I was also considering opening up the laundry room and doing an entry/mudroom/laundry off of the garage enterance to maximize the space with a bunch with hooks, lockers, etc.
Something about that was bothering me too, but I couldn't think what I'd do with it. We had a big mudroom/laundry right off the garage, and while I loved it, I didn't like the outside/garage dirt being right there with the laundry.
we have a laundry/mud room right off the garage. If I were building again, I would not do this because of the issue motzie raised. Our mudroom is often, well, muddy and it sucks to deal with laundry there
How is 12x10 a small bedroom? How big are some of your bedrooms!?
This is a pet peeve of mine but I hate when doors to bedrooms are right by the front door. Especially when it's your kid's bedrooms and your room is on the other side of the house. It's probably alarmist of me but I just don't like it. Freaks me out.
What do you think about moving the porch door from the living room to next to the master bedroom? That would help with living room furniture placement? Plus all of the outside dirt would come through that hallway instead of the living room.
Could you get rid of the bay window in the nook? Run that wall straight across instead and have a door there.
Post by InBetweenDays on Mar 27, 2015 15:50:17 GMT -5
Do you think you would go out to the outside porch from the hallway near your master bedroom? I would consider ditching that door, ditching the small closet across from that door (would you need that with a master closet, a linen closet in your bathroom, and a utility room right there?) and moving the door to your room out to the edge of the master closet (right next to the “2” in “Hall 2”). Then maybe do a pocket door into the master closet from that hallway into the bedroom.
The bedrooms don’t seem small to me, but our kids’ bedrooms are 12x10 and 13x9.5 and are more than adequate. We preferred more square footage of common area than bedrooms.
Personally I like having the porch access off of the living room or maybe off of the kitchen. Especially if you have people over for dinners on the porch, etc. I’d maybe consider having the porch doors swing outward though which could help with furniture placement in the living room.
I was also considering opening up the laundry room and doing an entry/mudroom/laundry off of the garage enterance to maximize the space with a bunch with hooks, lockers, etc.i
Yes to a mud room/laundry!!
i think the size of the rooms is fine. I would rather have more kitchen/living space than a bigger bedroom. We pretty much only sleep in our bedroom though.
i need an entry closet, is there one? I hate having guests come in and having nowhere to put their coats, etc. plus you can never have too many closets imo.
I think the bedrooms are fine, unless maybe you plan on giving your kids full or queen size beds (I've never seen the need for more than a twin). If one of the bedrooms is a guest room and you want to host couples then a trundle or pullout couch works fine (so you can use the room for something else without filling it mostly up with a queen bed).
I think opening up the laundry room to the garage is a good idea - if you don't want to track huge quantities of mud in then have a rack for muddy shoes in the garage.
For the great room layout, it looks fine to me, but then again we purposefully don't have a TV in our living room - it's in our bedroom. DH and I aren't fans of the way that big-screen TVs seem to be the centerpiece of a lot of living rooms, it's just not our style.
I'm also concerned about the amount of natural light you'll get with those covered porches, so do consider the direction the house be oriented.
How is 12x10 a small bedroom? How big are some of your bedrooms!?
We have 4.
Master is 14'8"x16'8". We have an attached 8'8"x9'10" sitting room where DD sleeps now that barely fits the crib and 1 dresser. Guest bedroom (smallest) is 10'11"x13'7". The bedroom that will be DD's is 14'4"x11.' The biggest is 17'2"x10'3" but is in the front of the house.
Our house isn't a monstrosity or anything, it's 2500 well laid out square feet (except for the laundry room. Still hoping to install a pocket door to the kitchen).
How is 12x10 a small bedroom? How big are some of your bedrooms!?
I think this is all relative. I thought they looked great but my new house with 1280 sq ft feels giant.
Pity my kids .
Yes it is. I used to draw house plans before DD and 12x10 is a decent size here. I was just surprised at how many people commented that the bedrooms were small.
I like the front porch; it's great to have some shelter over the front door.
Love the storage space in the garage- so useful.
I like the hall for garage entry; I hate walking through a laundry/mud room from the garage.
Love the w/c in the MBR. Love that it has a window.
What I question-
The split bedroom situation. I had this in my old house. I prefer having younger kids closer to my own BR. But I did love rolling out of bed and into my kitchen.
The bedrooms seem small. Especially the secondary ones. I'd have trouble fitting my kind bed, dresser and highboy in that space without it looking crowded. My MBR is 14.6 x 21'; I don't think I could afford to give up 8'.
I need cross ventilation in bedrooms. MBR doesn't have it, can't tell about the smaller ones.
The kitchen layout bugs me. IMHO, the fridge is too far from the sink and the pantry would make more sense nearer the entrance to the garage.
The great room is a nice size and layout, but I like a FR/LR combination. I have a great room myself and miss having a less formal space for kids to entertain their friends as they get older. Not wild about the FROG as a replacement.
What's the plan for the flex space? Formal dining room or office? My mom's summer place has this exact room off the foyer. She added french doors and made it a home office which would be nice for kids using electronics and computers when they're younger.
I like it. The only thing I don't see is a front hall closet. In the house we built we also had a floor plan with the master closet off the master bath. I didn't like that when we moved in but quickly became a huge fan. It's SO convenient. When one of us has to get up earlier than the other he/I can turn on the light in the bathroom and do everything we need to do without ever disturbing the sleeping spouse. We later moved to a separated master closet and I hated it. For those worried about moisture, just add a bathroom vent/fan to the master closet. It's not necessary, at least in the climate I lived in, but it's a solution if you like the concept.
The other thing I would consider for the OP's plan is extending the utility room to be the room you enter off the garage. That entrance can get nasty. It's nice to have a "mud room" to take off your shoes and stuff in a tiled room, so your hallway doesn't look gross.