Can you post a picture or drawing of the plan?

Image is missing, pls repost it?

J Smith- post a pic :)

Hallways are difficult. It is really against our nature to want to widen them for any reason because we are paying for that square footage, and let's face it- we don't live in hallways. That is why many successful modern designs strive to minimize hallway space as much as possible.

We had to have a long hallway as part of our design though. To make it as functional as possible, we widened it and installed storage all along one wall. Then daylit the area with solatubes. This is the result.

After seeing the space built out, our contractor said that this was his favorite room:) Although you cannot see them in the pic, there are three doors on the left and two doors on the right that take you into different areas of the house. This hallway is the "spine" of the house and incredibly functional because of the storage. The bench stores boots, shoes and umbrellas. The upper cabs store reusable grocery bags, golf equipment, and small appliance overflow. Drawers have store coupons, tools and batteries- all the junk drawers you want to get out of your kitchen. We absolutely love walking in here with groceries or using the counter to fold clothes or do crafts.

Sorry guys, here is the pic!

Your hallway is too long, IMHO. It seems more like a tunnel than a hallway. I like the built-ins but the rest seems so dark and narrow!

What if you take out large closet and add linen closet, linen cabinet and storage cabinets? Also move one of the bathrooms down a bit and have standard closets in all non-master bedrooms.

I think this will be a much better use of space and eliminate some of that long hall effect :)

I tend to agree with you about the tunnel effect of the hallway, something less than desirable. What makes it worse is the fact that we need to bring in light via solar tubes because there are no windows. One thing we were thinking about is opening that area up (proposed closet on the far left) to have the hallway end with a big floor to ceiling window.

The rational and thinking was that it would bring in some much needed light into the hallway (mitigate some of the need for solar tubes) and if we could find a way to design the space right we could have a small bookshelf on either side.

Something like this:

I guess you could say we are trying to add that little bit of wow-factor by making the best of every space available. This may not be the best arrangement but something close?

Dimensions are right now 2m length by 1.5m width (by stealing a tiny bit of space from the bedrooms but still leaving plenty for beds etc).

The million dollar question is whether using this space in this way (to store books/games/etc) and for the nice feature window is the best use of space. Would keeping it as closet space be better? Is there even enough room with 1.5m after you put in shelves?

musicgale - we REALLY like what you have done to make good use of that closet space and were looking at our plans to see how we could incorporate something similar. It would see it is possible by stealing some space from the library to put into the hall for that open storage/seating. The question is whether or not this would create an "awkward" library room to work with in the future because a chunk would be missing from it. Thoughts?

I'd clip the closets from bedrooms 2&5 and angle the entrance doors for 3&4 to soften the tunnel effect.

Do you mean to cut off the corners of bedrooms 2 and 5 on an angle? How would that work?

J Smith- There is something pretty nifty you could do right by your study without changing much, and that is to make that existing storage space a floor to ceiling two-way cabinet- meaning you can get to it from the hall as well as the study. Something similar is possible in the linen area of the laundry as well.

I wanted to just say, although I could not make the plan big enough to read the print, I am concerned about the the wall that forms part of the hallway in front of the study and laundry. It really makes your hall much longer than is optimal. I tried to sketch out an idea for you which eliminates the wall and adds other elements but I couldn't do it to my satisfaction, so I'll be back with some pictures.

You are probably about to get a lot of feedback on things you didn't ask about, but be strong and of good courage. That is normal when someone posts their floorplan here.

Please keep the advice and criticism (brutal or not) coming - it is very helpful. Things are much easier to change at this stagE Of the game!

Here's one look- needn't be as thick but you can see the possibilities of letting light into that space while adding some storage and display area. That is the wall I would put to work.

Haverford Residence 2 · More Info

Lavender I only just now realised you rearranged the whole house plan (reading off the phone so not easy) - do you really think breaking up the hallway (long or not) is a good idea? We always thought just for simple things like cleaning you would wAnt to keep it straight?

We are not do sure taking space from the bathrooms is the route we want to go to get more space. Those kids bathrooms are on the smaller side as is.

Music - that is a nice feAture for sure.

This reminds me of a second semester professor. One of my classmates had a project with a long hallway and the professor asked him if he was planning to provide skates at each end of the hallway.

Can the designer rework the whole plan?

JSmith, only because you asked. This is a terrible plan. You need to start over. Do you really want to have the longest corridor ever posted in GW/houzz?

There is an issue in the concept of this plan that can't be corrected by adding a closet.

Yikes, we didn't realize it was that bad... We are technically right at the tail end of the design process so now you are really starting to scare me into thinking we have been going down the wrong path. When you have so many bedrooms in a house like this, how do you get around the fact that you need to navigate between all the rooms? 2 story?

We just measured out our hallway and it is hard to disagree, it is a hell of a distance!

Granted, the architect did provide a sliding door midway to break it up and separate out part of the house when needed, but it is questionable whether this is enough. The only solution for such a large house that we can think of is in fact going up, it is hard to believe rearranging everything on the ground floor is going to result in a different hallway length? It may be not as continuous but you still need to navigate from room to room...

Help!

How close are your setbacks? How deep can you go?

Deep? As in underground? We can't go underground based on the house site area, but we have a huge area in which we can build on so no real constraints there. We do however have a very nice view of a pond to the north (as well as lawn area for the kids) so we put things like kitchen, living room, and library (places we will spend majority of the time) facing those directions.

Deep into your lot J Smith... as in width and depth. For example, our rear setback on our house was required to be 8 feet or more from the rear property line. We used our entire depth. Because of the way the lot is configured, it didn't matter because our views are to the east side. Sunrises over a lake.

But, since you said you have no constraints on the dimensions of the house you might want to look at some other possible layouts. Really, I have come to love a well designed hallway, but I don't see how what you have right now will work for you without robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is very long indeed and I have visions of 4 kids running through there bumping into each other.

Look up Perry Homes 4297S in Cypress Creek Lakes to get an idea of something that gives you that wow factor you're talking about. I would take a screenshot but I am sure the floorplan is copywritten. It is easy to look up though.

We lived in a 2800 sq foot Perry when we were building and it used this interior corridor approach. It does not feel like a hallway in 3d because of the difference in ceiling heights. Look at it and tell me what you think-

I didn't change the size of the bathrooms, just 'cut and paste' to the new position. That left space for linen closets and storage, because I shifted the second part of the hallway. If anything, the bathrooms may be just a bit bigger :)

May I ask why you split up the 2 kids bathrooms? Is there an issue having them together side by side?

Is making the hallways discontinuous like this more desirable from a living point of view? Ie - more privacy around the corners - even at the expense of having to walk further and around corners to get to the destination?

Would it be better to consider a 2nd story where we would stick all the 4 kids bedrooms + a bathroom?

JSmith,

Maybe you should wait to hear some other professional opinions.

Keep in mind that it was only my opinion. The mayority could disagree.

I do not like fuzzy or maze like circulations in a home but in this case, the corridor is just too long.

Is there a way that you can post a PDF of the plan so we can see the details better? Where is the garage located? I will try to see this plan later on at work where I have a really big monitor. I am sure there is a solution.

I have seen many wide/long houses but the designer managed to avoid the really long corridors. It is possible! The only thing is, some rework needs to be done. Making the corridor a "z" shape does not make it any shorter.

Another option is going with a 1 1/2 story. I prefer it to going with a 2 story home.

I split up the bathrooms because it seemed more convenient to have one bathroom in the middle of the bedroom wing...not the end.

This way, you have the larger bathroom (with two sinks) centrally located between all four bedrooms. Then the 'second' bath, with just one sink and shower can also work as a bathroom for the bedrooms....or a hall/guest bath.

I guess I'll ask you this....why have two bathrooms next to each other??? :)

Ok, I took a better look. I think this can be fixed. I will post a very simple sketch later on.

If you are going to want to watch movies you need to really consider that setup. You have a lot of windows on one side, and a projector is front-lit, not back lit. Projectors do not compete with ambient light well. If the entire reason for that wall is to support projection, I'd re-think it.

Marthaelena and I are on the same page here. I haven't commented because there is too much here to 'fix'. Are you working with a professional architect -- not just a draftsman -- or someone who has a degree in architecture, but is not certified (can't stamp a plan)?

These are very schematic drawings. I can detail it after I hear any comments you my have.

I can also post an overlay so you can see the changes compared to your original drawings.

Hope this helps.

Martha, your a saint for having taken the time to throw together the suggestions for us - thank you!

The delay in our reply has only been because we have been taking back and forth about such a setup (versus the pros and cons of a second floor) all day.

An interesting point to be made is that the distance for you hallway is not that dissimilar from the previous design when that sliding door is open . If one is looking from one end to the other it is still a long hall, although I guess passing through rooms rather than having that "tunnel effect".

We wondered if putting a window at the end would help but then just knew we were setting ourselves up for a joke containing the phrase "light at the end of the tunnel" lol.

We have been researching up on hallways on homes and see that many try to get rid as much as possible to reduce the waste and sqm as a percentage of the houses total sqm. We did a back of the hand calculation in this design and it is about 10% - not bad compared to others we have seen for sure but the biggest comment doesn't seem to be on the % of area or efficiency of the space but rather the continuousness of it - something we largely agree with.

Another question is whether one could mitigate some of this tunnel effect by perhaps making the hall wider or taller? Currently it is 1.2m wide throughout and 2.4m high - does playing around with those dimensions potentially solve some of the issues? If we extended the dimensions of hall we would use that extra space to put in more storage or features such as the previous suggestion by music (picture above).

Another negative we had about using "main rooms" as a makeshift hallway is interruption. What if one person is watching a movie or having a conversation and then another needs to pass through the room to get a drink or something? What is the ideal way to address such issues when you are living in a house with 6 and perhaps more down the road?

JSmith- You asked about ceiling heights and I don't know if you ever looked up the plan I mentioned- but here is a picture of how that builder approaches the ceiling in its entry corridors. We lived in a similar home for two years and that "hall" was very much a usable and wow factor space.

J Smith,

To me, your original hallway start at the closed and end at the opposite side closet, regardless of the hallway openings.

The one I suggested cuts the hall by about half, and it ends at the opening.

I do not recall you mentioning it, maybe I missed it, but it looks like you are homeschooling the kids.

I think that if the screen is placed at an opening, you could also put the screen at the library opening/doors then, you will not have interruptions.

One thing that can cut the hall length is placing the "library" at the end of the hall with a exterior door and window on the left of the house. This is, if the library has to remain by the bedrooms.

Having said that, and if this were my client's project, I'd suggest to place the library on the left of the kitchen, at the same level of the opposite "wing". That will cut the original hall by about 70% to 75%. The library by the kitchen has a lot of advantages. It can become an entertaining/keeping/hearth room in the future. The powder room will need to be near the library. In this case, I'd get rid of the entry door by the kids bedrooms.

musicgale - do you know how many feet long your hallway is? I have long hallway in a plan I am working on, but I am not sure if it is long or really long. Having a point of reference of a hallway I have actually seen a picture of would help. Thanks!

musicgale - That is a very nice picture indeed and we are playing with the design to see what could be done (in terms of storage and making the hallway a more functional space as opposed to a long corridor) by widening it out. We are still unsure if having something as long as it is will post a problem and require a design change but will update shortly on whether embracing it will be an option.

We did check into those other floor plans/house designs that were recommended and in fact have fallen into the rabbit hole of even contemplating buying the plans of a ready-made design off the internet lol - who knew you could do that?! At the very least we found ourselves flicking through what seem to be houses of the "rich and famous" trying to source ideas of layouts, etc. Some houses are so large and confusing that one would need a map to get around there! Others have designated quarters for maids and butlers - how nice that would be :-).

Ultimately however, we found that while many of these mansion like houses are very nice from the outside we questioned the usability and functionality from a living point of view - at least from our family's perspective. This led us to the conclusion that something a little more unique to our lifestyle/property was the way to go than an off the shelf solution that would require modifications. Doesn't mean we can't borrow a bit of inspiration however!

martha - we are indeed homeschooling our 4 kids and plan to use the library for that purpose until they are old enough to do their schoolwork in their room (we tried to make their bedrooms big enough for a desk in each).

We are trying to piece together your idea about placing the library on the left of the kitchen but are a little confused by that. Do you mean to switch the location of living room and library or did you mean to say have the library on the right of the kitchen?

No, I meant, removing the library and place it next to the kitchen, to the right, like a wing.

Once you remove the library you can rearrange the bedrooms with a shorter corridor.

Having the library next to the kitchen have some convenience and the kids will go from one area to another and not staying all day in the same area. On the other hand, the library will be quieter if someone is using the great room or watching movies.

Gotcha - so you would use the kitchen as the central part of the home - the heart. We like that idea, and of course this would require a bit of a rework of the kitchen layout. How would you access the library, from the same back-bone hallway or through a re-worked kitchen whereby the cabinetry is moved more towards the bottom opening up a path towards the north?

The powder room needs to be added.

I think one of the nice things to do with a longer hallway is to have room to place something as a focal point, like a large piece of artwork with a light on it or a narrow credenza or something. I live in an urban area with long skinny lots and unless you want to walk through every room to get to every other room, long hallways are necessary. I lived in a series of large houses broken up into condos and there were hallways 50-70 feet long. However they were improvements over the typical long hotel hallway, because, since they were designed as houses (and in the 1840s when architecture was probably a bit consistently better), there was something to look at, at the end of the hall other than a plain door, a closet or an air vent.

aec- I'm going to put the info you asked for in a new thread so we don't inadvertently hijack JSmith's thread. Look for it at the top of Building A Home.

Just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and assistance martha - not to mention everyone else to gave us their feedback.

We are hard at work in the background pondering how to adjust accordingly and hope to update soon.