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tommythomps

WO Ranch Design Feedbak

tommythomps
10 years ago

Greetings. We bought an acreage and custom designed this plan for the acreage. Wanting split bedrooms, good views for the master and the garage not being an eye sore as you drive up resulted in having to stack the 2 bedrooms and garage on one side. This seemed to be fairly unique but think we will be happy with this.

It ended up to be a 2400 sq ft walk out ranch on an unfinished basement with an angled 3 car garage.

We are working now on the kitchen design now as the fridge seems to be out of the working triangle, but we don't want the fridge to stick out a whole bunch from the cabinets. Any thoughts on this or in general on the plan?

Here is a link that might be useful: MainFloorPlan

This post was edited by tommythomps on Sun, Sep 22, 13 at 21:05

Comments (15)

  • DLM2000-GW
    10 years ago

    I can't read it well enough to comment much and when I enlarge it it's unreadable. Where will the walk out be? At the back of the house or ??? I'd hate to devote a corner to a closet for the one bedroom and would rework that so there could be windows on 2 walls. Is this a family home? Empty nester?

  • mom2samlibby
    10 years ago

    I can't tell where the fridge is, but otherwise, it looks like a nice plan.

    It is hard to read, but I got a general idea of what each room is and I like it. I'd maybe consider closing the kitchen off from the stairs. That would give you some more counter space and a full run of cabinets on that wall.

  • tommythomps
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It will be a family home and then eventually an empty nester. The walkout portion will be the entire rear of house. We plan to finish the basement at some later date though.

    I edited the first post and attached a link so you can see things better. We had thought about closing that kitchen off from the stairs, but decided against as it would be a longer haul with groceries from the garage.

    Thanks for your thoughts!

  • _sophiewheeler
    10 years ago

    There's a lot that isn't readable about your plans, and you'll get better responses if you can make it easier to see.

    Putting a three car front load garage in front of the house on an angle equates to the garage not being an eyesore???? Not. Do a side load and pull it behind the house so you can actually see the house.That's the only way to minimize a garage from taking over visually Maybe ditch a bay. If you have acreage and need that much parking, do a separate hobby garage on the property as well as the attached garage.

    Why do you have the long useless area of cabinets to the left in the kitchen? This is a big enough kitchen to have the cleanup and the prep area split, yet all of the work in the kitchen will happen over a 24" spot like in a space half the size. Is that the only eating spot? If you have a better closeup of that area, I have an idea to help it.

    Why is the master 1/3 of the entire space of the house? It's disproportionate the the build as a whole. And I'd hate to get up in the night and have to walk through a closet just to use the bathroom. I'd want the bath closer to the bedroom, and not have to walk through the giant closet. Nor would I want to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet. The two need to be adjacent, but not be inline to force you to go through one or the other.

    The home is awfully deep front to back, and the roof will be a not so attractive top hat that dominates the look of the exterior. Probably with some added dormers or gables to "dress it up" which never does. Thin it out a bit in width by making the home longer rather than deeper. You've got acreage. Use it properly.

  • tommythomps
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We were thinking of some sort of hutch with that cabinet area that extends from the kitchen into the dining area. We will have spots to eat at the island too. I added a link so you can see things better in the first post. I'm interested in your idea to split the prep and cleanup area.

    Thanks!

  • dekeoboe
    10 years ago

    The link you added is not showing.

  • tommythomps
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I tried adding the pdf link again. It appears to work to me.

  • carra
    10 years ago

    Your plan has many similarities to the one I am building. So, I have to say that for the most part I like the plan! The one thing that would bother me is the back bedroom...... it is down a good length of hallway, all by itself. I think it would feel really cut off from the rest of the house. I think I'd rework the closets and bathroom configuration to make the entry to that bedroom closer to the rest of the house.

  • bpath
    10 years ago

    Nice space, and you'll enjoy all the views! Just a couple of things popped out:

    Would you like access to the mudroom directly from outside, not just the garage?

    A sink in the mudroom might be helpful, by the dog shower, for washing your hands or the dog brush.

    In the laundry room, counter space by the sink is invaluable! And, as I soak some rags before tossing them in the washer, I'm so glad my sink is next to it so I don't drip water across the floor.

    The refrigerator seems far from the kitchen working area?

    I love the window on the stair landing :) Always wanted something like that!

  • ChrisStewart
    10 years ago

    I agree that the refrigerator is too far away.

    Maybe switch the fridge and pantry? -The pantry could be just a deep tall cabinet.

  • Naf_Naf
    10 years ago

    Not bad.

    The great room is too small.
    I'd shift kitchen/great room wall/bulkhead to align with the stair/foyer line.
    Square off the upper left area and rework bedrooms area. It will add some sq. footage but most likely it will not add cost.

  • zone4newby
    10 years ago

    If you have good views from the master, they are at the expense of views from the great room. Does that make sense with how you live? Personally, I leave my bedroom in the morning and don't spend much time there during the day, so, for us, it makes the most sense to maximize the views and natural light in the spaces we use during the day.

    Also, I think your daytime spaces are going to be dark. With the huge covered porch, you'll get essentially no light through the windows in the great room, so the only source of natural light in that area will be the 2 exterior windows in the dining area.

    I know people like these split bedroom ranches but sandwiching your main living areas between bedrooms makes no sense to me. I'd much rather cope with having the master near the secondary bedrooms and actually get some natural light and views in the main living areas, personally.

  • bpath
    10 years ago

    When friends remodeled their 1960's ranch they put in skylights over their recessed covered porch! It worked well: light, but not direct sunlight coming in the living room.

  • back2nd
    10 years ago

    Overall, good plan, but here are my quirks.
    1. I don't like the mstr toilet right out there in the open, by the closet. If my spouse and I are both using the bathroom in the morning, I would not like walking by him on the stool to be to the closet, or looking out the shower and seeing him standing or sitting there. Sorry, we're kind of private people.
    2. What's the little area in the back of the master shower for? I think I'd rearrange the laundry room to have the sink by the washer and move the closet to the front, taking that shower space from the mstr shower. What do you need a closet for in your laundry room? That sink off by itself is weird to me.
    3. I think the mstr shower is a dark hole - no window above the toilet? that would really help, also no window above the tub? Seems like a very dark room.
    4. I would make that mstr fireplace a wall one and move it to the wall by the living room and put a door onto the deck. Just my personal taste. Then center that back window. I like to rearrange my room a lot, so there needs to be options.
    5. why not make that foyer closet bigger to line up with the hall wall to the master? not sure about the short wall of that closet and the entry to the laundry. I thing all the added lines in the drawing are making it hard to see the actual walls.
    6. How in the world are you going to get large furniture up stairs? I would want more room at the landing.
    7. The mudroom, powder room - I would rearrange to have the door into the garage closer to the stairs and put the toilet and sink and shower inside the mud room. I would not want to walk past the toilet and see it every time I came into the house.
    8. I would switch the bathroom with the two walk in closets, so that there is a window in the bathroom.
    9. I would move the frig and pantry. Seems like it's too far away like you stated. I don't mind the wall of cabs in the dining if you don't have a china cab are are planning to do builtins with glass doors? With that big of a kitchen, I would want my island to gain some square footage!

    1. Where we live, having a 3 or 4 car garage in the front of the house is 'normal'. Even on million dollar homes. I don't mind the angled garage, but seems like you should have some more room between the double door and the front corner of the porch. Are the step wbetween the pillars? Is there enough room in front of the vehicle that will be parked closest to the house? Looks pretty tight up against that 'shower' wall in the mud room.
  • bpath
    10 years ago

    I see you have a vaulted porch ceiling, so you should get plenty of light there. Is the porch above grade? You said it's a walkout, so it sounds like the porch is up? Will it need steps to get down to the yard?

    Hadn't even noticed that obvious flaw of having to walk right past the "privy" to get to the closet!

    (Those stairs go down to the walkout, right?)

    In the kitchen, where will you keep the dishes? You might want to imagine unloading the dishwasher as currently laid out. Many people are removing the "clutter-collecting desk", and those are not my words; perhaps you could put dish drawers there instead?