I would not put fire near a kids play area, even more so if the kids are very young or teenagers!

Do guests have to walk past this space?

The play/study room in our previous house was a self contained room with a door. I am a neat/organized person, but the kids sometimes had a mess of toys/legos on the floor and when they got older might be chatting with friends online while playing a game.

If guests stopped by, I could quickly close the door and they would be no wiser to the chaos behind the door.

The room also opened to the back patio, so it could be converted to many uses by any future buyers, such as family room, pool table room, exercise room, even guest suite as there was a full bathroom next to it.

@chrispa it won't be on when the kids are using it. Later on, the area will be used as a kitchen living room.

As discussed in your previous house post thread, the study next to a small dining room in the house that is as large as yours is planned to be is poorly located and not planned well. Adding a fireplace doesnt make it any better.

@WestCoast Hopeful not looking For opinions on room location. Looking for opinions only on the wall layout.

Thanks.

The wall layout is a bad idea. It cuts of an already narrow space.

For context, That area (hallway, dining, and study) is about 21' x 14.5'. the hallway is 4 feet wide.

Plan shows different measurements than what you just listed.

You asked often we see things thta also need attention. No FP in that space it seems odd to cut that with a wall at all

If you keep that wall and add an electric fireplace will suggest you open up the left side of the wall to allow passage from kitchen into the living space.

@Norwood Architects, the left side or right side? right side is a hallway leading to the kitchen. Are you saying leave the divider wall short of the exterior wall? And what about keeping the wall shorter than ceiling height vs taking it all the way to the 12 ft ceiling? Thanks

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6530218/revised-design-will-be-sent

Other thread that gives more context and concerns.

@Jennifer Hogan, excellent help. So it appears that we'd need 11 feet from the kitchen opening to the wall because the table can end at the opening to the kitchen and when used, the chair can utilize the space between the table and island. that seems doable.

Any thoughts on wall -- movable, ceiling height or shorter, touching/not touching outside wall?

Thanks!!

8 person table would be fine. 2 kids , young, both under 10. no other dining room but there is a breakfast table just south of the kitchen and a sitting area next to that breakfast area.

If you are dead set on having this space split into 2 spaces I would get a smaller table with leaves that can be stored when not in use and only extend when needed. The space between the island and the dining isn't a problem, but the length of the table with seating will extend into the hallway that leads to the kitchen. That is okay for 2 or 3 times a year when you host a big dinner party with 8 people, just not something you want to walk around every day.

I would divide with a narrow, removable room divider. Do you anticipate that the kids will want to watch TV in this space? If so you could get a room divider that holds the TV or may want something that the sofa can sit against so the tv can be mounted on the wall.

I would want to keep the room divider open so it isn't cutting the space as much and making both rooms look tiny. Probably something with a simple slat design.

This discussion feels so out of context if people saw the rest of the plan. What you have shared makes it seem like a relatively small plan but in reality I believe your home is over 5000 square feet ajd yet you are trying to cram a sitting area into a space that really should just be a dining room in a home this large

@WestCoast Hopeful - You are not wrong. I saw the previous post and never responded because it was so far from what I would consider an optimal house plan that I couldn't give constructive feedback. Tons of wasted space, poor flow . . .

But the OP is happy with the plan and is resistant to any changes and only wants to know how she can split this space into two spaces. So I answered her question. I also tried to show that the spaces would be tight and cramped, but she doesn't seem to want to see or can't visualize the space.

I often wish people would read Right-Sizing Your Home by Gale Steves, and take the time figure out their actual needs prior to having designs for a home created, but that takes more work than most people are willing to invest.

@Jennifer Hogan, the topographics and needs of the house prevent another layout. the plans were run by other artchitects as well. the challenge now is how to make this plan as best as it can be with the constraints that it has, nothwithstanding some people's desire to expand the inquiry. appreciate you responding to the question posed.

to be clear, I was referencing aligning the table along the outside wall. not perpendicular as depicted in the plan. it seems a clear 11 ft from the opening of the kitchen to the fireplace or slatted wall (as you suggested) might allow for this.

I rather not have a wall but am unsure how you have a dining area abutting a study/play area without some sort of division. can such a division be accomplished purely with furniture?

thanks!

@WestCoast Hopeful no disrespect, but you can feel free not to comment on my posts if you don't have constructive responses on the question posed and only the question posed. there's no need to harp back on issues not raised for you to be negative about. it's not your home. thanks for understanding.

I am not trying to be negative. I am trying to be realistic and safe you now, before it is too late. Before a shovel is jn the ground and building begins there is always opportunity to reassess, start over, make significant changes, reflect. That said if you really don’t want to pause and look at how to make it better I won’t comment further in this thread. It pains me you have fallen J to the trap of believing your hands are tied when really not a thing has been done yet. Good luck.

A lot of people designing houses, specially if they used a high priced architect firm, are (unsurprisingly) affected by Sunk Cost Fallacy. They truly feel like the only option is to continue on that one path.

@ ambarellis - I understand when there are topographical issues that limit the design, but after spending all this money building a home (5000 sf) there should be a way to have it function well.

Without changing the layout - could you possibly eliminate the dining room? I can't see the space dedicated to in kitchen dining, but studies show that the least used room in most homes with a formal dining room is the formal dining room. In general, it is wasted space.

There are some exceptions. There are always some exceptions.

Build a home that serves your needs, not some imaginary need that doesn't exist. Look at your current home and determine what works and what doesn't work. How much space do you really need, what activities do you actually do on a daily basis.

You mention that at some point your parents will probably come live with you, but give no reference to anticipated time frame. Your two children are young now (under 10), but at 18 they leave for college. Will parents living with you overlap the time when your kids move on or will they more likely happen sequentially? Could you use the space now as a play area and in a few years, when they are older and no longer need direct supervision convert it to a dining space?

My family is large. Parents had 6 kids who have gotten married and had kids of their own and at this point most of their kids have had kids and some have grandkids. Full family dinners, holiday dinners, may be attended by 40 people. No one has dedicated dining areas that will seat 40. Living room furniture is pushed against walls or moved into bedrooms and banquet tables are set up in the living rooms. But this is once or maybe twice a year and it is family. We make due.

To get the most from your home you have to look at how you live in the house every day and make sure it functions well for day to day living and can accommodate the changes that will occur over the next 10-20 years. (Kids will grow up and leave, parents will likely move in).

Try to eliminate long hallways - huge waste of space. Try to make each room right sized for how it will be used. Define how you will use each room and really think about what you really do in that room. Do you need a massive bedroom if you don't do much more than sleep in the room? Do you need a massive kitchen if you seldom cook? Do you need formal and informal living spaces? Do you need a separate space for your husband to sleep because he snores and disturbs your sleep? Do you need a shared closet or is one neat and one messy and sharing a closet will drive one of you crazy?

These are questions only you can answer and things only you can figure out. It is a time consuming exercise that will pay off in spades if done with care.

@Jennifer Hogan, appreciate the advice and questions. Definitely have gone through those questions and 100% agree that the dining will likely be a waste of space. We seldom use our dining area, but the problem is the market for larger, custom homes appears to expect a dining room. I have to consider selling the home at some point, even if that might be sooner than anticipated, because of a relocation of some sort. That said, I will ask a top realtor if my understanding is correct. Believe me, Id love to nix the entire dining room. Especially since there is a breakfast table just around that corner. I will post a picture so you can see.

@Jennifer Hogan, here is the area including kitchen and breakfast. Open to thoughts from folks on the kitchen appliance layout, appliance garage in the scullery, mudroom, etc. thanks!

@WestCoast Hopeful , appreciate your input. Just trying to keep the thread on topic and clear so folks can chime in on what would be most helpful to me at this juncture. Definitely not a perfect design but would like to make intuitive and optimize within the parameters of what we've got to work with at this point. Thanks for understanding!

My hope was to have a layout where the sink could be center on that outside wall and have the stove be on another wall or elswhere on the outside wall. However, it seems the stove might be best highlighted in the center. Open to thoughts on this kitchen layout.

Not perfect, but some things I would change and some ideas on what I would do with the kitchen.

@Jennifer Hogan, this is great. thank you so much! We will incorporate these ideas.