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tara_carrico

Need your helpful eye, please

Tara Carrico
9 years ago
We are building a new house and just received a rough draft of our plan. I could use some guidance- especially if you see any issues. It's going to a small 1700 sq. feet place and will also have a finished basement. I'm still confused about the closet in dining room, however I could make that a nook/ desk or a butlers pantry. Thanks for looking - I appreciate it!

Comments (10)

  • PRO
    cg interiors group
    9 years ago

    It's a little difficult to see, but it seems like the space allotted for circulation between the garage and the kitchen could be put to better use, perhaps as a combination mudroom / laundry. I'm not sure the extra partition wall or all of those doors are doing you any favors - there's an awful lot going on. A cased opening between that area and the kitchen should be sufficient, and give you more usable space.

  • PRO
    adalisa frazzini
    9 years ago

    Your attachment doesn’t open very large so it is hard to read - I like to be able to see dimensions. Here are some things I did note in looking over your plan:

    Agreed w/cg’s comment that walkthrough from garage to kitchen is a lot of wasted space, and not thoughtfully laid out. Have to open 2 doors to get groceries to kitchen.

    Bedrooms are on opposite side of house from laundry - far from ideal, unless not a big deal to you.

    If you are upstairs and need to ask someone in the basement a questions, you will have to open 2 doors and scream down the stairs. It gave me the feeling like it is the dark, scary basement no one ever wants to go down to! Basement access would ideally be off of your main living area. Perhaps stairs can be shifted towards back of house, then the big closet in ‘mud room’ area can be made into a reach in and moved towards garage wall (where basement door is on current plan) so you get back some living space. Or could stairway down to basement start where the weird DR closet is now?

    The kitchen is fine except I don’t think the island really flows or fits into the current configuration.

    2 doors again to go out to back yard. Having to walk through sunroom as only way to get to patio/yard is not ideal. Slider out to patio from Great Room?

    Angled hallway @ bedrooms bath is strange, again, not good flow and wastes space without any benefit to laying it out this way.

    Master bath/closet spaces don’t have great flow. No double doors anywhere else in house, but all of a sudden they appear in master bath.

    I realize I just found fault with every single area of your home plan. I do not mean to offend you, nor your architect. Designers are typically trained to approach floor plans from a different angle than architects, so asking for input at this stage of the game is ideal. Decor is secondary, but the foundation laid out (literally and figuratively!) in tweeking floor plans makes decorating much easier, so I hope my comments are seen as helpful.

  • Felix Pradas-Bergnes
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with the two contributors above. The plan leaves much to be desired in terms of efficiency. Here is one alternative floor distribution plan with space for a bar or hutch in a niche in the dinning room, and two storage closets in the garage. The stairs to the basement are by the master bedroom and hallway bathroom.


  • a2themanda
    9 years ago
    I agree with the above comments. In addition, the master bath door and then the closet behind that door would be awfully frustrating for putting up laundry...
  • picosinge
    9 years ago

    I find it rather awkward having to go through the master bathroom to access the closet ...

  • baba538
    9 years ago

    Yes, a desk with shelves or a built in display cabinet rather than the DR closet, and can the column in the space between the kitchen and the great room please be removed before someone runs into it?

    I agree the mudroom and laundry should be combined, perhaps the door to the kitchen could be removed; new washers and dryers are very quiet.

    It appears that the island and refrigerator are very close. I like the frig close to the sink, so I would move it a little and put the pantry where the frig is currently. A single door to the master closet would use less space and French doors from the bedroom and the great room to the patio would be lovely.

    I like the angles in the plan. They break up the monotony of boxy rooms and add interest.

  • baba538
    9 years ago

    I forgot: what about visually having a double door in the master bedroom that actually leads into the bath (right door) and closet (left door). I never like going thru the bath to reach the closet and would prefer to turn the closet 90 degrees.

  • lucidos
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sometimes decisions are made that we on this side have no understanding of. Without your list of do's, don'ts and particular needs I have addressed a few things I see.

    Changing the kitchen to the back of the home gives better access for barbeques and more contact with guests and family. You have the same amount of cabinet space and a nice 2 person flow throughout the kitchen area. I envision it to look somewhat like this with a table or 2nd island where the bench is.

    Moving the garage entry down abit will help with groceries straight into the mudroom laundry. Change the orientation of the stair door to open toward the kitchen. I would leave that entire area without a door to the kitchen just an opening.

    The MBR closet by moving the door to the angled wall you will gain more storage and additionally a linen closet in the bath. You would have room to extend the linen closet all the way to the vanity.

    I also suggest a closet between the entry and dining area.

  • baba538
    9 years ago

    Nice!!! French doors from great room to patio?

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