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rjwassink67

Floor plan critique, please

rjwassink67
10 years ago

My wife and I have been working on our final house plans and we think we finally have it. This will be our kids out of house/retirement home and plan to live in it until the end. That being said, the 2 extra bedrooms will be guest/extra rooms. There will be a basement but no second floor. The roofline will be a plain rectangle with all roof trusses the same size.
We want an easy flowing house. Are the rooms to big or to small?
We will be in North middle or East Tennessee.
Ok let me have the good, bad and ugly! Thanks everyone, we cant wait to get another set of eyes on it!

Comments (12)

  • ChrisStewart
    10 years ago

    Seems to me to be a good old standard ranch of which I grew up with and happen to like.

    I would prefer some cover on the entry and you could also consider adding a pocket door to the guest bedroom wing/hall so that it can function as a private suite some times.

    I don't think putting the washer/dryer in the master bath would be a popular choice.

    Make sure you are accounting for the wall thickness.

    I would probably flip that hall bath so that the toilet is behind the range.

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    10 years ago

    Coming in through the garage... where will coats and boots go?

    How close together are the master sinks? I don't like them as they appear, and I would rather one sink with some counter space.

    Secondary bath... why the space between the sink and the wall? I would put it flush.

    Guest rooms... are those queen beds? Why two closets in the one guest room?

    I would not like family/friends/guests to go through my bedroom and into the master bath to wash their clothes.

  • mrspete
    10 years ago

    Excellent points from ChrisStewart. I agree with all.

    I'm not completely clear on your drawing: Is that your entryway on the left? So when you enter, you see the living room dead ahead? If so, you want to have some focal point straight ahead of the entry: Are those windows? I'm not quite able to tell.

    The front-side windows are going to be quite mismatched.

    If you enter from the garage, is the far edge of the island protruding into the walkway?

    Nice pantry.

    I think I'd lose a part of that wall that blocks the kitchen from the entry. The entry is a bit of a bowling alley, and this would make it feel more spacious, more inviting.

    No fireplace? I'd want one in the living room.

    What is the 12x9 room off the right of what I think is the entryway? I'm guessing an office. 9' is awfully narrow. If you're doing a built-in desk, you'll just make it.

    I definitely don't like the location of the washer/dryer, but it could be fixed easily: Flip the washer/dryer over to the area that's now the closet . . . this gives whole-house access to the washer/dryer, but it's still super-convenient for the master.

    Actually, at 14x20 your master bedroom is much more spacious than the rest of the rooms. I'd consider "indenting" the master a bit to allow a wall of built-ins for the living room . . . or another large closet in the master.

    The master bath is spacious but could be designed much nicer. Again, it's a bit of a bowling alley at the door, then it opens up into lots of stuff. The tub and sinks look crowded back in that corner. To support two sinks, a vanity needs to be fairly large -- in this current space, you could have one comfortable sink with plenty of storage underneath, or two jammed-together sinks. I hate toilets in closets. Before you choose to go this route, consider cleaning in that small space, especially cleaning behind the toilet.

    What's the 6x8 room in the back-side secondary bedroom?

  • annkh_nd
    10 years ago

    The garage is enormous!

    It's a nice layout, very little wasted space - but it does not look at all wheelchair-friendly. For a retirement/forever home, you should plan for that.

    I think the second closet in the upper right bedroom opens to the hallway - correct? But that hallway is a bit cramped - even 2 people coming in with groceries and trying to take off raincoats is going to be crowded.

    I think the entry hallway is too narrow.

    I would put the stairs between the bathroom and bedroom at the top. Then you can re-work the master suite to take the laundry out of your bedroom.

  • ChrisStewart
    10 years ago

    I do agree that (unless you have some particular function) for the master bedroom there is a lot of wasted space there.

    Instead of a closet off the garage entry I might just use cabinets with maybe a spot to sit and drop shoes. Seems like the garage will have a lot of room for storage space.

    MrsPete's idea of flipping the master closet and w/d would probably work well. And moving the stairs might work better also.

    I think that it would be easier to read in standard plan form.

  • rjwassink67
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Chris - I agree there will be some kind of a roof over the front entry.

    LuAnn - There is a closet for the garage on the right hand side.

    Mrs. Pete - Yes the entry is on the left. Hope I fixed the couple of bowling alleys that I had. We've had toilets with doors before and really like them.

    All I think I have fixed most of the big things. That's why new eyes really help! What do you think now...Thank You!!!

  • jakabedy
    10 years ago

    Now you've lost your big master closet. You could turn the laundry machines 90 degrees, so that they face the living area. They'd essentially be in a reach-in closet (some might object to that), but it would free up the area directly below them to become a second closet for the master.

  • rjwassink67
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok, everyone I updated it now how does it look?

  • zone4newby
    10 years ago

    I like the plan overall. Something else to think about: are you shoes-off people? I would be fine with guests wearing shoes in our house, but no one does that here, and so, after watching older family members struggle to take their shoes off and put them on while standing in our old foyer, we made finding space for a chair a priority for the new foyer.

    I think the master bath still needs work. As you walk in, you're going to see 4 doors and a little bit of the tub at the end of the hall. Could you swap the sinks & tub with the shower & toilet closet? That would also let you have windows on two sides of the tub, which would be pretty and bring more light into the room.

    I'd be tempted to take a little space from your great room and have the laundry room and master closet as a buffer between the master bedroom and great room. The great room is enormous for two people, and you've lost your nice closet. Also I think a reach-in closet might be better for universal design.

  • doodledog_gw
    10 years ago

    I always worry about sound travelling when one person is trying to sleep. Can you flip the master bedroom and bath? Or put the stairs between the livingrooom and master?

  • rjwassink67
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    zone4newby - GREAT idea about the bathtub and sink on the other side for more windows. I went back and looked at some older designs and I had it like that, so glad you reminded me how nice that would be!!!

    doodledog - I agree with the sound issue.
    kitchen area now will be livingroom
    dining switch to kitchen
    livingroom switch to dining

    Thank you all for the help. I think this is much better.

  • ChrisStewart
    10 years ago

    Now that I see the stairs on the other side, I don't think it is an improvement. They may be good as a buffer between the master bedroom and living room.

    I would just say go ahead and take the time to experiment with different arrangements because once it is built it is hard to change.

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