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hamsch

One story house - Suggestions please! :)

hamsch
11 years ago

My first post, so please advise if I need to be posting in a different area. Thanks! So, attached is a rough draft of our "forever" one story house. It's showing up small, so if anyone has advise on how to blow it up, would be great. If I need to post with out all the furniture blocks, let me know. Anyway, it's going on a 12 acre lot in the country with a small pond and creek in the back (north) of the house. That's the best "view". To the south is the main road and across the road is a open farm field used for growing grains. We have two small children, boy and girl. We both have large extended families that come to visit from around the state for holidays, birthdays, girls weekends, and potential sleep overs. We also want enough room so when the kids come back home with their families (in 20 plus years), they feel like they have enough space to stay for a long weekend. The kids bedrooms are large and designed to be "Bunkhouses" with built in bunkbeds and a pull out trundle under the bottom bunk to sleep 6 in each room, There will be a tiny stair between the two sets of bunk beds per room to access the top bunks not a ladder (not drawn). My spouse has a work office out of our house, where clients periodically swing by to have meetings. That's the reason for the separate entrance. Laundry must stay by the bedrooms & bathrooms as I dislike plans where laundry is carried half across the house. So hard to find floor plans where the laundry is NOT in or by the mudroom. Not my preference. Playroom is off the north of the house and is also a must (flex space when kids are older) - and there should be some type of door on that room - pocket or french? We will also use that space to flex additional tables to seat everyone for large family meals 15 to 20 people. The stairs heads to the bonus room above the large garage for potential additional storage or another bunkhouse (single beds, not bunks beds) in the short half walls(?) or movie room. My husband is a big football fan, me not so much, so maybe someplace he can go and watch the game without the rest of the family hearing the drone of crowd noise and announcers all Sunday. Kitchen is not laid out yet - I just threw some random cabinets in there, so please ignore that. Wanted to get the basic layout done first. No basement or second floor (except the bonus room space). So that's the thought process so far. Please comment and make suggestions. I only have one shot to do this "right"! Thanks in advance!

Comments (78)

  • pps7
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the main issue is the house is too boxy. The surface area to volume ratio needs to change. Try to go away from the square shape and make something more rectangle, L or T shaped. Have you considered splitting the bedrooms? Master/laundry/office on one side with the kids bedrooms and playroom on the other side?

    Take a look at this plan:
    Study can be playroom
    Living room can be work office. If desired this room can have a separate entry.
    Master bedroom sitting area can be converted to laundry/craft area.
    Guest room can be second office which is a bedroom for resale.

    Obviously it would need to be edited for your needs. But it's a good place to start.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Single story Farmhouse

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Newest plan...bonus room stairs in the house got the ax. I think I could take 2 feet out of the middle of this house. Haven't placed the 2nd home office. We need the utility room to be off the back of the house because placement of the air conditioning unit. Anyone like this lay out better? I moved the bathroom over but may move it back to make the flex room larger. New master bedroom/bath layout.

    Comments?

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Improvement, but I still think you are heading in the wrong direction with a few items.

    I know you need your dining room to fit 20 people, and I can appreciatte this as I need the same thing! That said, you have an incredable waste of space in the dining area. You need to have space for daily use, and then be able to expand to surrounding space. Look at how that is accomplished in the attached floor plan.

    Having two front doors will not look good from a front elevation perspective, however having a door directly into the office could work, see my above post.

    Why does the utility room need to be near the AC? Can your utilities go in your attic? (this is common in my area, though not always recommended by those on GW).

    What is the purpose of the wasted space going towards the bedrooms?

    I see your thought process, but I really think you are at the point where you need to consult a professional.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Dining room example

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    double post

    This post was edited by Laura12 on Thu, Jan 24, 13 at 15:08

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have a look at this plan that another member of GW created for me.

    You could put a door directly into the office, put a half bath where the closet is facing the study, switch the futured bedroom and utility and turn the garage sideways.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Summerfield's Design

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Summerfield's plan is a good example of a design by someone who understands how to organize spaces so they compliment each other and create a sense of home. None of your plans come close to doing that. Please find a designer of this caliber and let him/her design a great house for you.

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    double post

    This post was edited by Renovator8 on Thu, Jan 24, 13 at 17:18

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laura12 - nice design Summerfield did for you! It looks like what you were looking for, was similar to what we need also. What did the front exterior rendering look like?
    I 'm a visual person but have a hard time "seeing" what a built wall might look like - thank goodness for drawing programs that allow you to view what you've laid out in 3D - so helpful! Interesting idea about the bunk bed that has a double on the bottom, twin on the top, trundle underneath. I will have to do research on how that might be constructed. Thanks!

    pps7 - Thanks for the link. Those types of posts are helpful. Great example of getting light into many spaces. I will use that.

    Everyone:
    Being a newbie here - can someone clarify, is this web-site only for those that have hired architects to design their homes? If so, I am very sorry and will discontinue posting here.

  • dekeoboe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No, this website is not just for those who have hired architect to design their home. Those that post here are just interested in good design and we are lucky to have a few architects who post and offer their wisdom.

    Can you post a larger image? I can't read any of the room sizes.

    What happened to the office for your husband that needed to be accessed from the front entry?

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Summerfield never did a front elevation of that plan for me, and I ended up going in a different direction once we talked to a professional locally.

    The key for me was accepting that meeting all of my needs and wants was simply not possible. We ended up moving the playroom upstairs to the bonus room, not ideal when our kids our little, but we will be be fine. We also included a media room upstairs that can be closed off for movies and sporting events. I really wanted a large laundry room and seperate mudroom, but in the end it didn't fit and I had to let go of that idea. Space for crafts etc is in the bonus room upstairs. Bedroom #2 by the master is a nursery now but in the future will be an office, or maybe an exercise room.

    This site is not just for those who have hired a professional. It is a great place to get advice and ideas at all stages of your planning and building. Personally I found everyones advice from GW to be very helpful in finally coming up with a plan that works for us. That said, I think a professional is an essential part of the process. At first I tought we could manage without one and just get a drafter, but I was very wrong! It isn't possible to do this on your own as you can't create construction drawings and everything required by the county/city/town. I've learned from reading everyone elses stories that it helps to find a professional you are gonig to work with on your deisgn early, and you seem to be at a point where you could use some help beyond what can be offerred here. It is impossible to design a house with as many complex needs as what you have without a professional. I know you said you have lots of time, but it could take some time even with help to get final drawings!

    This post was edited by Laura12 on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 12:12

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laura12,

    Thanks for posting your floor plans and experience in your building process. You have a very lovely home! Well done! Interesting your garage is a similar layout to my original plan. I will have to have a discussion with my spouse about where we go from here. Thanks!

    dekeoboe - We were in the process of moving walls when I posted that last layout. Looks like the door to the office got accidentally deleted. It should be on the entry wall of the office. I tried posting an enlarged layout and the website rejected it. Any advise for posting a larger layout would be welcome!

  • momto3kiddos
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have been where you are.. Drawing a new plan every few days and always wanting a better solution. I have linked our final floorplan and elevations. Our plan is larger than you are hoping for' but it can be made smaller by eliminating two bedrooms and the dining room and overall shrinking some of the spaces... They are all fairly large. Perhaps our layout and flow can giv eyou some ideas.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Our final plans...

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hamsch, the forum is for anyone who wants to discuss the design of homes in general and their home in particular. Many members are in the process of designing and building a home for the first time and many have build before.

    Most homeowner members offer suggestion about improving a house plan and will often offer examples from their house or houses they like. A few members are builders and architects and they usually offer a different perspective on designing a house both in detail issues and broad design issues and are often more critical since that is the process by which that gained their knowledge (ie, the hard way). One very talented amateur designer, Summerfield, sometimes offers an entire plan and even an elevation but hasn't been active lately.

    Most members will offer constructive advice for any plan but professionals often must choose between offering an entire alternate design or warning the poster that they are over their head and need to seek outside assistance. When a professional does not have the time or the program is too unclear it would be unkind of them to not offer the latter advice.

  • zone4newby
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We did most of our home design ourselves, although we did work with an architect at the end through the design-build company that is going to build our house.

    I think we came up with a design that will work well for us, but we're building a much simpler home than a lot of people here do.

    If that's the path you want to take, I would suggest you stop drawing floor plans for the moment and do some reading, so you can become familiar with the basics for making a house that is comfortable for people. "Designing your Perfect House" by William Hirsch Jr. was incredibly helpful for us. While he encourages readers to work with an architect if they can, he's written the book with the aim of making it "an architect in a book" for people who can't take that route.

    I would also encourage you to spend some time in a windowless interior room, and think about whether or not it's a room you like being in. Uncomfortable rooms don't get used, and so there's no point in paying to build them. Yesterday I was in a doctor's waiting room that was windowless, and despite the high end finishes and decor, it wasn't a pleasant space. People like natural light and being able to see out.

    Another thought-- if you're building in a place that gets to -40, why aren't you putting in a basement? We don't get quite that cold here, and our builder told us there was almost no cost increase in putting in a full basement vs. a crawlspace because they already have to excavate so deeply to get below the frost line.

    With a full basement, you could put the utility room and "play room" downstairs, reducing your total foot print, eliminating the interior "flex space", and get another window in your kitchen. You could also have your child guests sleep in the basement with your kids (making their rooms available to adult guests), and then you wouldn't need to plan to sleep quite so many in the kids' rooms.

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    zone4newby - Good ideas! Our site does provide a constriction on those though, our property is near wetlands and lakes. We don't want to deal with water in a basement area. Our area can get 6 to 10 inches of water in a day (it's happened twice in the last 10 years - so many people had water and mold in the lower levels, so we know we would have issues if that happens on our lot. This will be a slab on grade home - sealed air ducts will be in the ceiling and in floor tubing for in floor heat will be in the concrete floor. We don't want stairs - only exception would be for a bonus room - space that in old age we wouldn't need to be used or accessed much, or at least by us. We have lived in homes with stairs our whole lives and are trying to avoid them for our older years. I know this type of home is not the norm. Many build a two story minimum with basement.

    Point taken on the interior rooms with no natural light. We see how important this is. Will need to rework rooms on exterior walls with windows.

    Thanks for the book recommendation. I will have to check to see if I can buy it online for some good weekend reading. Much appreciated!

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What about having the play room in the bonus room?

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You will be required by code to ventilate the windowless habitable rooms and in that might cost as much as $3,000 to $5,000 depending on the climate.

    A better approach would be to spend that money on an architect who could design a house that would not only avoid additional HVAC equipment but would undoubtably be more pleasant to live in and would have an increased resale value many times the initial expense.

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Renovator8 - Thank you and as I posted previously, lesson learned - the rooms that did not have a windows before will have one in a revised plan.

    Laura12 - Similar to you (if I remember correctly), we have small children that still need close supervision so having their primary play space a level up is not ideal at this time. Will put the playroom/flex space right next to the dinning room/kitchen, as your earlier post suggested, with a set of french doors (or pocket doors ?) so that the space can be used for additional seating when we have family holidays and partially (or fully) closed to contain all the mess in an area on a daily basis.

    Of course, as you all can see, all subject to change as we move through the process...

    Thanks again everyone for the real world experience, thoughts, and ideas.

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    another idea would be to have the playroom in the space for the home office, and for now have your home office in the playroom, and then later move your home office downstairs, and their playroom upstairs.

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Comments?

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Exterior comments?

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hopefully this one is bigger and more readable.

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Huge improvement, though you still have a ways to go :)

    - You don't want to walk into your home and see straight into the half bath.
    - The space for your dining table is still out of proportion, how wide is that space?
    - Your utility room is taking up prime floor space
    - Walking through the doors in the family room to get to the main part of the house is awkward. Especially since you don't have a hallway though this space.
    - Having clients walk through the garage to get to a bathroom isn't ideal.
    - Very small windows in auxiliary bathrooms.

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hamsch, what do you do for a living?

    Your time and money would be much better spent doing whatever it is than by trying to learn open heart surgery with a butter knife. Then spend that hard earned money an a professional to assist you with something that they do MUCH better than you do. I don't understand your reluctance to deal with an architect. Do you travel to CA in a bigrig to pick up lettuce for your salads or do you leave that to the professional? Do you tear down your car's transmission and rebuild it, or do you leave it to a professional? Do you try to design and sew your own clothes or do you buy them off the rack or from a tailor?

    There is no shame in not being able to DIY every aspect of your life. And unless you are merely interested in building a giant square box, you do not have enough skill at creating anything habitable with your software, or even just graph paper. If it amuses you to spend your time doing thousands of layouts, I guess it's a hobby. But, it poisons the ultimate interactions that you will need to have with a professional and robs you and your family of the best result that you could achieve if you went to that architect much sooner.

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The entrance area is very bad indeed and there is still no organizing principle for the house but at least there are no interior windowless spaces.

    The use of a different cladding material above the gutter line makes a low building appear even lower. For such a modest house I would take a more straight-forward and honest approach and shingle the entire thing using decorative shingle shapes and special features to add interest.

    Fake shutters add nothing to the house.

    An angled building should be looked at in perspective view rather than front elevation view.

    A formal Colonial fan light above the entrance door is at odds with the casual Craftsman portico posts. Borrowing from different architectural styles is OK but the elements should reinforce some kind of unifying approach or idea. Choose should choose between formal and causal, estate and cottage.

    The "mutton chop" cornice returns are typical of "spec" developer houses; it would only take a bit more detailing to make the house look like it was designed for an owner. If you like the Modern or Contemporary Styles you should study them.

    IMO the big blank front facing gables are unattractive. For centuries pediments have been treated with some kind of feature. It was the American tract home developer/builder who introduced a blank field of siding especially over the garage doors. Spend some time googling architect designed houses. If you must copy; copy the best.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Boston architects

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laura12 -

    Yes, your right the family room is going to be an issue. We might have to push the north wall out and run the hallway through there.

    Utility and small office can be interchanged once we hear from the HVAC guys to see which is best for them.

    Dining space needs to be expandable for extra guest and tables - we will use the family room to for extra seating, if needed. I tried to use the example you provided in designing this space. Don't have the exact dimensions, will need to get those.

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Out of curiousity, do you plan on doing this plans 100% on your own, or do you plan on speaking to a deisgner or architect?

  • zone4newby
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think you probably ought to talk to a professional. Your new plans are better, but they're still not really workable-- to get from the garage to a bedroom, you have to walk through both the kitchen workspace and the family room. Then you've put the utilities in the heart of the house, and only left space for one tiny full bath that is supposed to serve the 10 people you plan to have sleep in the two kids' bedrooms + the kids who have been displaced.

    If you are going to design this yourself, you need to be willing to do your homework, instead of generating one floor plan after another. I am not an expert, but I think the plan to host 10+ people for the weekend regularly needs to be addressed by more than just finding space for beds. You'll need more bathroom space, an adequate hot water supply, it may impact the size septic system you need.

    It's fine to say "they'll have to take turns" but 12 people at 10 minutes each means allowing 2 hours to get through the morning routine. If you put the shower in a separate room from the vanity, at least people could be shaving/brushing teeth while someone showered...

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laura12 - Undecided at this time yet. If I am doing a terrible job at designing this house, I can always "fire" myself at little to no cost. If I work with an architect that doesn't meet my needs or just plain don't care for their style or ideas, I'm guessing it will cost me some cash to get out of it. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

    Zone4newby - Thanks for your comments. You are right, this plan isn't nearly perfect yet. As I posted earlier after Laura12's comments, both of you are right. The family room does need to be reworked so a hallway runs past, not through that room.

    Not sure though how to get from garage to kitchen without the kitchen being a walkway unless I run a hallway the length of the house. I was trying to take advantage of the existing natural walkways in the kitchen, instead adding additional space to the house. Any thoughts on this?

    Hosting 10+ people will be on occasions. Normally there will be 4 living in this home. Hosting extra people is not a weekly event or monthly event, probably more like 6 times a year or less.

    There is a second bathroom area off the mud room with a shower (designed more for cleaning up from the outdoors) while not perfectly ideal, it would work for the time as a secondary bathroom. Halving the shower time needed.

    Laura12, the bath window is small in this room, but is just to let some light in, and not diminish too much privacy, as it will be covered or frosted anyway.

    It's really hard to see, but the middle bathroom off the entry does have a pocket door between the shower and sink and sink and toilet to facilitate semi-private multiple uses, as you alluded to.

    To everyone: Thanks again for being patient with our design process. I guess I could always pull our 5th wheel bunkhouse recreational vehicle up next to the house and everyone could stay in there! LOL Thanks again everyone for your feedback!

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You need a central axis that you are designing your house around, which would be a hallway. Yes, it will add space, but you need it.

    You can't plan a house around something that happens 6 times a year. You need to plan a house around your daily needs and then figure out how to make it work for those extra occaisions.

    I asked about you seeking professional help because you have been dodging everyone's advice. You need to fire yourself and hire someone to help. You cannot design a house this complicated on your own.

  • pps7
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The views are in the back but you have the laundry and utility room there in stead of the bedrooms. the master bathroom bump out might eliminate any view from the master bedroom.

    Move the hall down and extend it to left past the family room to the dining room. move the kids bedrooms to the back and the laundry,utility, master bathroom to the front. move the powder down and to the right. basically below the hall bath. extend the foyer and intersect the foyer with the hall.
    Ideally the entry door would be centered on the family room windows.

  • Nick
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your latest plan definitley needs a central hall that routes traffic throughout the house, so I tried adding one all the way from the garage to the laundry room by the master bedroom. You should try to find a way to incorporate that third bath near the office, too. Here it functions as a guest/client bath but also isn't too far from the mud room. Every hall is 4' wide and almost every door is 3' wide, with the exception of a couple closets. I also tried to fix the flex room. By adding pocket doors to the dining room wall, you could watch your kids play while working in the kitchen, but still be able to close the room off or make another dining area for gatherings. This plan doesn't fix all your probems but I hope it helps.

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nicke360, that is a HUGE improvement. Yes, you're right, it doesn't fix everything, but it creates organization and workability out of chaos. There's still the central idea of the angled garage making the whole thing awkward with wasted space as well as the wierd bumpouts, but now at least everyone can get from one side of the house to the other or from the front to the back.

    hamsch, that's what a professional can do for you. And that's why we've all been saying to engage the services of one.

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    nicke360,

    Thank you for the floor plan modifications! I really like all your improvements. Thank you so much for sharing your talents! I am very grateful!

  • mrspete
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    First, it's quite possible to build a house without hiring a professional architect. I have several family members who've done big rennovations and even whole-house builds -- with good results. The keys to success: You need to be committed to a fairly simple floorplan, and you need to have a knack for it. Hamsch, I don't mean to be rude, but you're looking at a complicated floorplan, and it doesn't seem to be coming naturally to you.

    My suggestions:

    Study basic floorplans that work. Don't just look them over; study how the rooms are placed together, seek out details that'll work for your family. Since you want a one-level house, ranch style makes sense for you. Also, an American four-square is highly adaptable.

    Focus on how effective rooms fit together. Focus on time-tested ideas. While your house will be a combination of all your ideas and will be uniquely designed for you, you're probably not going to do something radically different -- at least not with success. House building has been around a long, long time, and the best concepts (i.e., islands with seating, using closets as sound buffers, laundry rooms just off the garage) have been used. You don't need to recreate the wheel; rather, pick out the things you like best and combine them.

    I'll echo what someone else said: Build a house for your everyday life. Figure out how to incorporate your six-times-a-year company . . . six times a year. Even if they stay a week each time, that leaves you with 45 weeks when it's just your family. Lots of people have commented that the extra beds (for your kids to walk around /live around 45 weeks a year, when they aren't being used) and the shortage of bathrooms for these massive numbers of guests is a big disconnect.

    Quit focusing on details; rather, focus on the broad strokes first. Paying no attention whatsoever to how it'd all fit together, draw a map with the following:

    - Draw your land, labeling North, South, East, West.
    - Where's the least desirable spot /worst views? Draw a circle there, and label it Garage.
    - Which room is most important to you? Probably your living room or your kitchen. Where are your best views /most desirable spot? Draw a circle there and label it.
    - Continue with this process 'til you have a bubble map of your house. Now you know the best locations for your rooms. Remember that since you want a one-story house, you need to work "wide" rather than "square".
    - Label each bubble with "must haves"; for example, I'd write in that my kitchen must be adjacent to an extra-large pantry, and I want a window over my sink. Do not go overboard with details like "must have a large wooden hood over the stove and pull-outs for spices". Those smaller details come later.
    - Redraw your bubble map, making the rooms more "to size". For example, draw your living room as a larger bubble than your laundry room.
    - Now, and only now, should you start thinking about details like doorway locations, window placement, etc.
    - To save money, keep your plumbing close together, make all your room dimensions divisible by 4' (because standard sized building materials tend to come in 4' increments). This may be the point that you're ready to bring in a professional.

    Changing the subject slightly, I'll echo what another poster says: This is an exercise in compromise, and you have to recognize that you cannot have everything you want. No one, not matter how talented, no matter what the budget, no one can get everything into one house.

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Why does the the Foyer have a 10 ft wide opening into the Living Room? Why is it even connected to the Living Room?

  • mjlb
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nick made a huge quick improvement without many changes. But another approach is needed to avoid that long bowling alley hallway. Totally agree w advice to I'd views and start w bubble diagrams.

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Inspiration for the idea of a bunkhouse room...

    http://augustfields.blogspot.com/search/label/Boy%20Bunk%20Room

  • auroraborelis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That makes sense in a family with 6 kids, which is what the blog is showing. It does NOT make sense for guests a few times a year.

    Put double beds in the kids room, maybe a trundle underneath and send the kids to sleep in the bonus room...

  • renovator8
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Whether it is possible to build a house without an architect is not the relevant issue; the issue should be whether or not you want to "go to school" on your own property or would rather spend some money to get a house that is even better than you had hoped for. It's like cheap insurance or the bargain of a lifetime you didn't expect.

    I won't bore you with my experiences in that regard but it is common for a client to tell me their project is perfect and I always tell them it should be considering how hard we worked on it. Any good building design is primarily due to the power of the collaborative process.

    You can't collaborate with yourself and all collaboration partners should be very familiar with you, your family, and your property. That can't happen over the internet or by email or by reading books and perusing other people's design work. These are not casual remarks; they are the product of 40 years of working with clients.

  • back2nd
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Renovator8, are you for hire? I've been lurking this site for several years and LOVE your knowledge of homes. I really don't keep up on what people do, but would like to know if you live in the midwest?

  • RNmomof2 zone 5
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know I am late to this game (story of my life!) but I have a few ideas. We were in your shoes 22 years ago, only I found 1/2 of a plan that I like and took it to a professional to have them finish it. Money very well spent.

    Summerfields design for Laura12 had a bedroom wing with some good ideas. The playroom in between the bedrooms was perhaps excessive but gave an overall nice bedroom wing and a good starting place.

    The bump-outs in the kids bedrooms need to go. Any change or angle is $ in drywall. concrete forms, roof etc. More importantly it cuts up an already small and awkward bedroom. Where is a desk or dresser going to go? There is no wall space in many of these plans.

    I totally understand the need for an office available to client's as my DH and FIL both have this.

    Keep chugging away, You will get there!

  • Artichokey
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hamsch wrote: "We do plan to have a dog when we move, but not a "house dog". The dog will have a warm dog house of its own and plenty of room to roam outdoors, but will not enter my house (pending some medical emergency only). [snip] Stay warm out there - it's going to -40 degrees tonight here! Burr!"

    Wait, what?

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    rnmomof2 - thanks for the encouragement. We have been studying other plans and have come a long way since our first post, and probably have a way to go. Summerfields did have a good plan. Everyone was right and the kids bedrooms were awkward - We have cut the window seats in the kids rooms and re-layed them out. When we are closer to final, I will post the plans we have been working on.

    Arti- we will have a dog, but doggy will have a warm place to stay outside the main house, (heated garage) since it gets cold here, with at-will access to go outside/inside.

  • RhettDrive
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    New here and wondering where to find the program you used to layout your floor plans?

  • Lori Wagerman_Walker
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    LM@O at Artichokey
    I am really enjoying this thread. Lots of great advice in here!
    Carry on...

  • hamsch
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bought instead of built...very new one story no basement on 10 acres with large post frame shop. Love no stairs! So glad in this market we didn't build. Would have been a big mistake. Tons of extras at no cost to us.

    RhettDrive - Home Design software

  • Christopher Kiessling
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Nick360 I love the revisions you've made to the floor plans! I have a question could you move the masters suit on the other side of the house by the garage or do you think that it wouldn't flow correctly? Reason being for privacy when you have guest staying with you?

  • chisue
    8 years ago

    Anyone still reading who has respiratory issues: A one story house on a slab is The Worst Habitat for a person with allergies, asthma, sinus, etc. -- *especially* in a location with a high water table.