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ilovecookie

Please talk us out of this hexagon house plan

ILoveCookie
10 years ago

Husband and I were pretty much set on building a 1.5-story house, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We spent quite some time making the layout almost perfect.

Then we saw this hexagon plan online (please see the link below). We think it looks amazing. The shape is super cool.

Our grand piano would sound great in that open space. Then add a huge saltwater aquarium...we would be in heaven. Plus there is enough separation between the master bedroom and the other bedrooms.

Because of its unusual shape and potentially complicated roof, our instinct says it would be expensive to build. And it would probably be challenging to decorate the great room.

We know a rectangular 1.5-story cape is much more economic to build than this, but we keep coming back to this cool plan. It just looks too attractive to forget.

Please try to talk us out of it. Thank you!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunrise Living Plan (1999 SQFT)

Comments (18)

  • rwiegand
    10 years ago

    Not quite as cool as a real octagon house, but there's no way I'm talking you out of it. Looks like fun. I'd plan on a carousel myself. I'd also look at how to pop the hexagon up higher and add clerstory windows most or all the way around. Yes, probably expensive per sf, but it's only money, right? Just plan to live there a really long time.

  • ILoveCookie
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    A carousel house? That's awesome!

    I am going to look into octagon houses now :-). I have a feeling that this is not going to end well, money wise, lol.

  • palimpsest
    10 years ago

    OS Fowler was a big proponent of Octagon houses in the 1850s and they were briefly popular.

    I don't think this would be any more expensive to build than the complex roofs required on some of the current multi-bump-out, multi-gabled conventional houses.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    Hmm, we have two Octagonal structures in our (rambling) house. One was put in by the previous owner, one we added. The existing one we use as a living room, ringed by windows and windowseats with a fireplace on one wall. The other is ringed by a continuous windowseat with drawers underneath, an we use it as a craft room.

    A few observations:
    1. They are kind of whimsical and do not appeal to everyone.
    2. They are pretty inefficient; the most usable space ends up being the square in the middle.
    3. They certainly are light-filled (the LR one has a glass cupola)

    In your particular case, one drawback I see is that, other than the bedrooms, there is only one large multipurpose room. Would anyone need an office, a study, a playroom? Even if its ok for you, i think it would affect resale.

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    10 years ago

    Wait... did you post the wrong link?

    I don't see an octagon house ( I have been in two).
    That is a house with one hexagonal room.

  • kirkhall
    10 years ago

    I had a friend who wanted to buy an octagonal house. His mortgage company would not approve it because it was not "normal" enough. Mind you, this was an already built house, not a construction loan.

    He ended up buying a "normal' house.

    If you don't need financing, I think you can do what you want. But, if you require financing, sometimes getting what you want is a lot harder...

  • ILoveCookie
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    LuAnn, the link is indeed a house with a hexagon in the middle. In the first reply of this thread, rwiegand said an octagon house would be even cooler than a hexagon, so I said I am going to look into octagon houses. Then all the other replies are talking about octagon houses. :)

    kirkhall, a "normal" house seems to make sense in so many ways! We need financing, so our fantasy will probably remain a fantasy.

    mtnrdredux, I see you points regarding the space inefficiency, as well as the lack of a study and a play room.

    At the moment, we think we could put our partners' desk somewhere in the great room, and put an additional desk in the master bedroom. If it gets difficult to concentrate in the open area, at least one of us could move to use the desk in the master bedroom.

    We haven't thought much about the play area (no kids yet)...perhaps temporarily fence a small area off from the great room?

    We do plan to finish the entire basement for TV, games, and husband's hobby. Hopefully it will be a good hangout place for the teenagers (besides husband).

    This post was edited by ILoveCookie on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 18:24

  • kirkhall
    10 years ago

    If you are "before kids" but want kids... having the bedrooms so far apart isn't necessarily a great plan either (for the first 10 yrs of kid-hood--not because a child needs your assistance for 10 yrs, but because generally people have some number of kids, so 10 yrs might get you through 2-4 kids worth of neediness).

    You might consider a house with an "office"/sm bedroom near the master that could serve those early years for young, potty-training, nightmaring, kiddos a little better...

  • mrspete
    10 years ago

    I don't think it's all that far off the beaten path. I'm not in love with it, but I don't think it's a bad idea. I do agree that it'd be more expensive than a traditional Cape Cod (which I love), but I don't think it'd be nearly as expensive as some of the other things that're proposed on this website. It's a reasonable size, and except for the octagonal great room, nothing looks outrageously expensive. It seems to be one big splurge in an otherwise reasonably-priced house. Most of us can afford one splurge. If we couldn't, we wouldn't be building.

    Several thoughts:

    - The dining room's fine, but I can't see any way to arrange furniture in that living room.
    - The entryway may feel awkward. I'm often fine with a no-entry house in which you walk straight into the living room, but in most cases you walk into the edge of the living room . . . not so here. You'd have no choice but to walk straight into the heart of the living room.
    - I would want a fireplace somewhere.
    - I don't think the kids' bedrooms are all that far away.
    - No pantry; that's a deal-breaker for me. And the kitchen is modest in size, so a pantry would be pretty important to almost everyone.
    - Do you have your lot already? I ask because this will require a fairly large lot -- it's going to be a wider house than a more compact Cape Cod. Also, with all those windows, you're going to want to focus on which direction the sun comes in.

  • renovator8
    10 years ago

    Would there be a cathedral or flat ceiling? Is there no way to avoid the center post?

  • ILoveCookie
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    kirkhall, thank you for the advice! We will try to keep the kids (and their age) in mind when customizing the plan.

    MrsPete, thank you for your thoughts! We don't have a lot; there are a few candidates (one of them is about 3 acres), but we are not completely sold on any of them yet.

    Renovator8, it seems to have a cathedral ceiling. I guess the center post can be avoided if a hammer beam roof is used?

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    10 years ago

    Yep... I see that now! Sorry I was confused.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    Not the same layout, but perhaps this octagon ranch will give you some ideas of what you might be dealing with.

  • lavender_lass
    10 years ago

    I love this plan. It's great, because the main living area is a hexagon, but the rest of the house is 'normal' so it will be much easier to furnish the bedrooms.

    Since you plan to have the basement, I don't think one big, open space will be a problem. I would consider a fireplace on the dining room wall, between the windows. You'd still have plenty of light, especially if you use the clerestory windows.

    Will the basement be a walk out? If so, you could include a balcony off the master bedroom...either for seating, hot tub, or both! Sounds perfect :)

  • jakabedy
    10 years ago

    Is there a view? Because this seems like a house built for a view. Water, mountains . . . something.

    Where do the piano, fish tank and TV go? If there is a need for a spot for a desktop computer, where will that be?

    Will there be a detached garage/carport, and how do you get from it to the house? Maybe the window int he laundry becomes the door in from the garage, and the "top" bedroom has its window shifted to the end of the house?

    I'm wondering if you can build a fireplace into the central "core" of the house. That way if the post/support is necessary, it can be disguised a bit.

  • ILoveCookie
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Annie, thank you for the link. Their octagon area doesn't seem to be utilized much, hmm.

    jakabedy, these are really good questions...a lot to think about.

    lavender_lass, thank you for your thoughts. Husband really wants a walkout basement (or at least one with lots of daylight), but land is scarce in my area (NJ). We will see..

  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago

    This is a dead thread.

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