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autumn_4_gw

Mudroom.Master Entry.Powder Room Config Help

autumn.4
11 years ago

I am getting closer! We did settle on a layout with some minor adjustments. As it stood in it' original form it's 1816 sq. foot. We need to stay under 2000.

Any ideas on how to re-config this area? I've done some tweaking but I'm not sure what the best configuration would be for flow and for where to put that pesky half bath. I am also at a loss on how to change the master entry so that when you come in from the garage you aren't looking straight into it. Any ideas? I feel like the master bath is configured without a lot of wasted space but please do offer suggestions if you feel otherwise.

The mudroom will need to house: cubbies, washer, dryer, counter for folding and storage underneath for baskets, chest freezer (32w x 24d), broom closet, place for dog food/water. I think it's plenty big enough - just don't know where to place the 1/2 bath.

Any other comments about the rest of the house are more than welcome. Thank you!

Thanks!

Comments (8)

  • okpokesfan
    11 years ago

    I"m no expert but do have a few thoughts.

    1) how big is the area between the stairs and master wall. could the cubbies and broom closet go there? If it isn't big enough, then could the stairs be moved there? That would give you a bigger area to work with in the garage entry space.

    2). Are you planning on having cubbies where the plans currently say? It doesn't look like you will have room because you won't have gotten far enough down the stairs to have any room for them (hope I'm explaining myself well here).

    Good luck!

  • autumn.4
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi ok-thanks for your input.

    I believe it's about 10 ft wide by 8 ft long. I sketched it out on graph paper and that's what I came up with.

    That flex space that is 11 x 10'6 we would use as an office and really only need it to be about 8x9 so I could take some space off of that to put stairs by the foyer. I just really don't under stand how much room stairs take besides the width alone.

    I think that is where your #2 comes in. I was assuming that would be a full wall behind the cubbies....but I see what you are saying on not being far enough down the stairs yet. Maybe a u shaped would work?

    I wouldn't mind stairs by the foyer but would rather keep the powder room off the back hall since with kids in and out they'd have to run through the whole house to get to the bathroom if I had it by the foyer.

    It's challenging to say the least - move anything a foot or so and everything else is affected, oiu.

  • autumn.4
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    See the blue line and note. ??? Stairs would be going DOWN not UP. Do you figure I could use that space or no? If not then I for surely need to move the stairs somewhere else.

  • okpokesfan
    11 years ago

    I would think you could use some of it, but not all. However, I'm no expert!

    Will the turn be before or "under" the new master closet area. If it's under then I don't think there would be enough room for the whole space to be used. Depends on the steepness of the stairs and headroom needed however. Maybe one of the pros will chime in for you.

    As to #1 above, I think that is plenty big for a broom closet/cubby area. You could probably even use that as a laundry room if you didn't mind it being right next to the bedroom (and some people like it that way). That way, the cubbies and powder would be right as you come in the garage door.

  • DreamHomeDreamer
    11 years ago

    Autumn4,
    For your question regarding the whether you could use the space under the stairs on 2nd floor plan - you could change the doorway entry point in the laundry to be centered in the room. Then you would have your cabinets on either side of the door (to the left and right as you enter the laundry) and then partially use the space under the stairs with only lower cabinets or something like in the picture. Depends on what your needs are. You would then have a slanted ceiling on approx. 4 feet wide of the room under the stairs. You can use any space you want in a home, may be wonky but every space can probably be used as something.

  • autumn.4
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks DreamHomeDreamer-

    That is a clever idea. For us though the stairs will be down instead of up. The plan shows up for a bonus room but we are nixing that because we will have a basement. So if it's a U-shaped stair I don't know at what point it is under enough to not be interfering with the main floor - if that makes sense. It's hard to put in words. All of the plans I've looked do not include any stair dimensions and I don't know how much room they take up if I were try to move them possibly by the foyer.

  • bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
    11 years ago

    As stairs to the basement drop, the space over is called "headroom". To figure out how much headroom you have at any point along a staircase, multiply the number of steps you have gone down by the riser height of your staircase then subtract the thickness of the flooring, floor joists, and ceiling sheetrock. Here is a diagram to help...

    Typically you will need to have about 11 steps down before you have sufficient headroom to stand upright.

    In your diagram above, you could definitely turn the storage area into a utility room and use the current utility room area for a mud room with a door between the two located next to the garage wall. There would definitely be plenty of headroom beneath the floor by that point. The spot RIGHT where you have the words "stair line" would likely have a sloped floor but it would probably only extend about 2 feet into that space so you could put a regular height countertop and a false front cabinet there and use it as a drop zone.

    Alternatively, you could just continue the stairs on towards the right another 4 or so steps and put the landing beneath where the word "Work" in workbench is. If you waited to make the stairs turn until you reached that point, you could turn the entire utility/storage area into one big mudroom/laundryroom and not worry about sloping floors anywhere. Probably wouldn't want to put the washer and and dryer into the corner where the "workbench currently is" because of the need for drainpipes. But other than that, you'd have a free hand.

    Of course, this would change how the basement rooms would have to be set up but...

    Then again, depending on how you plan to use your basement and how easy you want access to it from the main floor of the house to be, there is yet another possibility. That is, turn the stairs around by 180 degrees and start them over where the work bench is. By the time they reached the hall, you would have plenty of headroom. You could probably even shift that little closet toward the garage so that it sits over the stairs tho it would have a sloped floor. But, you could put angled shoe storage on the sloped closet floor and make a positive use of that space.

  • autumn.4
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Bevangel-
    Thank you SO much! I am so grateful for your response. That diagram is exactly what I needed (why it didn't occur to me to walk down my own current stairs and count the steps I will never know, total duh moment).

    We will be finishing off the basement at some point. When you say turn them 180 degrees then access would be through the mudroom? I wouldn't want the access from the garage since it will be a finished space. I can't quite picture what you are saying for the start of the stairs.

    Heading out of town today for a long weekend when I get back I will play around some more. Again - thank you very much for your help.

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