First floor

Second floor

No comments??

Hi Dan.H,

I think the forum gets a bit slow on weekends and your post dropped down the list because of the follow-ups.

Folks here are really good about layout advice, it might help if you could let folks know a bit about your location and climate, your property (acreage? urban infill?), and your family's desires so people can keep that information in mind. How do you intend to use your basement?

Thanks Oaktown.

We are located in the midwest, the home will be built at the edge of town on a 1/2 acre lot, the lot is sloped and the house will have a walk out basement. We plan to leave the basement unfinished at this time but in the future we could see using it as a rec room.

Things that are important to us include good sized bedrooms (not just 1 large master with several small bedrooms), a large living room (as we spend most of our time here), and a functional kitchen and mudroom. Important to me is a 3 car garage for my toys! :)

Thanks for any help.

Hi, Dan, also in the Midwest here. After you play with your toys in the garage, you might want a sink down there, or in the mudroom, to clean up. Also handy for drip-drying mittens and cleaning muddy sneakers. Will the kids always come in through the garage? If they play in back a lot, they might want a door into the mudroom there.

The first thing I noticed is, the kids have teeny bathrooms! Where there's a playroom, there're probably little kids, but when they're bigger they need room for all the same stuff the parents have: skin and hair care, towels, elbow room. My son's shaving stuff takes up as much space as DH's! Don't even get me started on the orthodontia paraphernalia.

Do you think you might want a sink in the laundry room? But without taking away space for sorting and folding.

Consider adding a door from the study to the family room, makes for a nice flow; and gives a quiet space that is still connected, but you can always close it if the TV's on too loud.

Great ideas!

- I think a sink in the garage would be very useful! Adding this to the list.

- Unless we extend the deck to both sides of the dining room, there won't be any way to access the mudroom from outside due to the slope of the lot and the walkout basement. I think access will be through the garage.

- You are right about the small kid bathrooms. One thing we were trying to avoid was having the toilet next to the tub for baths. Do you see a way that we could increase the size of the bathrooms without changing things too much?

- We thought about the sink in the laundry room, but we don't have one now and don't see a huge need for one, am I missing something?

- We were planning on having built-ins along the back wall of the office, so I think that might eliminate the possibility of a door.

I like the plan, but I agree the kids' baths need more storage. I'd rather see one bath with more storage over two baths with basically none.

Also, you may want to reconsider the double doors into the study. Where will the light switch be? Behind one of the doors. It will be a constant annoyance.

Re the bathrooms: I can't draw it, but can the kids share? If so, the 2 closets on the right would make a nice sized bathroom, bumped into the front bedroom if necessary. Then the front bedroom's bathroom can become the closet, and there's a little nook with a window for DK.

If they must have their own, then remove the hall closet (the kids linens will store nicely in their closets), move bedroom doors to the right, and enlarge the bathrooms a bit. Or swap the right-side closets for a bath for one of them.

Re laundry sink: I just like having a sink in my laundry for pre-treating or soaking or washing my hands after handling sheets when someone has the flu :(

Re study doors: In my dad's study, besides the double-doors into the living room, there is a door built into the cabinetry; looks like a secret door :) A light switch is built into the side of the cabinetry. Because you have a little choke point from the front door to the living area, I really think 2nd door in the study would help. And by the double-doors, move the light switch so it's not behind a door...it can even be on the hall side of the door.

Oh, and consider solar tubes in the interior laundry for sure, and the baths, too, if they stay where they are.

I'd simplify the roofline: those double gable things are clutter and will be $$$ to frame.

Right now the powder room opens right up to the living room. Can you rotate it so that the plumbing backs up to the kitchen wall, and the door can shift down to the stairs hall?

Strongly suggest you simplify the exterior to make the house look better and save money. That gable-within-a-gable thing just adds unnecessary expense and gives your home a ubiquitous "tract-house" look. UGH! Also, if you want to use three different sidings (brick/stone, vertical lap, and shakes) pick up a copy of "What Not to Build" by Sandra Edelman to learn how to use multiple sidings in ways that are cohesive and restful to the eye instead of creating a confusing mish-mash.

And while I'm speaking about the exterior, PLEASE don't stick tiny little single shutters on the sides of double-ganged windows. Shutters are meant to look as if they could be closed to completely cover the windows. When you slap down shutters that are the wrong size for the windows (or in this case, just HALF a pair of shutters for each window) I shudder! (pun intended!) Seriously, double-ganged and triple-ganged windows are a modern invention and shutters simply don't work with them. Either un-gang your windows and spread them out far enough for each window to have it's own properly sized shutters... or skip the shutters entirely.

On to the floorplan...

Kudos on NOT making all three garage bays face toward the front and on trying to keep the garages pulled back enough that they don't create a huge "snout" bulging out on the front of your house. Many times men who want big garages for their toys want them "out front" and, IMHO, selfishly refuse to acknowledge of how those humongous garages dominate and overpower the house...or maybe that is the look they're going for. (Big man, represented by "masculine" garage, dominates and overpowers little woman, represented by "feminine" home. LOL!)

If you have children, It would probably be good for the mudroom to be a foot or two wider. I can't read any of the dimensions on your first floor but it looks like the mudroom is only about 5 ft wide. With cubbies along one side, that is too narrow for a family. The ONE thing in my house that I wish I had made larger is my mudroom - and it's just DH and me using it! If we had kids to squeeze thru there too, I'd be insisting that we tear out the side wall and expand. I also agree that you may want a "man door" leading into the garage somewhere so that kids playing outdoors can come in without having to open garage doors.

You don't mention which direction your home will face or how many trees you may have to shade the windows in the dining room. I LOVE the light that room will have. But do be aware that too much sun may make it uncomfortably warm for much of the year. You might want to investigate exactly how to size your roof overhangs so that the windows are mostly shaded from hot summer sun but the winter sun can reach the windows to add warmth in the winter time.

Love the look of the three sets of patio doors in the Great Room but I question whether you will every actually open more than one set of the doors. If not, you would be better served to replace the two sets of patio doors that are farthest from the kitchen with paired windows that mimic the look of patio doors. I dearly love patio doors but they are much more expensive than windows and, at best, are simply not terribly energy efficient. Windows could give you the same look for a lot less money while providing greater insulation against air intrusion. And, you wouldn't have to worry about locking stationary windows.

I too like double doors leading into such spaces such as the office but others are correct that this can create problems with regard to where to put a light switch. Consider having a switch put into the door frame so that, when the door is opened, a light automatically comes on in the room. The light that comes on automatically should probably be a smaller, secondary light because you'll probably want to use the office at least occasionally with the doors closed.

Will you have neighbors close by on the left side of the house? I ask because I notice that you have no windows at all on that side of the house? Rooms that get natural light from two directions FEEL so much more welcoming that, if at all possible, I would consider adding some windows on the left side. Even small high-set windows on the left wall will do much to make the office, great room, playroom, and master bedroom all feel more pleasant. Many architects have noted the benefits of having windows on two or more walls of a room. Do a bit of research and you'll see what I mean.

I don't like it that, if the PR door is left standing open, you have a view of the toilet from a good portion of your great room. Even tho it would be a hassle carrying groceries further, I'd even consider swapping the PR and pantry to get rid of this "view line." When a PR feels exposed like this, guests are a bit hesitant to use it. Maybe you could swap the PR and pantry and then have a second door leading from garage to pantry JUST for the purpose of unloading groceries.

Upstairs, I really really like the nice big secondary bedrooms. I don't like at all the fact that each bedroom gets light from only one directions. With big rooms especially, the importance of natural light from two directions cannot be over stressed. With windows on only one side, one end of the room will be bright with sunlight while the other is in deep shadow. You should be able to remedy that for the playroom and MBR even if only with small windows placed high on the walls for privacy.

And, if you got rid of that silly gable-within-a-gable thing on the garage, the front bedroom could also have windows facing forward. If you feel you MUST keep the gable, at least straighten the front edge of the garage and just have a single gable. Then, use the space in the garage gable in some way. Either add it to the front bedroom or move the front bedroom's closet into that space or something. Me though, I'd get rid of the gable entirely and put windows toward the front in the front bedroom.

I think the back bedroom is just out of luck due to the necessity of having a roof over the garage extension below. But one thing I don't understand is why you're not using the space over the garage extension to create a closet for this bedroom? If you tucked the bedroom closet into the garage attic space, (cheap space because you're already building it!) you could use the current closet space for the front bedroom, move the front bedroom's bathroom toward the front of the house, and have a HUGE storage closet where the current front bathroom is located.

Also, rather than get rid of the window in the closet, why not at least switch the closet and bathroom so that the bathroom gets some natural light. That high skinny window would fit nicely over a tub or beside a toilet or vanity. Yes, you would have to run plumbing lines a little bit further but the additional cost to do that is relatively minor considering that it would allow a bathroom with natural light.

I don't really think the secondary bathrooms are too small and I do understand the desire not to have the toilet up next to the tub while the children are small. Much easier to bathe them if you're not having to scrunch up against the toilet. But, kids stay little for only a few years. Consider this idea for making the hallway bath larger....

First, get rid of the closet at the end of the hallway. Move the door to the back bedroom over to the right. Expand the hallway bathroom into the space formerly occupied by the bedroom door so that the back bedroom is a rectangle instead of having that funny jog. Leave the toilet on the wall against the bedroom but move it forward so it is near the hallway. Put the vanity on the wall across from the bathroom door and extend it so that it runs beside the toilet. You could have a nice long vanity and still have the floor space beside the tub free.

You could add back a hall closet (albeit smaller) by putting one beside the door to the front bedroom.

Then, if it were me, I'd change the tub in the front bathroom into a shower. Kids grow up really fast and most of them (especially boys) really prefer showers to tub baths by the time they reach their pre-teens. As long as the kids were still small and needed tub baths, I'd simply use the tub in the hallway bathroom to bathe them. I might even keep the other bathroom locked up until the older one reaches shower age! One less bathroom to keep clean!

And, while I don't really feel that the front bathroom is too small for one person, if you decide you want to expend it slightly, I think you could easily widen the bath and closet by about a foot without negatively impacting the nice large bedroom space. A 16-6 X 12-9 secondary bedroom is extra huge. A 15-6 x 12-9 bedroom would still be huge and the 1 ft loss in length would never be noticed. Adding a ft of width to the bathroom and closet though would be quite noticeable.

Oh, and you definitely need to flip the laundry room so that the washer and dryer are NOT against the wall shared with the master bedroom. Right now you may NEVER do laundry late at night so might not think it is a problem to have the W/D against the bedroom wall. But, as your kids get older one hopes that they'll begin taking responsibility for their own laundry. Once that happens, trust me, DS or DD WILL decide at midnight that he/she simply MUST have some special article of clothing or a sports uniform washed TONIGHT because he/she has to have it for school in the morning. You don't want to be wakened by the sound of the dryer tumbling.

Finally, I'd put a reach-in closet in the playroom along the wall shared by playroom and master bedroom. First, even a playroom usually has storage needs and, if it doesn't you can always use the space for things like the vacuum cleaner and extra linens. But more importantly, a closet in the playroom will provide a little bit of a sound barrier between the MBR and the playroom...which could be useful for privacy sake. And, if/when you try to sell the house, having a closet in the room makes that room count as another bedroom which raises the value of the house.

Just some suggestions. Good luck with finishing your design and getting your home built.

Thanks so much for the suggestions! We are meeting with our designer again on Wednesday and have a list of changes for him!

I agree that the exterior needs to be simplified. It's just . . . too much.

I like the layout with the office on the left as you walk in and the family room ahead. While I question who actually needs three garage bays, given that storage buildings can house the toys for a fraction of the cost of a built-in garage, I like your unique garage layout.

You have lots of wasted space under the large staircase. This isn't prime space, but if your landing is 8x4, that's 32 square feet . . . that could easily hold all your Christmas stuff, even if you decorate to the nines.

I would not plan three sets of expensive, energy-wasting, easy-to-kick-in, furniture-placement-inhibiting French doors in the family room. You could have a wall of windows for a fraction of the price. Then you could have one door at the end of the bank of windows, OR you could have a door in the breakfast room.

The master bath could have better light if you switched the tub to the exterior wall. I always hate the toilet-crammed-into-the-closet choice; it's uncomfortable to use and difficult to clean.

I would definitely fix the laundry so that it doesn't share a wall with the master bedroom. In our first house, we had laundry-in-a-closet that backed up to the living room, and the noise was a constant source of aggravation.

The kids' bathrooms are tiny, especially the sink area. I agree that I don't like a toilet right up against the tub, but I'd rather have one larger bath to share. If you condense these to one bath, you might work in some storage too. Right now they have none.

I'd also try to rework the closets and bathrooms so that the kids' bath has a window . . . instead of a window in the closet. Natural light fades clothing.