My new house plans

[James Mac]

Hi all, 

 

First time poster here but looking for feedback on plans for our new house. I don't think we have much choice in exterior changes due to planning regulations but the interior is up for debate. ?

The couple of things we were looking at were: 
1. Making the kitchen area larger by taking from the Hallway space. 

2. Looking at adding an ensuite to the first floor to ensure there are enough ensuites for the number of kids.

 

Concerns are the sloping roof at the front of the house for the two bedrooms. Can we reconfigure this space with this in mind? 

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

 

[Thorfun]

welcome! sorry but I can't comment on your plans to offer the advice you seek but it looks like a great build. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to reading about it on here.

[Gav_P]

That’s a cosy little pad... I’d probably add another bedroom! 

[Gav_P]

I love the look of the front elevation... not so keen on the other 3 sides though.

 

What’s the position in relation to the plot? I.e. if you are out in the garden what elevation do you look back at? 

 

Which way is north?
 

[PeterW]

I’d just make the B1/B2 en-suite into a Jack and Jill and make it a touch wider - sink next to the loo,  shower in the alcove and doors opposite each other. 
 

Lots of wasted space in the main bathroom - skim it down and use the space in the B4 dressing / en-suite. 
 

Don’t like that you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the utility and it’s the only way to the outside at the back. Flip the stairs and look at how you can get the downstairs loo under the stairs - there is a window there already as the architect can’t draw as currently you’ve got a square window (right of the rear utility extension) smack bang in line with the first landing of the stairs....

I’d flip the kitchen to the dining end, would work better with the layout. Dining then is lined up with the lounge area assuming they are open plan ..?

 

 

 

[Mr Punter]

Why on earth is there a step down into the living room?  Can it be accessed from the hallway or just via the kitchen?

 

There is a lot of corridor space.  The utility room seems to be a feature for some reason.  If you lose the utility and move the stairs centrally your upper landing would be more central.

 

I quite like the front, but nothing is saying wow.

[Dave Jones]

hallways look massively wide lot of wasted space.

bed 4 is mostly corridor don't like that

assume your garden is at the rear (opposite side to front door) in which case is want living room on side side.

id get rid of the pointless diagonal in lounge making the already massive hallway more massive and put pair of doors into it.

not seeing any storage/cupboards anywhere.

are you limited in height ? Bungalow style windows in roof dont do it for me, especially how they look like nailed on boxes on your plans. Much maintenance for them.

 

 

 

assume you are north of Hadrian's hence the god awful render.

 

[Ferdinand]

Does "House Type D" mean that it is a manufacturer design?

 

If I'm honest, I'm only 60-70% keen - I think. It does not look (to me) to be very special yet. 

 

But I need context before I can elucidate: where are the road, wind, views, shelter, sun track, overlooking, big trees etc. ie a plot, a N compass, location plan and what is the relationship to the garden. 

[the_r_sole]

45 degree walls make me cry ? 

[PeterW]

2 minutes ago, the_r_sole said:

45 degree walls make me cry ? 

I’ll see if I can find the curved wall photo I took ... 4ft radius curve on the outside and a 45 degree wall on the inside ..! Was enough space between the skins to stand in and they did nothing with it ..!!

[James Mac]

We’ve managed to get a hold of some better drawings and made some changes to them. Changes listed below but I’ve attached some pictures (don’t have good CAD software or original drawings so forgive the crude edits!)

 

• Jack and Jill Ensuite for bedroom 1 and bedroom, taking some space from bedroom 2 to make ensuite bigger

Proposed Master bedroom: 

1. Master bedroom becomes the back bedroom (old bedroom 4)
2. Vaulted ceiling 
3. Current dressing room and ensuite made into one and squaring it off by moving the door of the bedroom to end of the hall (removing the ensuite from from front room to take new door entry)
4. Main bathroom becomes large ensuite with access through the walk in wardrobe
5. May move the Walking wardrobe wall over a bit to allow for bathroom and linen room space
6. Also looking to have door to hall (for kids to access bath if required)

 

New linen room: 

1. Original bathroom to be decreased to incorporate a linen room at top of stairs. 
2. Possible laundry shoot to utility
3. Stairs flipped to all for door to linen room at top of stairs.

bedroom 3 - will be office but would like a single bed in there for extra guest if required

• Old Master bedroom - Daughters new room

1. Very puzzled here, Removed the original ensuite
2. Place new ensuite in where WW was, then run wardrobes all along that full wall (future thinking girls need a lot of clothes storage) 
3. (the remainder of unused space from www goes as storage for bedroom 3 (office)
4. Considering making the ensuite space smaller to make bedroom 3 bigger and resulting in the bedroom being a bit bigger too?

Opinions are greatly appreciated. And took a stab at answering questions below. 

 

 

Q: What’s the position in relation to the plot? I.e. if you are out in the garden what elevation do you look back at? 

Which way is north?

A: House faces due west.

 

Q: I’d just make the B1/B2 en-suite into a Jack and Jill and make it a touch wider - sink next to the loo,  shower in the alcove and doors opposite each other. 

A: 100%

 

Q: Lots of wasted space in the main bathroom - skim it down and use the space in the B4 dressing / en-suite. 

A: Based on this we’ve reconfigured the walls. See below

 

Q: Don’t like that you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the utility and it’s the only way to the outside at the back. Flip the stairs and look at how you can get the downstairs loo under the stairs - there is a window there already as the architect can’t draw as currently you’ve got a square window (right of the rear utility extension) smack bang in line with the first landing of the stairs....

A: Not sure what to do about utility. Flipping the stairs makes sense. There is an option of full length window to take in the east morning sun on the stairs.

 

Q: I’d flip the kitchen to the dining end, would work better with the layout. Dining then is lined up with the lounge area assuming they are open plan ..?

 

A: See updated drawing. I was keen to take space from the hallway so threw in another diagnol and placed an Island lengthways in the kitchen. Now sure if this is optimal use of the new space from the hallway but it avoids the boxed-in kitchen we wanted to avoid.

 

Q: Why on earth is there a step down into the living room?  Can it be accessed from the hallway or just via the kitchen?

A: I’m with you on that step. Its the first thing to go

 

Q: hallways look massively wide lot of wasted space.

bed 4 is mostly corridor don't like that

assume your garden is at the rear (opposite side to front door) in which case is want living room on side side.

are you limited in height ? Bungalow style windows in roof dont do it for me, especially how they look like nailed on boxes on your plans. Much maintenance for them.

A: Shrunk downstairs hallway. Bed 4 I agree, needs to change. Garden is to the rear and side, see pic. Can't change the height on the outside I'm afraid. 

 

Q: assume you are north of Hadrian's hence the god awful render.

A: Few hundred kilometres west of Anglesey

 

Q: Does "House Type D" mean that it is a manufacturer design?

A: Development with a number of houses on large (ish) sites.  

 

Q: But I need context before I can elucidate: where are the road, wind, views, shelter, sun track, overlooking, big trees etc. ie a plot, a N compass, location plan and what is the relationship to the garden. 

A: End house in the estate. West facing. Views are limited by houses on the road but sea view from from large bedroom. I’ve included a pic of the house as it sits in the plot etc.   

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by James Mac
adding vaulted ceiling in master bedroom

[oldkettle]

2 hours ago, James Mac said:

West facing.

 

You have the same plot orientation as we do. Would it make sense to make the house deeper and less wide to get some more light from the South? Does the house to the South of you has such orientation (it's partially visible on your picture)? 

[Ferdinand]

Lots more info.

 

Grrrreattt.

 

[AliG]

I think some of the comments are pretty harsh. I rather like the house compared to some of the absolute shockers I have seen on here.

 

On the outside the thing that doesn't sit well is the unequal roof pitches from the sides, but if that cannot be changed I could live with it. I personally like the front elevation.

 

Assuming we are commenting on the second set of drawings.

 

1. I always make this point, but I would do away with the vestibule/porch. It is too small a space to be useful and the hall will feel much more open without it.

 

2. Is there a cupboard under the stairs, otherwise there is no storage downstairs other than the utility room?

 

3. I am not a fan of the 45 degree wall in the hall. I know there are some comments about making the hall smaller to get larger rooms, but in fact this can often make a house feel smaller. It is hard to change that wall and keep the island, maybe if you pushed it 2-300m back to the end of the stairs so that the width of the hall doesn't change so much.

 

4. I would work to make sure that you like the kitchen design that fits into that space. The current position of the island means that if you put the hob on it you will be facing no mans land whilst cooking. I would think about spinning the island round to face the table and windows.

 

5. The window arrangement around the dining table will be expensive. Also the sliding doors will be hard to get to.

 

6. Upstairs you have now got a very long and narrow corridor. The master en suite is also now quite narrow.

 

7. Move the doors to bedroom 1 and 2 500mm towards the stairs to that the open against the wall. Now you can make the en suite 500mm wider and reduce the length of the hall by 500mm. Currently the little spaces behind the doors are wasted. I would consider putting a fitted wardrobe in the rooms opposite the beds.

 

8. Move the linen cupboard end wall back in line with the top of the stairs and put the door facing bedroom 3 creating a wider centre to the hall.

 

9. I would be tempted to make the bathroom and dressing room a little smaller also so that the hall is 1.2m wide.

 

10. I would probably steel 200mm off the width of the master bedroom and add it to the width of the ensuite. You are likely to need a bulkhead in there for pipework and it is quite narrow already.

 

11. Maybe make the dressing room walk in as the door will get in the way on a small room like that.

 

12. An alternative plan is - Make bed 4 the master bedroom, by taking the dressing room window into the bedroom. A dressing room doesn't need a window. Then you have a bigger room, bigger dressing room and much bigger en suite. The hall will also be shorter. Then you can make the current master smaller and take the space where the storage and en suite are drawn and have two en suites and probably room for a wardrobe too as the bedroom could be quite a bit smaller now. Then you don't need a family bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ferdinand]

I much prefer the second plan.

 

My comments at present:

 

1 - I don't like Jack and Jill bathrooms between 2 bedrooms, so I would turn it back into 2 ensuites ?.

 

2 - The downstairs bathroom - I would make that a little larger, with a shower in it (which you have lost?), and I would put in a door to the study so that it feels like an ensuite when a guest is staying, and they don't need to walk through your hall in their kecks.

 

In the office consider a proper convertible settee rather than a bed. I mean a fold out 2 seater with a metal frame, or perhaps a real 2m settee - as an example I have a Guy Rogers Manhattan 1960s settee which gives a full size double bed.

 

3 -  I quite like the angled corridor - adds imo more of a sense of occasion.

 

4 - I think that you have done a good job to simplify some of the  complicated bits in the walls - that would  have been expensive to build.

 

5 - I think that the sticky-outy utility room is a little bizarre, but I can't see a resolution without either shuffling space around between rooms or changing the floorplan (eg by squaring off the bottom right corner and altering the living space plan).

 

6 - I think you want to give some slow thought to how you will live between the house and garden, use cases etc. eg  Where will eat outside / BBQ / sit in the sun / kids play / grow veggies / grow your roses or whatever if you do / sunbathe / throw balls for the doglet / sit in the rain / eat breakfast lunch tea / have a party / put the washing line /  have the shed. 

 

7 - Do you need somewhere for a gym type space?

 

8 - For outside I would perhaps consider an arcade (ie with a roof) along the S end of the house - a walkway where the dining table is, opening out to an undercover eating / sitting space outside the sitting area. And think about the patio doors. Reasons are to tie the house down in the garden, and to give you some sun control on your S-facing windows if the house is a decent specification. I'm planning something like that with my solar panels on top.

 

9  - I think there is probably merit in shifting it 1-3m North to give you a little more S-facing grounds.

 

10 - Is the Dressing Room too large?

 

11 - Provision for a lift, in case you stay there so long that it becomes your "decline and die in" house?

 

Ferdinand

 

[James Mac]

Finalising designs! Its been a long road but we are getting closer to signing off on the final designs. 

Here are the updated designs. There are a couple of errors and changes we want to be made but the final layout is more or less right. Coordinating this stuff over zoom calls is a real PITA. 

[AliG]

Just a few things.

 

I still think you need a cupboard in the downstairs hall. You could put one in the space behind the sitting room door with a door on the diagonal wall in the hall.

 

I would probably put the hot water tank in the utility room, there is lots of space and have the space under the stairs for storage, also your consumer unit, manifolds etc.

 

The bed 3 ensuite is going to need a waste pipe coming down the corner in the kitchen below it. I'd put the toilet against the outside wall.

 

The layout as drawn of the jack and jill ensuite with the toilet across the door is poor. I'd probably put the toilet and WC against the outside wall, the doors at the other end of the en suite and the sink between the doors.

 

The width of the upstairs hall works, but the bathroom and dressing room are large. I would widen the hall by a couple of hundred mm and take it from the bathroom, dressing room and entrance to bed 1