Floor plan critiques?

[lolalolalola]

We are building a 1700 sq ft bungalow with a walk out basement and would love any thoughts on our floor plan. It’s on a pie lot and this is as wide as we can make the house. Appreciate your thoughts.


FYI I’ll delete! Thank you


ETA- we will be putting in built in cubbies in the mud room on the blank wall.

[heygrey]

patio access from the bedroom upstairs? I don't think its necessary, but its a common feature where i live. If its not common where you are, i wouldn't spend the money on an extra exterior door, but i know here people would be like "buy why not when the patio is right there?"

[lolalolalola]

Sept 26, 2021 23:33:15 GMT -5 heygrey said:

patio access from the bedroom upstairs? I don't think its necessary, but its a common feature where i live. If its not common where you are, i wouldn't spend the money on an extra exterior door, but i know here people would be like "buy why not when the patio is right there?"

So this was something I wanted but DH did not. He is a “needs to be pitch black to sleep” person and was worried about the light through any window in the door. I do think it would be nice but it wasn’t a battle worth fighting for me…

[heygrey]

Sept 26, 2021 23:36:59 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

Sept 26, 2021 23:33:15 GMT -5 heygrey said:

patio access from the bedroom upstairs? I don't think its necessary, but its a common feature where i live. If its not common where you are, i wouldn't spend the money on an extra exterior door, but i know here people would be like "buy why not when the patio is right there?"

So this was something I wanted but DH did not. He is a “needs to be pitch black to sleep” person and was worried about the light through any window in the door. I do think it would be nice but it wasn’t a battle worth fighting for me…

I'm on board with your husband's logic. I think the patio access from a bedroom is kind of aspirational living - like I'm pretending I'm in a hotel, but realistically I'm going to the kitchen first to get a drink, then to my patio to sit and enjoy the morning. 

[bonnie]

What's the space behind the dual sinks in the primary bathroom?

[ssmjlm]

Main Floor:
Master - is the door to your bedroom visible from the sink going to bother you? I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done, but just something to think about.

May want to switch master tub/toilet. I don't know how old you are, but my parents are definitely glad to have the toilet closer to the bedroom for MOTN.

The powder room/linen area is a lot of doors. not sure if there is a way to maybe make one a pocket door.

Lower level:
Maybe do 2 sinks in the shared bath? If there's enough room.

[lolalolalola]

Sept 27, 2021 6:30:19 GMT -5 bonnie said:

What's the space behind the dual sinks in the primary bathroom?

It’s dead space. It’s not wide enough for a closet but we are asking about putting in a built-in cabinet there.

[aprilsails]

Screen in one of your patios/porches, doesn’t matter which one. I love our covered and screened in porch. It’s so nice in the spring when you do desperately want to get outside but the mosquitoes could carry you away.

I would also add a man door on the west side of the garage to the exterior. Sometimes it’s nice to have and we added one to our house.

Otherwise I don’t have much else.

[aprilsails]

One more comment, I don’t think I would want a pocket door to the primary bathroom. It’s a door you will open and shut frequently for privacy or sound reasons, and I really hate pocket doors and feel they always go off track or get super stiff after a couple hundred operations. I would prefer a door, even if it might not look as nice to have a door swing there.

[macmars45]

What about a closet in the foyer and a closet in the mud room?

ETA I see you mentioned cubbies in the mudroom. I think the foyer could benefit from a closet though.

[lolalolalola]

Sept 27, 2021 8:50:44 GMT -5 macmars45 said:

What about a closet in the foyer and a closet in the mud room?

ETA I see you mentioned cubbies in the mudroom. I think the foyer could benefit from a closet though.

The foyer is a little small for a closet, so we placed it around the corner by the door to the den.

[nicolewi]

I am no expert, so take this with a huge grain of salt. I think it all looks great. The only thing that seemed kind of awkward is the powder room entrance being right off the main island area in your kitchen. I see that there are a lot of doors in that area already, but I feel like I'd rather have that door be off the main entrance if possible. If you have people over, it seems a lot more private if you don't feel like you are walking in and out of the bathroom right in the middle of the party area. I think I'd rather have the door where the "shelves" area is on the diagram and flip things around...but maybe that doesn't work with plumbing.

[bonnie]

Sept 27, 2021 7:34:44 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

Sept 27, 2021 6:30:19 GMT -5 bonnie said:

What's the space behind the dual sinks in the primary bathroom?

It’s dead space. It’s not wide enough for a closet but we are asking about putting in a built-in cabinet there.

[sju]

Our master bedroom came with a sliding door to the lanai. We have not opened it in 5 yrs. But some people love having one.

As far as comments, not sure if it fits but switching the master shower and the toilet could make the bathroom look bigger (if you have glass enclosure). Also, just curious, is there a particular reason for having a door to the stairs downstairs?

[lolalolalola]

Sept 27, 2021 16:16:47 GMT -5 sju said:

Our master bedroom came with a sliding door to the lanai. We have not opened it in 5 yrs. But some people love having one.

As far as comments, not sure if it fits but switching the master shower and the toilet could make the bathroom look bigger (if you have glass enclosure). Also, just curious, is there a particular reason for having a door to the stairs downstairs?

We wanted to put a door at the bottom of the stairs for noise and so that we can keep our pets locked in the basement when needed.

[boiler717]

Overall it looks good! I think the dining area seems huge. Did you consider extending the side cabinets and increasing the kitchen space?

[numbers]

Sept 28, 2021 7:14:28 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

I think the dining area seems huge. Did you consider extending the side cabinets and increasing the kitchen space?

I agree. I'd add cabinets to the left wall of the dining area for buffet/beverage/storage space.

[lolalolalola]

Sept 28, 2021 7:29:41 GMT -5 numbers said:

Sept 28, 2021 7:14:28 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

I think the dining area seems huge. Did you consider extending the side cabinets and increasing the kitchen space?

I agree. I'd add cabinets to the left wall of the dining area for buffet/beverage/storage space.

We already have the perfect dining sideboard for this space :-)

[sb]

Is the coffered ceiling area the living room? It seems so small compared to the giant dining room.

In the primary bathroom I might swap the shower and water closet. Seems like you might get more light into the shower doing that.

I also agree with flipping the powder room configuration so the door is in the foyer.

[dutchgirl678]

I agree that your dining space looks bigger than your living space. I personally am not a big fan of a coffered ceiling, but I know some people like it. I would also swap shower and toilet space. I noticed there is no linen closet in your master bathroom. We find it very convenient to have it for towel storage as well as excess TP rolls etc.

If you moved the door of the 1/2 bath to the foyer, which I would do, you could also change the linen closet to a foyer closet for coats.

[lolalolalola]

Sept 28, 2021 11:11:47 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

I agree that your dining space looks bigger than your living space. I personally am not a big fan of a coffered ceiling, but I know some people like it. I would also swap shower and toilet space. I noticed there is no linen closet in your master bathroom. We find it very convenient to have it for towel storage as well as excess TP rolls etc.

If you moved the door of the 1/2 bath to the foyer, which I would do, you could also change the linen closet to a foyer closet for coats.

It’s funny because the dining and living room sizes are pretty similar (just under 200 sq ft). The dining room also needs to have hallway/walking space behind the island and by the stairs to the living room. This photo shows the living room (in red) plotted over the dining room.

Does it make sense to reduce the dining room size and increase the living room?

Attachments:

[boiler717]

Sept 28, 2021 11:35:27 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

Sept 28, 2021 11:11:47 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

I agree that your dining space looks bigger than your living space. I personally am not a big fan of a coffered ceiling, but I know some people like it. I would also swap shower and toilet space. I noticed there is no linen closet in your master bathroom. We find it very convenient to have it for towel storage as well as excess TP rolls etc.

If you moved the door of the 1/2 bath to the foyer, which I would do, you could also change the linen closet to a foyer closet for coats.

It’s funny because the dining and living room sizes are pretty similar (just under 200 sq ft). The dining room also needs to have hallway/walking space behind the island and by the stairs to the living room. This photo shows the living room (in red) plotted over the dining room.

Does it make sense to reduce the dining room size and increase the living room?

In every house I’ve lived in, the living space has been larger than the dining room. Generally my kitchen has been larger than it as well. It seems like your dining room is the biggest room in the house, which just seems like not the best use of space. I would think your dining space should be closer to 150 sq ft.

[dutchgirl678]

Our house was newly constructed in 2018. I don't know the exact measurements but you can see our dining area is much smaller than our living area. I don't lack space though but I would think that it should be smaller than the living area. Maybe it looks smaller on your floor plan because of the coffered ceiling, but even if they are the same size I would say get more space for living.

[sb]

My dining room is around 200 square feet and it seems way too big to me. I feel like I need to get a bigger table just to fill space even though we rarely need seating for more than 6.

If there's a way to do it I would want more living room space.

[lolalolalola]

Thanks everyone- I promise you that I am not closed to your suggestions at all!

I think the dining area is not as big as it looks because you need to deduct square footage from in front of the island stools and alongside the living room/stairs for walkways. If you deduct 3’ from either side to allocate as a hallway, that leaves 125 sq feet for the actual dining space ( 9-6 x 12-3). Am I thinking about this incorrectly? The living room is 14’5 x 13’9.

We can definitely shift square footage to the living room from the dining room by moving the back wall if it makes sense to do so- and I really appreciate the challenges and input.


maybe just reallocating 1-2 feet will make a bigger difference in the living room and result in more usable space in the dining room.

[Roc A Bee]

I’d want the shower and tub closer together in the primary bathroom. When I take a bath, I like to go straight to the shower and they seem far apart.

[fryjack2]

I would switch the location of the walk in closet and the bathroom in the primary bedroom. If you want to change your clothes but your spouse is on the toilet, how does that work?

[wavepool]

Sept 28, 2021 13:03:56 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

Thanks everyone- I promise you that I am not closed to your suggestions at all!

I think the dining area is not as big as it looks because you need to deduct square footage from in front of the island stools and alongside the living room/stairs for walkways. If you deduct 3’ from either side to allocate as a hallway, that leaves 125 sq feet for the actual dining space ( 9-6 x 12-3). Am I thinking about this incorrectly? The living room is 14’5 x 13’9.

We can definitely shift square footage to the living room from the dining room by moving the back wall if it makes sense to do so- and I really appreciate the challenges and input.


maybe just reallocating 1-2 feet will make a bigger difference in the living room and result in more usable space in the dining room.

I toured a model home like this and loved that the living room was tucked away and seemed cozy. It also didn't need much walking space around it since it was tucked in like that. Also, you could just switch them right, there isn't any walls? So if you didn't like it just switch the furniture?

[lolalolalola]

Sept 28, 2021 20:23:31 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

I would switch the location of the walk in closet and the bathroom in the primary bedroom. If you want to change your clothes but your spouse is on the toilet, how does that work?

rhe toilet is in a separate a water closet!

[lolalolalola]

I’m going to inquire about switching the e toilet and the master shower. I think that would definitely be a brighter and nicer location for the shower.