Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
zkgardner

floor plan help

zkgardner
10 years ago

I found this floor plan online and hoping I can get some help on a few tweaks id like to make before inquiring with the company on having them do anything official.

I like the overall foot print of the house but I want to see what the experts here think of my ideas on changes and if they seem like good/ possible ideas.

Move fire place to back window wall between the doors leading to back patio.

Move bedroom forward to accomidate and additional bathroom ( id like my son and daughter to each have own bath). This would make the house into more of a square?

Have small laundry room somewhere on that side also. Seems like this would be doable with the extra square footage from moving bedroom forward? I dont need anything extravagent, just washer dryer and storage cabs.

Id like for the office to be used as more of a sitting room ( used really just for Christmas tree and present opening. Id like to have it more open to the living area not as room as shown.

Any feedback or ideas is appreciated, thanks! !!

**** I have changed some ideas in my response belowe from your input; please see updated response.

This post was edited by mrsfireman on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 12:29

Comments (9)

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Where is the front door?
    Where is the garage?
    Where is a refrigerator?
    Where is your storage area(s)?

    I am not a fan of going through three doors to use the bathroom, especially at night.
    Kids' bathroom looks really tight, trying to picture swinging that door while I'm in there. So do their bedrooms - dressers and desks have no where to go.
    Does the kitchen have enough cabinet for your lifestyle?

  • zkgardner
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I didn't even notice there wasn't a fridge! Lol:)

    We're doing a detached garage on the plan that were working with now so thats not so much an issue.
    Were not stuck on this square footage, we would definitely want to add to certain area's. I was looking at this as more of a starting point.

    You point out a lot of issues with the plan I didnt notice so thank you!

  • akshars_mom
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The master bedroom at 12* 14 is going to be tight if you want a king bed and side tables/dresser in there. I would eliminate the built-in desk and the closet in great room to make this 14*14. we had 12* by 14 and it was pretty tight with the California king.

    Have to agree that the kitchen has very less cabinets. Also why two doors to the porch. You could have more usable space by eliminating one door.

    I think moving the bedroom forward is going to dependent on which side is the front of the house and the front entrance is. But if you can move it you should have space for an additional bathroom and may be small laundry.

    If you have two bathroom I presume you will make the kids bedroom have one door if that is the case the size should be ok.

    Good luck.


  • zone4newby
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks like the front doors are the doors into the kitchen. Is that right? That seems awkward to me.

    I'd rather have to go through the bath to get to the closet than through the closet to get to bath.

    Overall, I think the kitchen and entry need work. The kitchen would be fine if you don't cook and it was mainly a showplace & somewhere to heat up leftovers, but since you have kids, I'm guessing you cook at least sometimes, and the lack of workspace and storage would make using that kitchen with a family really difficult, IMO.

    Could you flip the house so that the kitchen is in back and the great room is in front? Then the doors by the kitchen could be for family and guests could enter into the great room.

    I know people disagree about this, but I think 4 bathrooms is overkill for a house this size. I could see enlarging the kids' bath some, or having it accessible via the hallway to avoid jack&jill issues, but I would spend money improving the kitchen over adding another bath.

  • dadereni
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Be careful--a few small tweaks might be ok, but as soon as you're changing the footprint or drastically changing room size/placement you're going to throw off the elevations and overall form, at that point you're probably better off finding a new plan or starting off with an architect.

    small tweaks:
    Great room change central sliding door to inswing door on left or right side so you're not entering into middle of seating.
    If you're keeping front entry through kitchen, eliminate the left hand door.
    Behind the fireplace could be a good place for your sitting room, and you can keep the office. This would be inexpensive conditioned space to add.
    Left pantry is obvious place for fridge.
    Save money by not having doors from master bedroom to porch, and gain space on porch for seating.
    Walk-in/pass-through closet is not giving much walking area and one wall has no storage, so change to two reach-ins. This keeps separation between bedroom and bathroom but without the extra door.
    That 7' bathtub sticking out of the side of the house is not important enough to stick out of the side of the house. This is clearly unresolved. There must be a way to get that inside the otherwise rectangular footprint of the house, even if it means losing a bathroom sink, having a bathtub that's not 7' long, and changing to a hall bath. Maybe slightly smaller bedrooms. Anyway, it should be easily doable.
    It's a shame there are closets facing the front porch. It would be nice to have more windows onto that porch.
    I think you can make the kitchen storage space work. Most people keep a lot of infrequently used items in their kitchen. Special dishes, utensils, and appliances that only get used once a year. Many people in the world live in houses smaller than some kitchens!
    I don't know where you're building or what the elevations look like, but with one story I hope you can have a shed dormer or something similar to provide light via clerestory windows into the great room area. Right now, your bedrooms get the most light and views but most people don't spend a lot of time in those during the day.

    Good luck!

  • zkgardner
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Daderini- Im really liking your idea for the sitting room being moved up, thank you! !!

    What do you think about using the office as kid room 1, and making the half bath there a full bath that could be accesed by bedroom only.

    Move front door into kitchen into where bedroom 1 was into an entry way ( dont love this plan brings you into kitchen. The bath then could be accesed by new entry foyer and bed 2.

    I could now have more cabinet space in the areas now occupied by entry doors?

    The other area I cant figure out is how I could chage the way you enter the master, I dont want to enter from the living room. Does anyone see how this can be changed?

    *eta- we don't want a tub in master bath, just a shower. Could we steal some space from master bath for something? Id like to swap the laundry to the master bath wall instead of having it on th wall of office / bedroom

    Thank you everyone!

    I cant get a picture to save from my phone for elevation so I have included the link.

    Here is a link that might be useful: white farmhouse

    This post was edited by mrsfireman on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 11:37

  • mrspete
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with much of what's been written already:

    - I'm having trouble identifying the front of the house. Entering through the kitchen seems rather odd to me. Likewise, twin doors into the kitchen seems odd. Overall, this design makes me think beach house rather than everyday house.

    - I do like the idea of moving the fireplace to the back wall. It'll allow for a "visual anchor" in a very prominent place. This house is very symmetrical, and I suspect the person who drew it placed the fireplace in its current position to balance it against the entertainment center, but I would prefer to place the sofa where the fireplace is and have both the fireplace and the entertainment center visible without swiveling one's head.

    - Because it's pretty much an almost-square, it appears to be a "simple" house that'd be inexpensive to build . . . but the dimensions won't fit standard trusses, and then you get into the issue of having a large central room with no support. I agree with the poster who commented that you have to be careful about making too many "tweaks" or you've changed so much that you'll lose the original elevation and floor plan that attracted you.

    - I like the way the master bedroom desk and entertainment center "fit together" to use space well, and I think both sides would be practical.

    - I think the master bedroom is minimal but acceptable. I am in the camp of "bedrooms are for sleeping, save your square footage for places that matter more". Do note that a bathroom door smack-dab in the middle of the wall will mean difficulty in placing furniture there. If the bathroom door could be moved to one side, you'd have a whole wall available for photographs or a shallow bookshelf.

    - The kids rooms, however, aren't as well designed. They're big enough . . . but the wall space is taken up by the entrance door, the bathroom door, the closet door, and windows on two walls. It leaves nothing for furniture placement. They can essentially have a desk and nothing else. I'd consider reducing the closet size and allowing for a small "indent" for a chest of drawers on that wall -- or keep the chest in the closet. The desk could be on one side of the bed instead of a nightstand.

    - I would not like an exterior door on a child's room.

    - For four people all on one level, I would not go to the trouble and expense of a second laundry room on the kids' side. In fact, the laundry is more convenient to them than it is to the master bedroom. If you move the laundry closet to the other side of the hall, you could have a pass-through from the master bath to the laundry closet. I've lived with laundry-in-the-closet, and the reality of it is that you are ALWAYS stepping over a pile of clothes on the floor in the hallway.

    - I would not build in two bathrooms for the secondary bedrooms in a house this size. Two kids can easily share one bathroom. In fact, I'd vote for making the bath open into that little hallway, which would allow it to serve as the guest bath also. This'd leave you the current powder room location to become a larger laundry. I think it'd be a better use of space.

    - I'm not loving the master closet. It's wide, but it's narrow. this means an entire wall isn't available for shelving or hanging rods; another 2' in width would allow another hanging rod and would almost double your storage space. I never like a toilet hidden away in a claustrophobic, difficult-to-clean closet, but I really dislike this one that's going to be narrow, deep and dark. The space between the tub and the sinks is comfortable, but it looks like a bit of a squeeze to enter the room. You have plenty of space here, and the master closet /bath could be much improved while staying in this same floorplan.

    - Overall, this house does like to hide the toilets. Reaching any of the three requires passing through multiple doors or down hallways.

    - Since this is a very open floor plan, which I like, I would consider keeping the office as a separate room -- to borrow from the popular series The Not So Big House, an away room. This room isn't all that large, but it could provide acoustical separation from someone who's watching TV or visiting in the great room/dining room/kitchen. It would provide an opportunity for working quietly, for watching TV alone, or for practicing a musical instrument.

    - This kitchen is definitely taste-specific, but I like it. It's not overly large though, so I would not dedicate that much space to an 8-burner stovetop. Remember that every time you say yes to something oversized, you're saying no to basic storage. Also, a stove this large is heavy and will require extra support for its weight. This kitchen does have very, very minimal overhead cabinets. I want to say, reduce the island a bit and make the wall cabinets into an L-formation . . . but the side doors make that impossible. Where will the refrigerator go? Probably into one of the pantry areas . . . or in the space that now occupies one of the twin doors. Two pantries, both rather small; I'd rather have one good-sized pantry -- perhaps carved out of the space that's now the washer/dryer, if the washer/dryer goes to the powder room.

  • mrspete
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okay, just looked at the link, which included the elevation. The exterior doesn't say "farmhouse" to me -- it says barn. I find the exterior overly simplistic, but that's likely a matter of taste.

    What really surprised me, though, is that the square footage is 2134. In my opinion, it "feels" smaller. The bedrooms are just comfortable. You only have one additional living room. The laundry and kitchen are minimal. The square footage is going to wide walking spaces down both sides of the kitchen and both sides of the dining room table.

  • zkgardner
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    MrsPete- thank you for such a thoughtfull response, I do appreciate it.

    Did you read my response after daderini? What do you think of those ideas, and do you see any way to relocate the master entrance to someplace other than the living area?

    Thank you!