Calling all Charlie Luxton wannabes (or the real deal)

[Ferdinand]

A good test for a comfortable bedroom is to check that there is space for a double bed, desk + desk chair, small chest of drawers (eg in bedside table), and wardrobe. They prefer an easy chair as well.

 

That is what my lettings' agent requires for each room in a student or professional HMO, before they will take it on.

[TonyT]

So that excludes pretty much of the major house builders and the bedrooms they throw up

[Ferdinand]

9 minutes ago, TonyT said:

So that excludes pretty much of the major house builders and the bedrooms they throw up

 

Some of them - yes. There is quite a market for eg 3 bed 3 bath professional rentals and similar.

 

I have a now current T who asked me to find a house for them as they needed 3 double bedrooms due to a blended family etc. If you reflect, that rules out a large majority of even big 1930s 3 bed semis as they are always 2 decent doubles and a say 7x11 single. I said to them to find a house at a suitable price and I would buy it to rent to them, and they could buy it later when they could afford. It took them 2 years to find one that was suitable.

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[AliG]

I think you have done really well here.

 

As a few people have said, reversing the stairs and having a double height space at the he front of the upstairs hall would be nice.

 

The plant room at the front of the house is one to watch. The window style you have chosen lends itself to a Georgian style. I would expect some symmetry and this would spoil it on the left hand side. The other thing to be careful of which I have seen on a few houses is putting a utility area like that at the front can lead to having lots of pipes, vents, meters etc on the visible elevation of your house which should be avoided, I would try to make sure they end up round the side.

 

Opening things up though -

 

Can you just clarify is the site 55m long and 22m wide?

 

I think if the front of the plot is south then I would call that north facing just to avoid confusion. People normally refer to the way the main back garden faces.

 

However, in my street the houses on the other side of the street where the plots are like this are often pushed right back in the plot and have their main garden in front of the house, is this something that would work on the plot or you would be interested in?

 

With the space you have, you have a lot of room to play with the orientation of the house, for example making it L-shaped could allow you to have west facing windows for afternoon light. I really don't think having your main living space and windows facing north is the best idea even tough the actual room layout is fine in itself. This is where an architect can really help.

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by AliG

[PeterW]

I’d move the cylinder downstairs into the MVHR room and free up the storage space. 
 

main en-suite  is an odd layout / size and pipework will be fun as it is over an open space below. 
 

upstairs circulation space is pretty big - could lose some of it into a nice seating area if there are any views ..?

[mtnash]

6 minutes ago, AliG said:

The plant room at the front of the house is one to watch. The window style you have chosen lends itself to a Georgian style. I would expect some symmetry and this would spoil it on the left hand side. The other thing to be careful of which I have seen on a few houses is putting a utility area like that at the front can lead to having lots of pipes, vents, meters etc on the visible elevation of your house which should be avoided, I would try to make sure they end up round the side.

 

Opening things up though -

 

Can you just clarify is the site 55m long and 22m wide?

 

I think if the front of the plot is south then I would call that north facing just to avoid confusion. People normally refer to the way the main back garden faces.

 

However, in my street the houses on the other side of the street where the plots are like this are often pushed right back in the plot and have their main garden in front of the house, is this something that would work on the plot or you would be interested in?

 

With the space you have, you have a lot of room to play with the orientation of the house, for example making it L-shaped could allow you to have west facing windows for afternoon light. I really don't think having your main living space and windows facing north is the best idea even tough the actual room layout is fine in itself. This is where an architect can really help.

 

 

 

 

Yes, I know what you mean about the symmetry. I was thinking the same but just couldn't make it work. I was even thinking about some sort of recess (just 30mm or so) where the window would be, almost like the window space had been filled in but you could still see the outline. I'm pretty sure I've seen similar before.

 

Yes, the plot is longer than it is wide and yes, the back garden faces North. As such I guess it is a North facing plot. There is also a couple of large trees at the front of the plot so not a vast amount of light there either.

 

Yes, true, there is quite a bit of space either way so definitely gives options.

[mtnash]

10 minutes ago, PeterW said:

I’d move the cylinder downstairs into the MVHR room and free up the storage space. 
 

main en-suite  is an odd layout / size and pipework will be fun as it is over an open space below. 
 

upstairs circulation space is pretty big - could lose some of it into a nice seating area if there are any views ..?

 

I had the cylinder downstairs initially in the "plant room" but, showing my total lack of knowledge here, moved it upstairs as that's where you most often find them. But if it can be downstairs then would make more sense.

 

I really struggled with layouts of both the master ensuite and main bathrooms, clearly not my thing. I can see how the bathroom being over an open space might cause issues too. Maybe a rethink is in order there.

[TonyT]

If toilets and kitchens can be above each other or in line so pipework can be run between joists, that may help with drainage issues?

 

[NickK]

@mtnash What software did you make your plans, if you don't mind me asking?

 

 

@AliGI fully agree that north facing plots are not the best but sometimes there is simply no other way especially if you like to keep the garden reasonably private. Also, if you like to have some decent sized glazing from living areas, you are less likely to deal with over heating in summer and losing heat in winter can be sorted through good spec glass?? 

[mtnash]

18 minutes ago, NickK said:

@mtnash What software did you make your plans, if you don't mind me asking?

 

 

@AliG

 

https://floorplancreator.net I've used both the web and Android versions. Obviously they're not meant for full plans but they're straight forward to use and suit my needs.