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qwibbled

Building a 'small home', would like your opinions!

qwibbled
14 years ago

Hi everyone, we're thinking of building a house, we live in Quebec and most people we know live in the city or suburbs. Most people we know live in older 1000-1300 sqft bungalows, 1300-1600 sqft two story townhouses/semi-detached, or 2000sqft two story detached homes. In the builder forum I see 3000, 4000, 5000+ stft projects so I'm not sure they can relate to what we're trying to accomplish so I'm hoping to pick your brains over here because I think we have more in common :) For instance we don't need his/her master bedroom walk in closets with a six jet shower shower, garden tub, double vanities and a seperate room for the toilet. We're looking to build something around 1600-1800 sqft.

We want something simple, cozy, functional and efficient. The lots were are looking at are 30,000 sqft so there's not problem building all on one level. I grew up in a two story semi-detached and it wasn't a problem as a child but we'd like to keep everything on one level if the costs aren't too high, I think it will make life a lot easier as we age. Here is our plan, at the moment it is 1800sqft and is quite large by my standards :) The basement would be finished with a tv/playroom for the kids, office/music room, storage/utility room, and two guest bedrooms. My biggest concern is that while the bedroom area is nicely isolated from the living area, it makes for a very long hallway (25'). But if I configure things so the bedrooms are right off the kitchen or living room then there's no real seperation between the spaces. I'm not sure which is the better trade-off. So let me know what you think, what you would like/dislike about this house, what you think we should change, etc.. Thanks!

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Comments (39)

  • larke
    14 years ago

    Well, from one ex-PQer to another, I was expecting the 2nd picture to be the alternate layout, but in any case, only you can decide if you like the idea of the beds being close in. Would noise from late-nights be a problem for children trying to sleep? If not, then it's mostly up to you. Depending on how wide the hallway is if beds are left at the back, you could use it as a gallery, or take advantage of the exercise :-), but it's not as if it were e.g. 45' long after all.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Oh I just posted the rendering because I thought it might be helpful for visualizing the plan. We don't have kids yet but soon will so I thought having the sleeping area separate from the living/kitchen/dining area would better. Better for baby/toddler daytime naps, better for when they go to bed early until they're teens, and better for us when we start going to bed before them, better for those who want to sleep in. But I don't know if it's worth the long hallway trade-off. It's 4 feet wide in the plan, vs the standard 3 feet. I've been in apartments and condo's for so long I have no reference anymore, but 25' seems really long, am I wrong?

  • lavender_lass
    14 years ago

    It is a long hallway. A few things I would think about...there's no window in the laundry room, your front door and garage door access open into each other, your kitchen looks like it might be a little crowded for more than one cook (but nice pantry) and only one main floor living space will soon be crowded with toys, unless the kids are always taken downstairs.

    I spent a lot of time helping my mom pick out her retirement home. You are going to live with this house for a long time, so make sure it's what you really want. There are many small home designs on the internet and in books at the stores. Many are 1500-2000 sq. ft. and have a little better flow and maybe more natural light.

    Since you don't have children yet, have you thought about a split bedroom plan, where the master bedroom and maybe a small bedroom/nursery/office are on one side and the other two bedrooms and bath are on the other, with the living area in between? It's nice to have kids close when they're young, but as they get older, mom and dad might need a little more distance from the teenagers :)

  • maggiemuffin360
    14 years ago

    qwibbled - we live in a two storey but the upstairs hallway is just over 20' long. Have never had a sense of it being a long hallway, especially since, like in your rendering, the length is broken up by doorways and artwork.

    My personal preference would be to have the bedrooms well separated from the living areas. Whether its parents entertaining while the kids are sleeping or teenagers staying up late while the parents are sleeping, it just seems preferable. My children are adults now but, come to think of it, every home we had had bedrooms together but separated from the living areas....worked for us!

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Lavender: The garage door and main door opening into the same area was intentional, this way everything is in one place, shoes, coats, bags, etc.. and the mess is contained in one area (instead of two) that no one ever has to walk through. I don't know if it qualifies as a mudroom but that's kind of what I was going for. The laundry room not having a window, it never occurred to me that this could be an issue, I could always swap the master closet for the lundry room though, then I can have a window and a more direct vent for the dryer. But then the laundry room shares a wall with one of the kids bedrooms? You may have missed it but in my first post I mentionned that among other things we would have tv/kids playroom in the basement. I wouldn't want to split the bedrooms up, to be honest I always found that a bit strange. If we need distance from the teenagers they could just move into the basement guest bedrooms :)

    I looked at a lot of home designs online and didn't really find anything I liked, we like an open concept and most designs are pretty boxy. Do you know of a design or two in particular in mind? Regarding natural light, I thought we had a ton of natural light in our plan! :) Two bedrooms with two windows each, each bathroom with a window, 22 feet of almost floor to ceiling windows in the living/dining room. Am I missing something? Thanks for your thoughts, it's really appreciated!

  • idie2live
    14 years ago

    Qwibbled, there is one thing I noticed. The hall bath has the plumbing wall that is shared with a bedroom. Sometimes the noise is distracting. Maybe if the plumbing was on the opposite wall, the closet in the foyer would be a noise buffer.
    It's a nice plan.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    thanks idie2live, that's a good idea, will definitely change that

  • Shades_of_idaho
    14 years ago

    We have an 18 foot long hallway and it is not bad when all the doors are open letting light into the hall. When it is closed up it feels like a tunnel. There was no getting around it to get the space in the rooms we,I , needed. This a manufactured home and I had three stretches added making the hall longer.

    We have a different lay out than you have shown. BUT our master bedroom and guest room is separated about like you have your master and second bedroom. The walk in closet is a good buffer to help stop sounds. We do not hear guests.

    Is that a linen closet next to your master bath sink? If so it looks tight there. I wonder if you could bump it into your laundry room with door only in the master bath.

    Another thought. If it were for me I would move the toilet to there you are showing the linen closet. Place the sink where toilet is shown only turned to the wall towards bedroom. I think this gives more room for a vanity there. Then it might allow for an entry into the laundry room from master bath.I say this because one house we had/built had the laundry in the master bath and I loved it. You would still have separation which would be better than we had. It was just so nice to have washer and dryer right there where dirty clothes came off. It looks like you would have lots of room in there for a linen closet. Just make sure you had a nice way to keep door closed when privacy was needed.

    I just finished painting our guest/my sewing room and it is 9 by 13. It is pretty tight. For a child it is good or nursery perfect.

    I think this is a great plan. Love the storage you have included. That makes living in a smaller house so much easier. and your software to create this is wonderful!!

    Chris

  • User
    14 years ago

    One question:

    WHICH DIRECTION IS NORTH in your drawing?
    Your entire layout is neat as heck, and I like it, but I can comment better if I know where your light is coming from for each room.

    In Quebec, insulation is a big issue, as is the source of your heating, and any source of power in an emergency. I did not see the furnace, but I'll look again.

    You are right to come to the smaller homes forum. Small homes give you a lot of bang for your buck!

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    I'm a little confused about the closets between the two smaller bedrooms. Have you thought about lining them up instead of having them offset? It might help the smaller bedroom feel less cut-up. I like the way it looks in the dollhouse view and with the right dresser setup it might be really nice, but I would suggest doing a 3-D spin around the room without it and see if it looks roomier.

    Also I would reverse the swing on the entry door so it doesn't conflict with the closet (we have that closet/door conflict in our apartment right now and its super annoying).

    And I need to say, I really like your plan. We were targeting 1800 sq ft but ended up at 2000 for our plan (which is 2 story) due to various decisions, but what you have here looks great. Nice design.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    moccasinlanding: I think we'd look into foam insulation and definitely electric heating in quebec, cheap unlimited hyro makes it an easy choice. Furnace would go in the basement. regarding aspect, we have a lot of lots to pick from. At the moment live in a loft that has two huge 14'x14' unobstructed SE facing windows. We love it, sun comes in the morning and sticks around until about 3pm in the summer, if it was strictly south facing we'd have sun eeking in into the evening. My family also has a cottage on the shore in the maritimes that also gets a ton of direct sunlight, the bedrooms face east so in the morning it's so bright we often have to close the blinds to keep sleeping, and our dinner table looks out onto the water facing mostly west. It makes for unbelievable sunsets but anyone sitting at the table facing the window almost has to wear sunglasses once the sun gets low enough :) But I don't think this would be an issue on a tree'd lot because the sun would be blocked at sunrise and sunset by the trees, so we wouldn't get that intense sun that we get at the cottage when its low on the horizon. If the living room windows face south then the dining table would have the big french doors facing west, so it and the whole deck would get a lot more sun in the evening. If we flip the whole plan then they'd get more sun in the morning. Not sure what's better :)

    brickton: The closets are offset by a foot to allow for built in shelving. My sister has this in one of her kids bedrooms and it's fantastic. Room for all their books, toys, trophies, you name it. That leaves enough room in their closets for all their clothes so they don't even need dressers. I'm thinking the shelving could always be removed if someone wants a dresser and a desk in their room instead. What do you think? Thanks for pointing out the closet/door conflict, completely missed that one :)

    shades of idaho: To be honest I don't think we'll connect the master bath to the laundry room, maybe a slot or something to pass laundry through? The space beside the shower is nothing at the moment, I was thinking of putting in some built in shelving for towels, and baskets. Not sure :)

    Thanks everyone!

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    I like the idea of the built-in shelving. I think it could work really nicely, just looks a bit odd on the plan without it.

    I would consider using that space in the master bedroom as a linen closet accessible from the mudroom. If you put the washer/dryer on the opposite wall from where they are, and then did cabinets on the wall where they are, you could do a row of lower cabinets with a blind corner and then one single upper facing into the room on the upper part. I don't know if this is making sense, but I might be able to mock-it up for you in BHG:HD later if you are interested.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Brixton, I'm not sure I understand :) Sorry, if you can sketch it up roughly even in something like paint it would probably clear everything up

  • lavender_lass
    14 years ago

    I love the idea of the built-in shelving in the kids' rooms! What a great idea :)

    As for the entry, I like the fact that both doors allow you to drop off coats, boots, etc. I just meant they opened into each other. If people aren't coming in both entrances at the same time, it wouldn't matter.

    You have plenty of light in the dining and living area, I was thinking more natural light in the kitchen, laundry room, and entrance. I know the kitchen is open to the other living spaces, but sometimes it's nice to have a window in the kitchen, although many new plans are not including one.

    As for a different plan, I don't have a specific one I would recommend (mine are in magazines/books, not on the computer). I always like built-ins, like the bookcases in your bedrooms. Another nice idea is bookcases on both sides of a window, with a window seat in between. Also nice to have dish storage built-in when possible. I'm not saying you need them in your plan, just things I look for in home plans.

    The basement is a great "future space" for the kids and they will love having their own area as they get older :)

  • TxMarti
    14 years ago

    The only thing I see right off hand is the placement of the hall bathroom. If it were me, I would try to work it between the two bedrooms.

    The long hall wouldn't bother me, and if I had small kids, the further from the living room noise, the better. Just make sure you have enough turning room to get the washer or dryer down the hall and into the door on a dolly. The moron who built our house put the laundry room in the middle of the house also and had nice wide doors for the laundry closet, but a 32" door into the hall!

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    I kind of figured I wasn't describing it very well. Here's a 3-d shot with an inset of the layout for what I was talking about. Basically if you wanted to try to reclaim that space you could have a lower blind corner cabinet and an upper countertop to ceiling 'cabinet' or just a 1/2 closet really.

    And marti8a, most washers are 30" wide or under, how big was the dolly? I have my washer/dryer in a bathroom right now with only a 30" door and they went in just fine. Granted I've always used moving straps and a buddy to help move washer/dryers but usually even 30" isn't an issue.

  • TxMarti
    14 years ago

    The dolly was one of those with the handle at a right angle on top and even though it would go through the door, the handle stuck out enough that it wouldn't make the turn into the laundry room which was perpendicular to the hall and just inside that hall door.

  • desertsteph
    14 years ago

    what's the big closet up by the kit - but facing the hall for?

    will there be a higher ledge behind the sink where the stools will be up to the counter?

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    Just wanted to drop in a note that I think your plan looks great. I hope that you are able to ignore some of the less than positive comments in the other forum and focus in on some of the helpful suggestions instead of the useless and frankly obnoxious criticisms. If you like it, who is anyone else to say you shouldn't like it? And I think it looks great even without multiple useless gables, extra dormers for no reason and seven flying buttresses that are apparently required in other forums.

  • Shades_of_idaho
    14 years ago

    "and seven flying buttresses that are apparently required in other forums."

    OH Sheese not even sure what these are. Being the city clerk I will be sure they are not allowed here in Midvale. So what are they anyway??

    I hope my suggesting a door from master bath to laundry was not taken wrong. Just suggestion.

    I think your design is lovely.

    Chris

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Heh thanks brickton, I know it's not perfect but I think it's like I said in my first post, it's all relative especially when it comes to peoples definitions of what is big and small. I do agree the exterior needs work though, I don't take offense, I appreciate the cold hard truth :) Hopefully I can find a happy medium between double wide trailer and 7 flying butresses. Ilike your idea for the laundry room wall cabinet, thats definitely not what i was imagining based on your description :)

    martia, you're not the first the mention putting the kids bathroom between their bedrooms but it's also the main house bathroom so i think it's better to have it close to the living area.

    maxfullbright, your plans are wonderful but definitely on a different level than we're playing on :) Very grand constructions! What kind of clearance do we need as the stairs pass under the floor? Right now its 75", 11 steps down, 9" tread, 6 13/16" riser.

    desertsteph, the closet behind the fridge is just a closet. probably for the vacuum, broom, mop, everything and anything. no higher ledge on the counter, the counter would be standard 24" with a 15" overhang. but i still have to go to ikea or somewhere to double check that it's going to be enough room.

    thanks!

  • User
    14 years ago

    Quibbled, from your statement, I am assuming the LIVING ROOM WINDOWS FACE SOUTH? I am confused, because you put "IF" in there. Have you not set the orientation of the house on your lot yet? I am a person who can deduct light if I know which direction is NORTH. From there all is easy.
    With your statement in mind, I will go back and get my bearings, with the LR looking south.

    You said: "If the living room windows face south then the dining table would have the big french doors facing west, so it and the whole deck would get a lot more sun in the evening. If we flip the whole plan then they'd get more sun in the morning. Not sure what's better :) "

  • User
    14 years ago

    The plan is really neat.
    Agree with someone about swapping the plumbing wall to be next to the mudroom and not share a wall with the bedroom.

    In that bathroom, will there be a sliding door to separate the toilet/tub area from the vanity area? A friend of mine has that exact bathroom set up, and the privacy door is a real blessing to us guests.

    And what routine do you envision for bringing groceries into the house? I'm thinking it would be more direct a route, to put the door in the garage just beyond the mudroom, sort of at the end of the hallway, which would be more INTO the garage and away from the blast of north wind you'll get from the garage doors. You'd still be able to use one mudroom. However, the look of the entry could be more exclusively "front door".....and remember that front door is on the NORTH side of your house. Will there be any kind of "airlock" to contain the cold air and keep a draft from channeling down the long hall to the bedrooms?

    With the door moved back further into the garage and lined up with the hallway, you could put a frosted glass upper to let more light into the hallway.

    I also note you have not a single window facing east. There is one place to put one, a tall skinny long panel, just to the right side of your fireplace. Winter especially, you will be able to see the sunrise through there.

  • flgargoyle
    14 years ago

    That doesn't sound like a 'legal' staircase, at least according to most codes. They usually have a 10" minimum on run, and 7-3/4" maximum rise. Your treads will likely have to be longer, although your local codes may allow it. Most codes also require 6'8" (80") above a step for overhead clearance. I'm going by IBC, which is becoming the standard in most places.

    I like your plan, and think it's plenty big enough and 'grand' enough! We are planning less than 1000 sq ft for us empty-nesters, and going with 'cottage' decor so we can keep it cheap. I'm trying to plan and site our new house so the master BR and kitchen have morning sun. I love sitting in the kitchen in the morning sun with a steaming mug of coffee!

    Our current house is about that size, but a completely different lay-out. Here in FL, there are a lot of split plans like ours, with two BR's and a bath on one side of the house, the master suite on the other side, and the LR, kitchen, and family room in the middle.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    hmm never thought about cold air thing, could always put a door in the doorway of the mudroom but that would really close it off, not sure if its worth it. in the winter we would probably almost always come in through the garage, and the door wouldn't likely never get opened before the garage door was closed so that would probably keep the cold breeze issue under control. the reason for putting the garage door adjacent to the main door and not further up is to keep the mess contained, the further up we put the garage door the further up people are walking around in dirty/wet boots, etc..

    regarding orientation, i like the plan but got ahead of myself and didn't realize that there are absolutely no east facing windows! very little direct sun early in the morning, lots of sun all day, then in the evening we'd have sun on the dining table, bedrooms and deck. doesn't sound ideal, i know at my parents cottage we tend to roast in the evening sun but it might be nice in the winter.. we're always there in the summer. if i flip the plan i we get sunrise into two bedrooms and the dining table and in the evening everything is shaded including most of the deck. problem is when i flip it and walk around in 3d mode, i don't like it, its bizarre because its the same plan just mirrored but it feels so different. so i'm trying to figure out the best way to get the bedrooms on the east side while maintaining the layout of the living room, we could orient the house slightly east so there'd be some sun at the table in the morning and the bedrooms would get lots of light. here's my first attempt but i don't like how the garage sticks out so much

    so many things to think about!

    {{gwi:1422591}}

  • User
    14 years ago

    You're right. Somehow it just does not seem to translate when flipped.

    One option: Move the fireplace from the east wall over to the first set of windows on the south wall. Then you can put that pair of windows on the east wall. And not flip the plan at all.

    Do you think that you will ever want to expand out on the ground level? Think about what might be the direction to go. How wide your lot is, and where you place the house on it NOW, may affect your ability to add on in the future. Because of setbacks and septic lines or whatever.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well the above plan is not the flipped plan, in that one I just moved the bedrooms to the east side of the house but kept the living area the same. I like it, it also moves the entrance closer to the living areas. But then there's no good spot for the garage, it sticks out quite a bit. When I flip the original plan, the kitchen is on the left, living room on the right, it just feels and looks weird. I can't explain it, maybe it's just because I'm used to the original living/dining/kitchen layout and orientation :)

    Regarding moving the fireplace to the south wall in the original plan and putting a window in the east wall of the living room. I'm not sure if I would want this, it wouldn't add much light at the dining table which is what I want in the morning and it would probably create too much light in the living room around the television.

  • teresa_nc7
    14 years ago

    FWIW, I just measured my long hall in my 1910 bungalow (a hall I don't like for it's length) and it is approx. 23 feet and I think it's too long. Off this hall which opens from the living room there is a hall coat closet, the doorway to the first bedroom, the doorway to the kitchen, the doorway to the basement, the doorway to the second bedroom and an opening to a short hall that leads to the third bedroom and the only bathroom.

    I feel this long hall is pretty much wasted space and if I ever build again, I'll try really hard not to have such a long hall.

    JMO,
    Teresa

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    ok, with a little playing around i managed to get rid of the 26' hallway. so now the hallway is 16' at it's longest but from the living room its 9'. i could also just do away entirely with the foyer hallway, put the stairs there behind a door, and have room for built in cabinets and shelving in the living room. here's what the two plans look like, walking around in 3d i must admit i do like having the double hallway of plan A. it makes everything feel very open and connected, like you're never far from anything. i can imagine the kids having fun running around in circles and with 4' wide hallways we could always put in 4 or 5' high bookcase along the wall behind the stairs and some shelving above the desk.

    but plan 2 is certainly a more efficient use of space creating 8 linear feet of storage and display space (not including the desk). but i don't know, for some reason i like it less. here's what it looks like, i did my best to put up some kind of shelving/storage/desk space on the wall but it doesn't look so hot :)

    on the rest of the plan i made a few changes based on suggestions and advice from here, master bathroom is a little bigger to accomodate a 36" vanity instead of a pedestal sink. there's room for built in shelving behind the shower for towels and baskets, etc.. linen closet in main bathroom. i was able to make one of the kids bedrooms bigger and they both have 8 linear feet of storage space each which could be all closet or a combination of built in shelving and closet space. main bathroom has a full size 6' tub so adults can take a bath comfortably. bathrooms and bedrooms (except one) now have east facing windows to get morning sun and will be shaded and cool in the evenings. moved the laundry room (with vacuum/broom closet) to the garage. kids rooms still share no walls with living room or master bedroom. bathrooms are back to back now for easier plumbing. could probably put in a double sided fireplace to share between the living room and master bedroom, i think?

    what else? let me know! i'm listening :) i've also posted links to some 3d views of each at the bottom after the plans, i didn't want to clutter the thread up too much. thanks!

    Plan A:

    Plan B:

    3D Views:
    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/2a.jpg
    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/3a.jpg
    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/4a.jpg
    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/3b.jpg
    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/4b.jpg

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    argh, sorry if that was a bit of mess, i had cut and pasted something and had editing my post but clicked submit instead of preview. this place really needs an edit function!

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    Plan B, by far.

    It's great to see the stages of this happen for someone else. I know I saved versions of my plans as they changed over time and it's funny to look back and see what compromises were made and priorities shifted as I worked on it. I think it's plan B is a huge improvement in it's use of space.

    One thought on the closets for the 'kids rooms' which from left to right we'll call BOY and GIRL. If you wanted to try and put a closet above the stairs you might have space in GIRL, so that when you open the door you face a small closet. Then you could then take the back to back closets and remove the one that sticks out further into BOY. Taking the remaining closet that now faces GIRL, do a 70/30 split on the one large closet so that BOY gets a roughly 5' closet and girl gets a 4' closet above the stairs and a 2' closet against the exterior wall, or a 2' built-in shelf like you had in prior plans.

    Or you can ignore this altogether.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I don't think there'd be room for a closet at girls entrance, it would be a very tight entrance. Also taking out the closet that sticks out the most in boys room would just make that room even bigger and it's already a lot bigger than girls room. I wouldn't mind evening them out some. What about this as a variation of plan B, basically taking out the door and back wall of the staircase to make the basement more open to the first floor:

    http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab80/qwibbled/y-1.jpg

    Is it too weird?

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    I understand. I wish there was a way to not mess with plan B, but to re-arrange the two bedrooms and hall bath. It seems like it's not the best setup for either bedroom. Might there be a way to make the bathroom a closet and entrance to one bedroom, and stick the bathroom between the bedrooms?

    I like the idea of opening up that wall in concept, but it doesn't buy you much except kind of an awkward look through. I would pass on that option.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    What's the issue with the main bathroom? I don't think the kids bedroom doors could be any closer to it than in plan B. Anyone else? Plan A vs plan B? Thoughts?

  • User
    14 years ago

    Not sure if you are calling the original plan A or if the first one modified is Plan A.

    I will make my comments about the two modifications.
    I like the FIRST modified plan, except I think you need to move that bedroom door for "girl" down the hall. If that child is not a person to clean their room nicely, then that will be about the first thing that visitors see.

    Guests can see the door to the bath in that one, no mistaking whether it is in use before they get to the point of turning the knob, cuz it shows if open. I do like the two baths back to back, for economy in plumbing.

    One day down the road, you might consider putting a little powder room where that laundry room closet is. You have the space available from the garage area.

    Now, I notice in both plans that you have a pair of double doors at the back of the garage. Do you have a riding lawnm0wer/tractor to drive in that side? Is that going to be walled off from the car parking spaces? Looks really good, and that area can be reached from the far end of the deck. Your deck is quite sizeable, so if you are looking for any space in the living room, a really short bumpout. However, that would involve roofline changes and also no straight wall through the LR and garage which might be a load bearing situation.

  • TxMarti
    14 years ago

    I really like your Plan B - the way the bedrooms are away from the family room noise.

  • TxMarti
    14 years ago

    I keep forgetting there is no edit on this forum.

    The only change I would make on this one is in the hall bathroom. I would put two sinks in there and take out the closet. You could put a cabinet over the toilet for towels and stuff. If your dd is like one of mine, she would be much happier with a sink of her own without traces of someone else's toothpaste spit in it.

  • brickton
    14 years ago

    I think I should have placed the caveat that I liked the Plan B living room and stairs much better. But in looking at it, it does make the bedroom setup a little more awkward. I don't think there is anything wrong with the bathroom (though two sinks might be nice) I was just saying that if you wanted to try to re-arrange the bedrooms in Plan B you will likely have to move the bathroom too.

  • qwibbled
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    moccasinlanding, I was calling the two updated plans A and B, I wrote it above each plan just so there was no confusion. I've moved on from the original :) So you prefer the plan that has a foyer hallway and no built in living room storage/shelving? I moved girls bedroom door because I figured if there's a hallway there then there's no need to clump three doors together in the corner. I put double doors at the back of the garage for no reason, just figured it might make life easier. I like the deck size, but do you think there's a potential structural issue with the current layout?

    martia8, Thanks for the advice, though between plans A and B the bedrooms are in the exact same place with the same two walls seperating them from the living spaces, the only difference is where the stairs are. So in theory the noise level should be the same.

    Keep them coming! I'm definitely torn between the two options. And as always please feel free to point out any other areas that could be improved :)

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