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buzzyng2

House Plan Review - A

buzzyng
11 years ago

Well, I guess I forgot hit submit after typing a huge intro so this time I will be short :-)

We are in the process of finalizing the house plans and will be the OB on this build. I have scouring this forum for all the wonderful input everyone provides and plan to blog about my process to give back.

This is about v12 of the plan and while all the dimensions aren't exact, some appliances aren't in correct location, ... this is kinda what we have settled on so appreciate the red pen to come.

The ceiling would be 10-12' in the kitchen/family room with large exposed beams as this is a Northwest craftsman/rustic woods look we hope to achieve.

Thanks in advance.

Comments (10)

  • 8mpg
    11 years ago

    The roof looks very complex for a somewhat square shaped house. You may look at cost differences by adding square footage to the master and bring it out the couple foot to make the side of the house more square and less complex roof.
    Also, the office may need a small closet which would allow it to become a bedroom if needed.

    Im not sure about having the dining room on the back of the house. Id personally swap the laundry room and the dining room. The little bit larger space for the laundry would allow for a mud room type setup at the same time.

    Love the kitchen opening up to the family room.

  • buzzyng
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    8mpg

    thanks for the response.

    The roof is complex because I'm still messing around with the exterior and wall heights so hoping it will settle down once I get input on the exterior and interior layout.

    I will look at extending masterbed out.

    The DR used to be where the laundry is now but the wife wants it right by the kitchen and actually that is how it is in our current house and works well for large gatherings AND has a beautiful view of Mt Rainier.

    thx

  • CamG
    11 years ago

    I agree that you might try to simplify the footprint a bit, which will reduce cost and simplify the roofline.

    How wide the kitchen island? How wide is the breakfast nook? The island looks very wide, and the nook not wide or deep enough (depending on how big of table you plan to put there).

    I've always thought huge greatrooms looked neat but questioned how the worked in reality. One couch will be, what, 15-20 feet from the fireplace? And the other, at about 10? Consider if that arrangement will really work for you, or if you might be better to have several different type of seating zones, such as two couches closer together near the fireplace, two recliners close together near the windows, etc. That is the set-up of a cabin we visited recently, and it was great.

    Do the bedrooms have closets? If not, with the corner bedroom, consider putting the closet to share a wall with the master bath. One thing I've noticed with my house is that I don't want the master shower to share a wall with a bedroom. I don't know if you have kids or their ages, but I would be hesitant to take a shower with a sleeping child a few feet away, separated by tile and a bit of drywall.

    Make sure the hall closet is not just a reach in. Can't read the dimensions, but it looks like it might not be big enough to comfortably stand in, which will mean people are reaching in from the hallway. You could cut that in half and then add a bookshelf, bar, or stereo center right to the great room.

  • buzzyng
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    CamG

    Thanks for the input.

    Bfast table is 53x53 and fits in the nook the same size we have now so that should be ok.

    the island is too big, I meant for a 4' wide that has a 12" overhang on two sides so need to fix that.

    couches are approx 9' and 13' away. we currently have a 16x18 and it feels a bit cramped when we are all playing around so figured I might go with a slightly larger room. Will revisit to see about going smaller.

    Forgot to draw in closets so will. Good point about closet against shower wall. Daughter would appreciate that.

    The hall closet is 6'3x4'9 and will also hold an inwall fish tank. I think there is enough room to push the rod in but will measure it out.

    thanks for the thoughts. helping

  • lafdr
    11 years ago

    Overall there are many things I like about your plan. Here are what would work better for me, so ignore if not best for you. 1)Only one door to the master closet. It seems both doors will often be open, making the bathroom less private, and the second door wastes wall/storage space. I am not sure which door to remove! 2)The Jack and Jill bath space looks large enough to make 2 full, or 3/4 baths. The extra bathroom adds to resale and adds to privacy. 3)In the hall, switch the bathroom and closet so your guests do not have to go as far down the hall to use the bathroom. And then move a door so bath and bed doors are not directly across from eachother.Could the built in fish tank go under the stairs ? I just saw that was involved in closet placement 4)The hall to the bedrooms may be long and dark. I would find a way to have a window, or skylight or it will be a dark tunnel during the day without lights on.

    There are many things I do like about your plan. Good Luck! Don't forget to pay attention to where electric/cable/computer lines come out in the rooms. I did not pay attention to that at all, and there are some dysfunctional locations since it was up to the electrician, such as the computer line coming in on the wall with windows where no desk would fit etc.

  • dekeoboe
    11 years ago

    Is that deck covered? If so, I have lived in a house with a similar floor plan and the living room was pretty dark. The covered deck combined with the master bedroom and breakfast room walls really cuts down on the amount of light that comes in the living room windows.

    If your computer program allows you to do a 3D model of the house and then see how much sunlight you will get in the room I would strongly suggest you do so before building.

  • buzzyng
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    lafdr - we might do away with the door to the bathroom but the wife like the idea of being to get clothes in the am without going back through the bedroom BUT also not having to go through bathroom when just changing clothes.

    will see about the 3/4 bath as we hadn't thought of that.

    can't swap the closet/bath as that was an agreement I would put inwall aquarium in the family room.

    will look at a skylight for light in the hallway - also didn't think of that.

    I will be doing all the wiring runs so will put them exactly where we want them.

    dekeoboe - am thinking of this one but the roof is a high gable with no ceiling so it is wide open. Assumed it would provide plenty of light but will see if the prg does sunlight, haven't ever thought of that.

    thanks

  • zone4newby
    11 years ago

    I don't know if it will be helpful or not, but I saw this online today, and it reminded me of your plan, so I thought you might get some ideas from it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie house plan

  • petepie1
    11 years ago

    If you have young children (or think you might want to appeal to young families for resale), one problem I see is that the door to the MBR is all the way around and through the family room. You can't really get to their bedrooms at night very easily if you need to. Maybe reconfiguring the closet/hallway area would allow access from the hall to the MBR instead of off the family room. Otherwise I like the plan

  • buzzyng
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    zone4newby - thanks for link, appreciate the thought

    petepie 1 - yeah, the whole resale thing. I have to consider but don't want to :-) I am running intercoms to all rooms which helps out tremendously. We have kids now and it gives us peace of mind. We had a hallway at one point but it was like 12 iterations ago.

    I have been tweaking the bumpouts and ceiling heights so the roof line is much more streamlined now. Will keep massaging. Thanks for all the input