Need floorplan help

6 years ago

Hi All. Long story short, I have to scrap my architect-created plans due to a much too low bank appraisal. If you’re having déjà vu, Houzz ate my last post and I’m taking a different approach on this one. We want to drastically reduce square footage from the 3700sq ft of current plan. The architect is not available for at least two months and suggested I try to find a plan online as a starting basis. I’ve had no luck and am looking for help.

About us: 2 adults, 9yo daughter, 5yo son and 2 cats

Location: hilly 6 acre subdivision lot in Southern Indiana, the house would face roughly NE, walkout basement

Needs: 3 bedroom, 2 ½ bath, 2100 (HOA min)-2500 sq ft, 2-3 car attached side-entry garage

Basic wants: craftsman or cottage style, 1.5 story, 1st floor master, other bedrooms upstairs, screened porch, back deck, deep front porch, mudroom, small home office, walk-in pantry, makeup vanity in master bath, master walk-in closet, 36” induction cooktop, wall oven, farm sink, dining area (not whole room), living room, mudroom, laundry room, Susanka principles

Trickier wants:

Master bath and closet accessible to each other withOUT having to walk through length of one to get to the other (and without having to go back through the bedroom). Master closet attached to laundry room. Laundry room near mudroom/garage entrance. Would prefer not to walk through mudroom cubbies to get to laundry. Something like this:

Bonus tricky want:

I really love this mudroom, powder room, coat closet, front entry flow of our current plan. Powder room easily accessible to guests as well as from garage. Most of the mudroom cubbies out of direct sight of front door but also easily accessible from both garage and front door, as is the coat closet.

I would love links to existing plans as well as sketchy layout ideas.

Featured Answer

PRO

JudyG Designs

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

https://www.dfdhouseplans.com/plan/3419/

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Comments (10)

Trish Walter
6 years ago
if you want to get ideas go here and play around

https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/search
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Denita
6 years ago
@dalcolli I found your last post, here is the link https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5845413/can-t-build-dream-plans-need-big-help-reworking#n=13
dalcolli
Original Author
6 years ago
@Trish Walter I've been all over that site, but I haven't found the master/laundry flow I want and that's not a search term. The other problem is finding a plan withOUT the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms on the first floors as @JudyG Designs posted above.
dalcolli
Original Author
6 years ago
@Denita Thank you. That one will not load the main floor photo and will also not let me edit (page not found error) and I've deleted it about 5 times now, LOL.
cpartist
6 years ago
You will not find what you want in a pre-made plan. Most are bad. Some are awful and a few are good.

However as I mentioned in your other thread, you have a lot of "fat" and a lot of bad ideas in this plan.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
6 years ago
Can I have a nickel for each minute you spend looking for a floor plan that you think works for you??
Mrs Pete
6 years ago
We want to drastically reduce square footage from the 3700sq ft of current plan.

Altering the 3700 sf plan doesn't sound realistic. You're talking about reducing approximately 1/3 of the plan. Starting from scratch (again) sounds much more feasible. I think you can have the things you want in a smaller house (and 2100-2500 isn't a small house), IF you give up the oversized items ... for example, an 18' master closet is excessive, and you have loads of space dedicated to nothing but hallways. What you want is totally possible, but "you can't get there from here".

Your original plan has some very nice features; for example, great circulation between the master closet and the laundry ... but the laundry is right "up against" the head of your bed, and the master bath door is right by one sleeper's head. It's a plan of highs-and-lows.
GRAIN Design-Build
6 years ago
The flow from mudroom to laundry feels awkward, and why not take advantage of plumbing stack and flank laundry room and bath? Also, a door from the kitchen into the bedroom? A lot of smells going into a lot of linens imo. Pay for a proper architect, you're going to have to live there for a while and it's an investment.
PRO
JCA Design Group
6 years ago
It's very difficult to find the right person/firm to realize your dream home. Moving forward, it is a much better idea to start from scratch, work with an architect that knows your top end budget, and will work closely with you throughout the design process to ensure everything meets with your approval. Anyone that gives you a flat fee and says "ok, I'll have it ready in a month" is not the person you should be working with.

Finding a floor plan online sounds like a great idea, but in reality it's one of the worst things you could do. No one mass distributing floor plans online knows you, your tastes, your likes/dislikes, etc. They are designed to sell, nothing more. This is your home and you deserve to have someone on your team that takes the time to understand who you are and what you want.

For example, the very first thing we do is sit down and talk with our clients for a few hours. We discuss everything from top to bottom and get a real sense of who they are. From there we discuss the hurdles that may occur based on the information given to us, and then we design accordingly, but in conjunction with our client at every stage.

Choosing an architect is choosing an artist. Imagine lining up 10 different painters and asking each to paint your portrait. They may all be very skilled, but I can guarantee you that each will provide a very different end result. You need to find the artist that fits with you.