Which way does the stair run? Sloppy drafting. Tight constriction at stair turn - why doe it turn?. Big lost area between the LR and Kitchen.

Ya know, we bought our house because it had a first floor guest room. We figured that if any of our parents needed it, they could move in.

But way things went, that would not have worked. It couldn’t accommodate two, and their needs are all so different they can’t possibly live in the same place.

The PO had had a heart transplant, and used it during his recuperation, but when it came down to it, they moved house instead of bedrooms.

We toyed with the idea of using it one day, too. But now that I’m nearly retirement age, DH a few years out, we think we’d rather get a different house suitable to us at this stage, than have an unused upstairs (when we get the last kid out). But fortunately so far, we are physically very happy to have our bedrooms upstairs.

All this to say, if you want to use it as your bedroom, design it as such.

The dining room away from kitchen issue: I can assure 99% that it will end up as a Living room. We already got an island and a small breakfast space.

Where do you eat most of the time? Where do the kids do crafts?

2. The bath on the first level. We would like to keep a bed and bath for the future. We are in our 40's and intend to live and retire here. After 25 years, we would like to use it as a bed room.

In which case I'd strongly suggest a decent-sized shower with room for at least a stool, rather than a bathtub.

If you're planning to live in this house for 25+ years and retire there, you owe it to yourselves to hire an architect. You can find architects who work remotely/online and for reasonable fees here in the forums.

Just to update, I was also inspired by the plan below.

why don't you just use that inspiration plan as is?

In the first option the dining room is too far from the kitchen. In the second option you will NEVER use the living room closed off like that. Open the wall between the living room and the family room and make the living room a media room.

You don’t need a draftsman. You need an architect.

As drawn that downstairs bedroom and bath will never be able to be used when you are older.

If it’s an away room and not a dining room then label it as such.

Why build space that you won’t finish, especially on the second floor?

You need to first sit down, figure out what your real needs are, (not your fantasy needs), put together a list of those needs and bring them to an architect to create a house that will work for you now and into the future

Why build space that you won’t finish, especially on the second floor?

The reason is, we dont have the budget to finish it now. Bonus room is one of the cheapest room you can get when you build a house. After two years, I can finish it and use it as a media room or game room or a party room or even a bed room.

You don’t need a draftsman. You need an architect.

Not all architects are smart and not all draftsmen are uncreative. The one our lumber company offer is of 35 years of experience and is well respected in the community for nicely designed house.

What you have now has no spacial relationships or features to recommend it. That's often what happens when ideas from other designs are combined; its a very poor approach to design. I agree that you should use the inspiration design. or find a professional designer.

OP, perhaps search for existing designs using "master on main" or "mother-in-law on main" to get something good for aging in place. Kudos for looking ahead at the need for a first-floor living space in the future. Perhaps the space could serve as the office or away room in the interim.

D N, you read my mind friend. We are going to use it as an office now as we both work from home sometimes and turn that into a bedroom down the line. I have heard so many times people saying that I wish we had a bedroom and a bath on level 1. I'm pretty satisfied bythe size 12 x 11 as I lived in the same size bed and it loos good. We are not furniture crazy people and like minimal stuff..

do you want to grow old in a 5 bedroom house?

D E,

I just looked at the difference between the two. In fact, these plans are quite similar. I have to do only a few minor changes as shown below to get to that plan.

1. Use the mudroom space in the stock plan to design bedroom/office. That bump out gives a nice character to the boring boxed colonial look with a gable roof.

2. Use the pantry space in the stock plan for mudroom.

3. Take out the closet next to the powder to make room for a shower stall

4. Use the workbench and cabinet space in kitchen for reach-in pantry

5. Take out the stair turn

Now, with the above changes, my plan is the same as this stock plan! I haven't seen this plan before I drew mine. It's glad to see that my plan wasn't that bad at all as some professionals also thought it in the same way (almost).

D E

do you want to grow old in a 5 bedroom house?

Mine would a four bedroom house. If you mean the 4 bedrooms on the second floor of the stock plan, no, I'm not taking that layout. I'll keep master bed and two bedrooms. The second floor of the stock plan is congested and got rooms above foyer. Mine will be an open foyer.

" I haven't seen this plan before I drew mine. "

Seriously???

"The second floor of the stock plan is congested and got rooms above foyer. Mine will be an open foyer."

that plan you posted makes great use of the space with almost no waste. the open foyer(In my humble opinion) is a big waste of space and better left to mcmansions.

Do you want to grow old in a 4 bedroom house?

Be sure to have elevations drawn at the same time as the floor plans are developed. I find your inspiration plan and photo to be very misleading. The photo shows a set back, side-loading garage and a big wrap around porch. The plans that supposedly go with the photo have a front facing garage protruding in front of the house's facade, and no wrap around porch. Your modifications change it further to put a room protruding on the left side of the house, so there will be no porch on that part and the front door will be a bit buried.

Just be careful not to fall in love with that photo and expect your house to look the same.

Jay the difference is if you have to take your draftsman a plan to work from then he is not a talented designer. He’s a draftsman who gives you what you tell him. That is not what you need because based on these plans you don’t have the spatial vision yourself.

Im sorry but there is not much good with your plan and changing a few things will not improve it.

Jay,

Home design is an entirely subjective proposition. That's why I never give my opinion on floor plans. What you like may not work for me, but that doesn't make you wrong or me right. If I was you, I would ignore this website and look for books (most of which are written by licensed architects) on how to design your own home. They aren't geared to making you able to design homes for a living, but rather to design one home for yourself. I understand your motivation. You want to have more control over the process, and you likely are looking to save money. Nothing wrong with that. And while I find some opinions on this forum more valuable than others, too many people here believe they speak with The Voice of God and that ignoring their "sage" advice somehow wastes their time. Don't let that bother you. Just keep moving forward. Good luck.

Sorry...but home design is certainly not subjective. There are any number of principles which separate well designed homes from those which are not.

As far as aesthetics and architectural styles are concerned, they too have a large number of important principles which distinguish and separate one style from another.

One may prefer or dislike various architectural styles--that's simply personal preference.

But architectural design is not subjective at all.

Fine, Virgil. List the objective qualifications that constitutes "well designed homes" from others. Of course using the words "well designed" is subjective in and of itself.

Robw, we could start a discussion about important principlea which distinguish well designed architecture from badly designed examples.

A simple beginning point is site design and the linkage to architecture design. A well designed home is based on site conditions and draws design concepts from the site conditions where the home is located.

So many consumers post floor plans, asking for comments, and never show a site plan. It's a key principle which escapes far too many consumers.

I agree with many here that an architect could give you a better design and save bucks. Is that the case always... absolutely no. I know at least three home owners who just hated their architects and wished they never used them. At the same time, I've been to houses drawn by local draftsman that are so gorgeous!

There is no hard and fast rule like a few keep on stressing here that you must use an architect. In addition, I saw comments like... "do you want to grow in a four bed room house". The answer is damn yes, that's why I designed it like that, not that I just woke up in the morning and tossed a coin to decide.

Another one was "why you are designing a bonus room at the first place if you are not finishing it". What kind of a stupid question is that?

My answer is, architects or designers are good, but they are not essential. I know that from seeing houses that used them and those that didnt.

Virgil Carter Fine Art

Sounds like the OP really doesn't want to hear comments about his plan, despite asking for them.

Another one of those postings.

In fact, what I wanted was comments and flaws about the "design"... something like the "door is not opening in the right way, moving a wall to the other side could save space and can improve closet space, or move the ref to the other side so that the traffic in kitchen wont be too much, etc. etc." There were a few comments that just did that.

But, let me be honest, most of the "pundits" just kept on asking why you need a bed on the first floor, why you need a shower on the first floor, why you need 4 beds etc.

Virgil Carter Fine Art, to some extent house designs are subjective. There were houses which I thought are absolutely stunning and got a good flow didnt impress my spouse.

Some give importance to design flow, some to functional flow and some to look and feel.

A door opening or moving a wall will not solve problems with the overall design that needs to be rethought but you are stuck on YOUR design so you don’t want to hear what is truly wrong. Good design starts with an overall concept before worrying about details. You started with details without getting the overall concept.

And yes to some degree house design is subjective in that i prefer my laundry near my bedrooms but you might prefer it by the kitchen, but overall good design and flow really is not subjective. When a house “works” it feels effortless and one almost doesn’t notice why it works.

However when a house is poorly designed, it is difficult daily to live in and is constantly kicking you in the pants.

cpartist, whether a house components layout is a pain or blessing depends on the people use it.

Some like an open concept as they can effortlessly move around and have the "whole" view of the house. Some just hate it. For some, even if they have to walk along a hallway to get to other room, they like that separation and quietness.

There are common rules like you dont want the powder/bath door opening from kitchen...but, a lot with a house design depends on the preference of the dweller. Some like to see the kitchen as soon as they enter the house. For me, I absolutely hate it. I dont want to see my kitchen seen from the entry or living room. I'm comfortable walking 25' to that living room, but want it away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and dinning area.

Well...I will gently suggest that there's a substantial difference between sound architectural principles for design and personal preference.

One simple example is that there are fundamental design principles which distinguish Colonial Revival style architecture from Modern Architecture.

Personal preference is when someone prefers Shingle Style.

I've never been a fan of "Pattern Language" by Prof Christopher Alexander, because I think people often use it and similar work as a "cookbook of architectural recepies", substituting it for creative insight and originality. That said, there are many useful design principles in these works which are useful to the design novice.

Said differently, Pattern Language is one source of useful design principles. Which ones to use in the design of a house, if any, is personal preference.

In art, for example, there's an old saying: if you want to break the rules, you must first know them. Said differently, there are sound principles for architectural design of a house. To understand and use them, or not, is personal preference (and experience).

sub·jec·tive /səbˈjektiv/ based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

So Virgil, you talk about site conditions as being one absolute in a well-designed house. Am I to believe, then, that if a home isn't designed with the site in mind, that it always ends up poorly designed? If so, show me quantifiable evidence that supports this assertion. If not, that's a matter of your opinion. While you're at it, define "sound architectural principles" without using the Potter Stewart-esqe "I know it when I see it." The word "sound:" immediately denotes opinion, because what is sound to you may not be to others, even to one of your arhcitectural brethren.

CPArtist, you write "Good design starts with an overall concept before worrying about details. You started with details without getting the overall concept." Fine. Prove that statement objectively. Here's a definition to guide you. " (of a person or their judgment) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.."

Also, why put the word "work" in quotes? Could it be you realize that what works for you won't for me?

" However when a house is poorly designed, it is difficult daily to live in and is constantly kicking you in the pants." And yet, millions "suffer" through it. Kinds of tugs at your heart, doesn't it?

"So many consumers post floor plans, asking for comments, and never show a site plan. It's a key principle which escapes far too many consumers."

Yes! The house must suit the site. It's like posting a picture of an outfit and asking if this is a great outfit for me. But I don't tell you if I'm tall or short, slender or hefty, whether I'm going to the prom or to a funeral. Adding a belt and nice shoes isn't going to help if the pants don't fit.

I am always amazed at how many people would never self diagnose themselves if they were coughing up blood, or who would never think of going into court without a lawyer, but are willing to spend six figures of their hard earned money creating a house by themselves without using a professional.

Guys, please....this is not a post I intended to turn this way...

My apologies, Jay. I've made my point, so I will say no more.

I welcome constructive criticism and arguments based on substance. But no personal insults please.

Well said, Jay. Thank you.

Have you examined the plan posted by PPF?

Well said, D N.

You are absolutely right! I had a meeting with my builder and designer and asked to bump out that office/bed room 4-5' to get necessary space. It adds enough space for bed room and bath on level 1 and a nice closet space on level 2.

Yup...the post was on bit fire....:)

Virgil Carter Fine Art,

Yes, I did. That suggestion make sense and I can get the entry to the bonus room.

Yours is similar to the house we built 5 years ago, except all our bedrooms are on one level

Making the suggested changes eliminates the possibility of a colonial style house (like the inspiration house) and presents a design problem that will be difficult to solve even with 3D software. This is the drawback to the push and pull plan approach - in the end it will look arbitrarily thrown together.

RES 3d Sketches, Thanks. In fact, I'm not really particular about sticking with the colonial plan. I would rather like to see some character added to the house to avoid the classic box look of colonials. Then why an I calling it a colonial? Well, I took the basic outline of colonial and customized it.

Fiona, how did yo like the flow and functionality of the house?

Start a 3D model now while you can still shape the house. Not every bump and gable leads to an interesting design.

Jay- We LOVE the layout and the flow. Feels there is very little wasted space. The double french doors open to the backyard where all the pretty afternoon sun is.

This was before we replaced the builder grade floors with wide plank oak:

Exterior before we did the landscaping

Fiona, Love it... I can now see how I'm sitting there with a cup of tea... :)

Love your floor. We may go with porcelain tile as we are using radiant heating and tile would be the best option.

Fiona, I'm unable to read the sizes of the rooms from the pic you posted. Is it possible for you to send it via email?

yes- can you message me your email?

Thanks, Fiona. here it is - jay.sack.1978@gmail.com

Jay- Sent!