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cbarutt

Thoughts and Feedback on Floorplan

cbarutt
10 years ago

Hi All,

I have been following these boards for awhile now while planning our move back to my home state of SD and decided to pull the trigger and create an account to get some feedback on what we are thinking for a floor plan. We are currently bunking it with my parents, so needless to say we are excited to get the building process started!

We will be building on an acreage with the house facing east and the garage on the south side of the home. So the image provided, but mirrored. We will be doing an unfinished basement as it is currently just the two of us.

The image attached is a rough idea of what we want for a floor plan. I am excited to get some feedback from some unbiased sources. I feel like I might be blinded by the large closet, pantry, and laundry room and my husband definitely is blinded by the garage. What a smart wife I was to show him this plan! : )

Some notes on what we would change about it are as follows:

Living Room would turn into a Office/Bedroom with double doors

We are going to draw out by the powder room to create a "mudroom" area when entering the home

In an effort to create a bigger second bathroom and a better flowing master bath we will be doing some shifting and repositioning in that area, I am not scared to steal a couple feet from the master closet if necessary.

Here is also a link to the floorplan: http://www.monsterhouseplans.com/traditional-style-house-plans-2247-square-foot-home-1-story-2-bedroom-and-2-bath-3-garage-stalls-by-monster-house-plans-plan53-141.html

Comments (8)

  • Houseofsticks
    10 years ago

    I'd create an entry from the living to the kitchen via the pantry to make the room able to double as a dining room.
    Post the kitchen in that forum. I personally love an island but, after working a few dinners for family in a similar set up to this one, I hated the curve, it made for little counter space on the working side. I would also slide the deck to the left to be accessible to the master and leave the nook in full sun. The stairs on the deck show a higher elevation than expected, do you have a basement floorplan or leaving unfinished?
    On MB, nice size but I'd add more windows.

    Overall a very livable plan.

  • pps7
    10 years ago

    I'm assuming SD is south Dakota?

    If so, why do you want to put the garage on the south side? I would think you would want it on the north side.

    You say you are building on acreage. Is there a reason the garages are front facing and such a prominent part of the elevation?

    As far as the plan, I'm not loving it. It seems like there's an opportunity for symmetry. The bedroom on the left should be pushed back so that it's lined up with the living room. The pantry should be increased to 7' and pushed back to mirror the master closet. I think your front elevation would look much better. Also maybe keep the whole thing a hipped roof without the gables.

  • zone4newby
    10 years ago

    Since you're building on acreage, do you have to have the garage on the South side? We're in MN, and I really value light during the long winter-- I think you'll be giving up a lot of natural light with this layout. The sun stays to the South and doesn't rise very high in winter here. It's not Alaska, but at the winter solstice, the sun rises in the SE, sets in the SW and only gets 21 degrees above the horizon. You can get similar data for your precise location from the US Naval Observatory at the link below.
    I would not put a covered deck over the nook window, and might reconsider covering the deck at all. It will rob the living areas of almost all natural light.

    Other thoughts-- I don't think I'd want the family entrance to the main house to come in through the kitchen. Right now the most direct path from the garage to the bedrooms is right through the kitchen work triangle.

    Otherwise I like the plan. Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: USNO Sun Azimuth and Altitude look up

  • rosie
    10 years ago

    1. Piling on regarding orientation, southern light is one of a home's top assets, depending on the situation and preferences, often in the top one or two.

    In summer, the hot sun will strike the east and west walls of a building (if trees don't stop it) and leave the south walls relatively unscathed so that curtains can be left open for sunny daylight to pour in.

    In winter, from the time the sun rises until it sets, the sun arches south, pouring welcome light and warmth in through all east-south-west facing windows and heating the walls.

    Thus, typically the south wall, if at all possible, and in your situation it would be, should be the longest, and the most important rooms should have southern light. East and west walls shorter, with deciduous trees planted outside them.

    If cold winds blow from one particular direction in in cool and cold months, the garage could be used to protect the house and perhaps a patio from those winds. It can also be placed to block an ugly view or noise or provide privacy from a close neighbor.

    This stuff is very important, and not just because of utility bills for a long shot. Often when people find certain homes particularly delightful, it's because of plenty of welcome sunlight pouring in from the right directions. Human beings love sunlight. We're drawn to rooms that have it and turn away from those that don't.

    2. Also a biggie: That plan was NOT designed for those with the luxury of acreage. It's meant to be built on a tiny tract home lot and is full of protective limitations that are all wrong for homes with plenty of elbow room.

    See the no windows on both sides? That's for privacy from neighboring homes only 16-30 feet away (8-15' setbacks), but in your case it means NO sunlight or views in two of your four open and free directions.

    See the seldom-used rooms on the front and the active living rooms oriented to the back? The active rooms are hiding in the back of subdivision homes as a way of retreating farther from a too-close and crowded world just out the front door. What need would this serve on your land that could possibly be worth the sacrifice of what might have been? Where are your views, and, of course, your sunshine?

    Developers build that type of design singly in detached rows and also tack 5 or 6, or a dozen, of those together as townhome blocks. That's what it is for, and since most people build in subdivisions plan sites are crammed full of them.

    Keep looking!. Specifically, look at plans that are right for land-rich people like you. This is so, so, so important.

  • zone4newby
    10 years ago

    FWIW, when we were looking at stock plans, they seemed to all be designed for subdivision lots in the South (no closets, lots of covered porches, no windows on the sides of the house).

    It's frustrating. We ended up going the design-build route. I don't think it cost us more than going with a stock plan off the internet, FWIW.

  • bird_lover6
    10 years ago

    Nice plan. I would rearrange the laundry room so that you have a door going to the backyard for muddy kids, dogs, yardworkers, etc.

  • littlebug5
    10 years ago

    If you are building in South Dakota, you need large storage spaces for coats, hats, boots, mittens, etc., especially near the family entrance. I assume that would be the garage entrance.

    I disagree with someone who suggested making a door to the outside in the laundry, which would essentially make the room a hallway and delete all your storage space. I hate to have people coming and going from the outside when I'm in the midst of washing and drying clothes right there. If you wanted a door to the outside there, you'd really need to double the size of the laundry room.

    I don't think this plan is really suited to your needs.

  • cbarutt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you everyone for your feedback! Some of the earlier comments about sun on the south side of the home are so valid and was not something we had considered! I think the current plan would not have the light we would like in the living room/kitchen area. I definitely want the south side of my home to soak up the sun. I do have a minor concern about trying to evenly cool our main level and basement and avoiding the "frigid cold basement effect" but I would think with proper planning and zoning of our HVAC that we can address that concern.