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eire6678

Frank Betz- Havenbrooke

eire6678
9 years ago

Has anyone ever built this plan? Would love to see interior and exterior photos

Comments (18)

  • ALF1976
    9 years ago

    Hi - I know this is an older post but hope you will see it. My husband and I are thinking about building the Havenbrooke model. Were you able to find any pictures? We too are curious to see what a finished model looks like. We've seen the exterior of one but would love to see interior pictures as well.

  • Thomas Douglas
    7 years ago

    I'm planning on building it too. Changing the 2 story foyer to a single story so that I can have a storage room upstairs. Has anyone built this plan? I know of one house in Founder's Point built by Norman Miller but that's it!

  • elissia1976
    7 years ago

    Our home plans were put on hold so we haven't built yet. I was thinking of doing the same thing in regards to the 2 story foyer - we plan to turn into an upstairs laundry. I've driven past the one in Founder's Pointe - very beautiful! It has been difficult finding others and even finding pics online. Would love to get inside one and explore to get a better feel of the layout. I even emailed the realtors at Founder's Pointe to see if they or the builders have interior photos but never got a response.

  • Thomas Douglas
    7 years ago

    I wish I could see the interior of the founder's point house as well. I wouldn't have built a two story double covered porch in the rear though. With the covered porch in the front and converting a two story to a one story foyer there wouldn't be enough natural light in the house with the covered rear porches unless solar tubes/skylights were added. I like the screened porch in the corner and the deck. It works well with the plan. If I build it I would also use the dining room as an extra room for my baby to play in with a pocket door between the room and the kitchen and use the upstairs "children's retreat" as a home theater room. I'd rather have a table in the keeping room for family and guests to eat. If you place the laundry room upstairs make sure you install a drain underneath the washer in case there is a leak. Otherwise it may cause thousands of dollars worth of moisture damage.

  • elissia1976
    7 years ago
    Yes, definitely about the laundry room. Would hate to have a big mess if something overflows! We don't really use our current dining room much, so was planning on turning the dining room into a study/office, and like you said use the keeping room/breakfast area for dining/guests. Also plan to change the configuration of the kitchen some so it can be a little more open to the den/living area. Love the screened porch. Oh....and expand the bedroom downstairs to a full in-law suite with full bath and kitchenette and laundry. Where the original laundry was downstairs, will turn into a half bath. I'm excited about the possibilities! And add extra bay for a three car garage.
  • elissia1976
    6 years ago
    Hi - Have either of you built your Havenbrooke model yet?
  • Thomas Douglas
    6 years ago
    No, I decided to hire an architect to do a custom farmhouse plan to better fit what we want. Havenbrooke is a very nice plan though if you don't mind the two stall garage.
  • elissia1976
    6 years ago
    Thanks for responding! May I ask what you incorporated into your custom design that wasn't available with the Havenbrooke? Love the changes we've already made to the Havenbrooke plans, but still looking to tweak a pinch more.
  • cpartist
    6 years ago

    Are you ok with walking through your main kitchen work zone just to bring laundry to the laundry room?

    Or when the kids come in from the mud room, they're going to run through the main kitchen work zone? I say that because no one takes the "correct" route. They take the shortest path.

  • Thomas Douglas
    6 years ago

    elissia,

    What I loved about Havenbrook was the outdoor living spaces on the south side, the open floor plan around the kitchen while still closing off the family room so it's not *too* open, the very attractive country exterior styling, well-proportioned people sized spaces and private spaces that aren't too large, and the fact that there seems to be a space to accommodate practically everything you would need. As for cpartist's critique, I personally had no issues with going through the kitchen to reach other areas. I would redo the placement of the kitchen appliances and sink though to create a tighter work triangle which allows the flow of traffic through the kitchen without moving through the work triangle.


    We didn't go with Havenbrook because we decided that this would be our forever home so we needed to be able to age in place. Some changes from Havenbrook were: we also wanted a flex room den/guest bedroom suite on the main floor, a larger mudroom with home management area, a laundry room with more counter space, lots of attic space, a detached side load garage, larger kitchen, larger pantry, more desk areas, and my personal favorite, a cupola crows nest tower with a 360 view of the property accessed via secret hidden bookcase door, all wrapped into a modern farmhouse exterior. What my architect was able to design for us was nothing short of spectacular. He took everything we loved about Havenbrook and made it even better suited to fit our lifestyle. The plan sizes rooms appropriately so that they're neither too big or too small while devoting the extra space to more functional areas and public spaces. The plan is larger than Havenbrooke but not considerably so, just a little over 4000 sq/ft. The kitchen is large with a huge walk-in-pantry, open concept without being too open, a 2000 sq/ft attic space for storage, simpler gable-style standing-seam metal roof for ease of construction and durability, SIPS wall framing, full wrap around porch with the south and west end screened with a separate open porch adjacent to the eating area partitioned using a nanawall like moving glass wall, single wall shower open on both sides with no doors for ease of cleaning. It's a Sarah Susanka style home with no McMansion pretentiousness, great sight lines, peek-a-boo views, away spaces, highly functional, custom built-ins, interesting ceiling treatments, elegantly beautiful from all angles, supremely durable, plenty of light, good transition between public and private spaces, and easy to construct. Our property runs north-south with the entrance in the north and the plan takes advantage of passive solar principles such as overhangs that shade the summer sun while letting in the winter sun.

  • cpartist
    6 years ago

    Thomas, did you ever post your finished house? I'd love to see it. Sounds wonderful.

    What my architect was able to design for us was nothing short of spectacular. He took everything we loved about Havenbrook and made it even better suited to fit our lifestyle.

    And this is why so many here keep harping on the idea of hiring an architect.

  • just_janni
    6 years ago

    I was just thinking the same thing - I want to see this! It sounds great and it sounds like it was made for you and has everything YOU want!!!

  • Najeebah
    6 years ago
    Agreed, that sounds great Thomas.
    You could create another thread to share your experience building the house and working with your architect, if you like. We'd love to hear your story
  • Thomas Douglas
    6 years ago

    I'm still in the design stage so once everything is finalized I'll create a thread on the build. I want to post some of the draft drawings here but I'm not sure if my architect would be cool with that.

    The house is definitely designed for our family. For instance, we don't have fireplaces. We do watch TV however and I never liked the TV above the fireplace so we simply got rid of the fireplace and put the TV there in the family room. We could always play a video of a fire on the TV. :P Not putting in fireplaces and chimneys saves a lot of money. We thought maybe we should keep the chimney since people expect them but then decided that we didn't want any "fake" adornments to please others.

    I have to admit that working with an architect, specifically Jean-Marc LeRoy of JML Design in Seattle has been a pleasure. I'm not used to a professional that communicates often (almost daily), takes into account my suggestions and does what he says he will do. I previously had a designer try to design my home and she unfortunately could not integrate my huge list of needs and wants into a functional plan. In her defense, my list was over 30 items long. Jean-Marc was able to give me a conceptual sketch which ended up being very close to what will be the final draft in less than a week.

    Originally I was going to build a modified Crystal Falls 3151 plan which was going to be very expensive due to the complicated, cut-up floorplan. My new design certainly saves a ton of money by providing a simpler design that isn't just a box but much cheaper to build and it is exactly what we want. I guess it's true that hiring an architect can actually save you money in the long run.

    I would still say though that one should know exactly what they want before hiring an architect and to find a good one. I may have lucked out with Jean-Marc. If I had gone with someone else I could be posting about how I hired an architect and he didn't listen to me and came up with a crappy plan and I should have simply saved my money and bought a stock plan off the internet. :)

  • Najeebah
    6 years ago
    sounds like your house will take shape quite well
    a good architect is invaluable, and you're yes, saves the client money, time, and issues.
    It's good to hear such stories.
    you can check with your architect if he'd mind you posting here. It's understandable that not all architects would approve, and of course that should be respected. Though you seem to be in good hands, without houzz :)
  • elissia1976
    6 years ago
    Thank you Thomas for sharing! Your home plan sounds absolutely stunning. I can't wait to follow your build thread.
  • Najeebah
    6 years ago
    when you do start that thread, let us know here, so we're sure not to miss it :)