and actual door. (I read it actual door size as well but I don't know squat about doors and openings!) I would love wider doors and openings just because DH is well over 6 feet tall and a big guy.
munkii, what do you suggest?


The island. The original stock plan actually had two islands. We didn't need that and it seemed so odd. The island can move or even grow bigger or smaller . . . we will work with a kitchen designer and some things could change. (The kitchen designer just needs the dimensions and then she can take over the design and move things around if needed.) We haven't meet with her yet. Same thing for all the bathrooms. She could easily move everything around the master bathroom and give us two vanities instead of one, etc.
So, we are open to changes within those spaces but we like the general layout.


The laundry/utility room. I hang dry just about everything I wear. (socks and towels go in the dryer and DH does his own clothes!) So there is room for a drying rack . . . that was essential to me and my clothes!

The master bath. Not WC because of what I mentioned earlier. I think we were considering building a "tower" cabinet in between the sinks and that would be our linen closet in the master. And we still haven't met the kitchen designer . . . kinda anxious to see what she comes up with!

The doors. Again, with the doors! I have to figure out which ones are going to be what.

As far as the outside -- we haven't done that part yet. We took a floor plan and then are working backwards. (I want a craftsman house -- so we haven't done the elevations. We shall see what it ends up looking like!)
I know a lot of people don't like garages facing front -- just something easy and something I have now in my condo. So, I went with what I knew.

Things we want to change that haven't been mentioned:
French doors in Master instead of the windows.
Add windows in the Master -- will be on the right outside wall. (two windows and the the bed will go in the middle)

[stumpy]

We aren't formal dining room people . . . so the nook will act as the only dining room.

[munkii]

Supposedly, a 2'10" door can give you a 32" clearance (that's probably with offset door hinges and thinner jambs). To be safe, go with a 3' door. This means, though, that walls will need to shift throughout the plan to make that possible, but there's plenty of space, IMO, to make that happen.

[stephm0188]

I really like this so much more than the last plan. The main living space feels so much better now that the dining area is more central, and it takes better advantage of the view. I'm glad you changed the laundry room so it's no longer a walk through to the garage. I think you'll really appreciate that more, especially since you mentioned liking to hang dry clothes.

The window in the storage room doesn't bother me. Putting up blinds or a roman shade would hide everything from sight.

The toilet in the master also doesn't bother me. We have a similar setup, but our shower and toilet are flipped so that the toilet is at the end of the bathroom. It creates a little more privacy without being totally enclosed in a closet.

I think doubling the depth of the island will bring it more to scale for the space.

[auntie]

Way nicer this time.

Some thoughts, if I were building for myself.

1. Can you have a side entry garage on this lot? It would allow you to put windows in the garage and break up the facade of the front with some glass.

2. I'd do a front dor unit with sidelights to bring some light into the foyer. I don't understand the "storage" closet with the window, I'd be inclined to have a bigger foyer with a window. Are you building on a slab or over a crawl space?

3. I agree with your idea about adding more windows to the MBR; I would also double the windows in the guest rooms. A single 25" window in a room the size of your guest rooms is skimpy. My DS's and DN's rooms are a hair smaller than yours; he has 2 30" wide windows spaced on the front wall of the house, she has a double 60" wide unit. I'd put 2 windows in the front corner of BR2, a double pair of windows in the other two rooms.

4. You have a view out the back, no? If that's the case, can you find a way to have BR4's bath swapped in order that the room gets a piece of the $$$ view?

5. The island looks goofy. One of my friends in FL has a similar kitchen layout with a sink/DW island that's an "L" with the corner clipped out of it. This allows the sink to look out over the ocean and the seating to work for either the dining area or the living room. The skipped upper cabinets to keep it open.

[stumpy]

I feel so so so much better about this plan. (We were just fighting so many things and I was hating it!!)

I am will talk with the kitchen designer about increasing the size of the island and/or changing the design of it. She is really in charge of all things bathrooms and kitchens. Plus she has CAD and will show us everything and I can actually see it in three dimensions! (Huge for me because the 2D is killing me!)

The window into the storage is really to help the look of the front. I now I am understanding why the builder suggested it. The garage takes up the majority of the front . . . but we will buy double garage doors with windows in them . . . craftsman style. This will help with curb appeal for sure! There is room for a side entry . . . but then the front yard would be almost all driveway and no grass. And we really want a yard. (We are also on a 1/2 street . . . so parking is an issue. And having a front garage would allow cars to park in front of the garage and maybe use the front yard if necessary)

Great idea about the windows in the bedrooms. I have been wondering about the placement --centered or cornered. Size. Etc.
Those windows are going to be egress windows -- I get why but I dislike them because of furniture placement.

Auntie, can you post a pic of the room with the windows? I am such a visual person!

I do have a view of the lake. We tried to get a view in the last plan and this one just would take way too many changes and we didn't have it in us to change everything all over again. Plus we really wanted a pool bath . . . and this plan (with a few tweaks) gave us pretty much everything we wanted. Since we don't have kids and won't be having guests all the time, we are okay with our room being the only bedroom with a view.

[boiler717]

I like this one much better! I would pull the island closer and make it bigger to allow for seating/eating at the opposite end.

[stumpy]

Oh … it is on a slab.
We are meeting soon to make some final changes. Hopefully we will be wrapping up this part of the process soon.