bedroom addition

last month

Hello, we are building an addition on our house that will be our master bedroom. I'm looking for advice on

a) the dimensions of the room for function and aesthetics
b) number and placement of windows
c) placement and size of closet

d) placement of bed

Our constraints are that we are connecting this to another room and the door only has one possible location. We are building around a chimney so there will also be an immovable floor to ceiling boxed in chimney in the new room.

We can choose any size room and assume that our dimensions will be somewhere between 13-15 by 16-18, per our budget and how it will look next to the current room. The new room to be built is on the left, and the room we are connecting it to (a family room) is on the right.

We are in New England and want to maximize South and East light. We would like one window on the bottom wall of the picture for our great sunsets.

I have read that putting our closet on an exterior wall is a bad idea in New England. It is very cold here and we have some moisture issues in the house at times. We would like a reach in closet as we don't really have enough room for a good sized walk in. I have been looking at closet systems and assume that for my husband and myself, we could make do with a 6 - 6.5 ft closet if we do double bars, as he has an additional dresser.

Things we need to fit in are a desk and dresser, both in the pictures.

How does this version look and is there anything you would change? We could slide the closet against the top wall and have a gap between the closet and chimney instead of closet and wall.

We need to have about 4-5 feet of 24" high radiator panel on the top wall of the room, so that kind of rules out putting the bed there...

I have doors swinging on the closet because I hate bifold and sliding, and am thinking about french doors.

Featured Answer

PRO

Mark Bischak, Architect

last month

In a remodeling or addition to an existing home there are so many constraints and existing conditions that you do not mention that is in your best interest to engage a local architect that can identify all the existing conditions that will effect the design of the proposed addition..

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Comments (10)

PRO
Minardi
last month
last modified: last month
Where is the bathroom? A master suite has to have a bathroom. And if that is a public room that you are connecting to, you really need a short hallway or some indirect way to buffer between the master and the public room.

There are just too many unknows here. A 3-400K project needs design boots on the ground there, to do as As Built, to even start the process.
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Abigail Howard
Original Author
last month
last modified: last month
Thank you, this project is going to be roughly $70k. We are adding this bedroom so that we can make our current bedroom - the size of a large office - into a laundry room, which we have been sorely lacking. We will not be having a master bathroom but will use the downstairs bedroom in the house. It is not feasible for us to get water to the new addition.

We will use the bottom of the current room (on right) as a hallway to get from the kitchen, throuigh family room to new bedroom.
dan1888
last month
I think you need to post a larger floorplan including all your changes.
PRO
Rainbow Colors
last month
last modified: last month
70K? In 70, maybe. But it's a waste of money and effort. No one wants to stumble all the way downstairs in the middle of the night, and chamber pots are just gross.

The value of someone on site is that they can probably find a better solution than you can dream of. One that doesn't involve a chamber pot.
Abigail Howard
Original Author
last month
last modified: last month
Sorry, did not explain correctly, this room is on the first floor as well as having a first floor bathroom.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
last month
What spaces will you have to walk through to get from the proposed bedroom to the bathroom?

How long of a journey will it be from bedroom door to bathroom door?
blubird
last month
Is someone really going to be in the bedroom at sunset time for the great view?
Valinta
last month
What size bed?
dani_m08
last month
I would rather have a small bathroom or a larger closet vs. the desk area.

You could use IKEA Pax units to make functional built in wall closets. All of the below closets have been built using IKEA Pax as the base unit:

You could also build a large closet along the NW wall like in the photo below- and either move that window - or leave a space for it. You could also have a built in desk under the window in the middle of the built-in closet.

If you build it where you currently have it located - it seems like a small space. However, if that's where you want it, you could add doors to cover the fireplace bump out in order to make it look like it's part of the closet. Also, I would move the chest to another area in order to use that space as part of the new closet.