Is this your home? This plan was likely designed for a different region, typical mass wall construction in 3rd world countries. Undersized bedroom, double beds, etc, dual sinks. I would offer to help but is this the plan you are going with? It is an odd one

Yes, this is my home, and it is in the USA. A spaceplanner drew this. I had requested 2 back bedrooms for guests (and me potentially when I am older). The 2 sinks is for separating meat and milk for religious reasons (so just ignore that piece)

Just to add, I wish the house was bigger but it is what it is

A very odd layout indeed.

Do you need a full freezer and fridge unit?

Did you need ovens and a range oven?

Do you need a walk-in pantry or could you trade the ovens or freezer for a pantry unit?

That bathroom is VERY tight and currently doesn't meet IRC toilet clearance

Check windows for egress

crossing the hall for linens is a funny choice

Really no windows next to the dining room? or maybe thats an interior dividing wall.

Most of us design folk want to see an entire floor plan to understand needs/relationship/light etc. This plan brings up so many questions

Just added the full floor layout, also, here are answers to your questions,

Do you need a full freezer and fridge unit? right now I have a 28 inch fridge so i just need at least that

Did you need ovens and a range oven? i like a wall oven for convenience, the other can be a range in the counter and a dishwasher or something underneath

Do you need a walk-in pantry or could you trade the ovens or freezer for a pantry unit? good question, i don't need a walk in pantry

That bathroom is VERY tight and currently doesn't meet IRC toilet clearance - I'm ok with that part

Check windows for egress - what do you mean by this? the space planner didn't finish the detail of the plan so didn't finalize the windows

crossing the hall for linens is a funny choice - yes, that closet was just because there was extra space there

Really no windows next to the dining room? or maybe thats an interior dividing wall. - it's an attached house, so that wall is adjacent to the neighbors, dining room is in front of the steps, you can see on the full first floor layout that i just added into my original post.

thanks so much

I wonder if there is a way to put the bathroom between the bedrooms and shift where the entrances to the bedrooms are. I don’t really like the bathroom or bedrooms set up. The kitchen seems very separated from the dining and living and the dining table is gigantic considering the rest of the space

This is the space you have. It can be rearranged. The dining space can go where the living room is. The living room to where the kitchen/breakfast is. And that allows the kitchen where the dining space is.

I appreciate all the feedback and am thinking…but, assuming the layout was staying this way, can I also get fixes or comments on the 3 red items I mentioned? tysm

Thanks, can I also get comments on those red items assuming the layout stays basically the same? Here is a picture with the first floor including red items I mentioned in the original post...

How many people will live here? Do you entertain, host Shabbat, or have overnight guests often?

You listed two things? Concerns about bedrooms and chimney. ????

We are a large family and also do host overnight guests often. Yes, the concerns are about that wall piece in the kitchen, I feel like it's weird not to have the full row of cabinets and instead that side of the U has a wall. And also the chimney cutout which I was thinking could be fixed with a larger closet to block the chimney and then move the dinette table over so it is also in front of the steps and get rid of that walk in pantry (or just make it a smaller closet). The space planner feels that the table needs to be placed opposite the kitchen only, but I don't see an issue with it going into the area opposite the steps, wondering what other ppl thought.

Just for the sake of giving all the info, attached is the existing first floor layout, it's currently a 2 family that would be converted to a 1 and would get rid of one set of steps. I really like the side door entrance so want to keep those steps, and basement steps are in a really good place.

3onthetree, it looks like you’re responding to a few of my comments, so I’ll clarify what I meant.

I still think it’s an odd layout. Even with the additional context, I don’t think it’s a great use of the space, and there were a few decisions that struck me as questionable.

Regarding the bathroom, I said that the toilet clearance doesn’t meet code. I never said the bathroom size itself didn’t meet code.

When I asked about the dining wall having no windows, I wasn’t assuming anything. I was asking if there was a reason for it. At the time I posted which was within minutes of the OP, the OP hadn’t added the full floor plan, so I didn’t want to presume it was a row home since one couldnt tell if the dining wall was a dividing wall or an exterior wall...in fact, I couldn't tell that there was a dining room in the other room.

The kitchen configuration also raised some questions for me. A range paired with a full-height oven unit, plus a full-size freezer and refrigerator in a constrained home, seemed unusual. Because of that, the sink placement felt worth questioning. Why not just a range, and why not just a refrigerator in an already tight home...which begs the question, why two sinks...oh Kosher? okay no problem.

And my comment about the linen closet wasn’t about linen closets being in hallways. My point was that I wouldn’t want to cross the path of two bedroom doors just to access a closet on the other side of the hall.

The 12 people eating at your table don't have living room space on this floor. Do you intend to use the basement or a bedroom as a den?

3onthetree, thanks for the feedback, and thank you to everyone that is answering, the space planner didn't do a version where we keep the foyer stairs and add steps to the basement because I really like having a side door, we unload packages from the car there, and just generally prefer that entrance, also the steps that we would have to add to the basement would end up in the middle of an existing bedroom since the basement is already finished.

In terms of the wall in the kitchen that bothers me, Can you explain why it won't be noticable? Opposite that wall will be "kitchen", I tried looking online and just don't see pics of kitchens with walls in them, it also feels asymetrical to me. Should I cover it with cabinet covers so it looks like a kitchen? I was thinking of asking the space planner to make the kitchen a drop smaller so I can maybe have a 6 inch deep cabinet instead of a wall? i don't know.

In terms of the chimney, can you explain what you mean as a solution? it would be a deep closet opening opposite the island? Would it look like a kichen pantry door or a bedroom flat door?

If you move the hallway wall to remove a perceived jog, the kitchen gets smaller. Negates having an island in this configuration.

The Breakfast area was a passing thought because you like symmetry so much, the chase can have a false cabinet front, with a banquet table shown but it probably can still be freestanding.

Thank you so much 3onthetree, I really appreciate your taking the time to draw those changes! For the kitchen change, Can you tell me which version you recommend? Does it make sense to just leave the wall in the kitchen that I don't like and have a bigger kitchen and have an island?

Here's a sort of cabinet next to a flat piece of wall that I found with a quick search. IMO if deVol does it, it is great aesthetically (though they never have enough lower drawers!)

I personally have a kitchen with a piece of wall flush with a cabinet and it is just fine - I would not hesitate to design like this if it helped the function & flow. Try to overlook the mid-renovation state and age of the space if you are able.

Interesting Jule, my wall would meet at the front of the counter, so not quite like those pictures. I'm trying so hard to find a pic online but can't. Doesn't mean I shouldn't do it though.

Something like the changes you've described?

There's no closet in the top left bedroom; is that a problem where you are? I did correct the scale of the sectional that was shown and changed/moved the table to make room for a couple more chairs in the living area.

And here's an edited photo showing a kitchen with a wall next to a wall oven. The wall is a good display space for art, a family message center, interesting cutting boards, or anything else you might want to hang there.

SimplyNatural, I don't think I need such a big pantry, maybe just enough to block the chimney, should I open it to the kitchen or to the dinette area? I like the dinette table where you put it but the space planner said I can't have it opposite the steps, I guess I just have to push for that, idk. Thanks for the pic of a kitchen with a wall next to it, I'm getting used to the idea. Although, in my kitchen, the island would be next to the wall, not just the cabinets...

So you're thinking something like this?

If you can live with a small pantry, that certainly makes a more spacious breakfast area.

If the drawing is accurate, and unless there's some code requirement to the contrary in your area, I see no problem with placing the smaller table at the top of the stairs. The stairs end well before the table space. There is no danger of someone pushing a chair back too far and falling down the stairs.

Thank you SimplyNatural, what are those cloudlike structures in the 2 corners of the dinette, are those meant to be plants? Also, I noticed you put some blue lines on the drawing like in the kitchen on that wall I didn't like, and I see a blue line in the living room... any significance to those lines? Were those areas you were commenting on? Thanks again.

Yes, the irregular shapes are plants, and yes, I know there is no natural light there. Some plants will survive with grow lights.

And the blue lines are meant to indicate art.

Thanks. I've been thinking and I wish I could do the back of the first floor first and leave my tenants upstairs in place and do the back of the first floor. I probably need a new thread for advice on breaking up the construction. But, can ppl help me with the layout of the first floor to make the back main bedroom bigger and kitchen smaller but still make it look nice?

You need to make a decision. Larger Master or larger Kitchen, or a single bedroom. The existing has a larger Master, but that correlated to having the bathroom on the same side of the plan. That is why you had to move the Master wall over 8" to put the bathroom on the other side, and then had to shorten the Master to open up room for a larger Kitchen.

Kitchen as proposed is already detached from the Dining Room, and putting the Breakfast table in front of the stair is now too close visually and functionally to the Dining, when the Kitchen should be, not another table.

It seems to me your designer has done a decent enough first round being hamstringed with your requirements, I think overall its your requirements that need a bit more thought to arrive at a successful design.

My requirements were to keep 2 bedrooms in the back, that was it. And we use the side door a lot so to keep those stairs. I guess I don't see the issue with a dinette area too close to the dining room. True, I need to decide on smaller bedroom to have bigger kitchen or opposite. Thanks

Definitely this type of layout is common where I live (in Brooklyn, NY), some ppl do remove the back bedrooms and put a kitchen there, but for all those saying the kitchen is then far from the Dining Room, it then gets ever farther! I really need to see a layout with bigger bedrooms and a smaller kitchen and then will have to make a decision.

Well, if you say it's common in your neighborhood, I can't argue with that. I wouldn't call it common in NYC brownstones, but there may be more variety than I've encountered in person. 3onthetree, I owe you an apology, and here it is: Sorry I was an unjustified know-it-all.

(I've deleted my earlier comment because I was off-base.)

Np at all! Was just clarifying...

If anyone still has patience to figure out the layout with a smaller kitchen yet bigger master, please feel free.

To be clear, this entire floor plan can get redesigned correct? not just the back half?

Correct, but the stairs really needs to stay there because it is there already for the side door. And the reason for the large living room dining room (one big open room) is so that we can always add more tables for weekends when our married kids come over with their kids, we hope to eventually get to about 40 people in those cases, we would open folding tables, etc to fit all the kids and grandkids. There are multiple sit down meals so it's not like it can just be buffet and stand around... Thanks so much!