Critique my floorplan please

[Square Feet]

I think I'm probably at the stage now where drawing it up a bit more precisely would help as the few mm of discrepancy will add up when repeated enough.

Many thanks for all your help with this so far.

[garrymartin]

8 minutes ago, Square Feet said:

The view to the south:

I bet I'm not the only one that thought of Windows XP 😉🤣

 

[ETC]

On 02/10/2026 at 12:37, Square Feet said:

I'd love your input @ETC if you are still around.....

Sure….happy to take a look…..will get back to you next week….

[ETC]

A few sketch designs I completed a few years ago.

[Mike]

7 hours ago, Square Feet said:

Thanks for going to the trouble to redraw this Mike. I'ts perhaps a bit confusing but north is at the bottom in my drawings so that would mean the kitchen was in the best south facing bit of the house and the dining room in the cold dark north. Having the dining table near the fabulous view is really important I think. 

A good view is a big asset, but so is space - so how many hours per day will you be sitting down to eat in the dining room (during daylight), vs how many hours will be spent in the kitchen? And if you turn the worktop extension I proposed into a breakfast bar, you would see the view through the kitchen window too. Tip: make the bottom of the kitchen window flush with the worktop, and site the cooker & sink to one side, so that there's minimal interruption to the view.

 

Also bearing in mind that anyone in the dining room on the wrong side of the table doesn't get to see the view, and in summer you might be eating outside, rather than inside

 

Of course if 'dining room' actually means 'office', then keeping the view on the dining room side is easily justified!

 

Edited yesterday at 20:07 by Mike

[Square Feet]

16 hours ago, Mike said:

A good view is a big asset, but so is space - so how many hours per day will you be sitting down to eat in the dining room (during daylight), vs how many hours will be spent in the kitchen? And if you turn the worktop extension I proposed into a breakfast bar, you would see the view through the kitchen window too. Tip: make the bottom of the kitchen window flush with the worktop, and site the cooker & sink to one side, so that there's minimal interruption to the view.

 

Also bearing in mind that anyone in the dining room on the wrong side of the table doesn't get to see the view, and in summer you might be eating outside, rather than inside

 

Of course if 'dining room' actually means 'office', then keeping the view on the dining room side is easily justified!

 

It's a good idea that I can see the merits of, but I love my dining table and sitting around it with friends. I enjoy cooking but I don't go to town on it - the kitchen isn't a big part of my life. I'm going to dig my heels in and say that I really want the dining and kitchen round the way they are, but I really appreciate the opportunity to fully think that through.

[Square Feet]

I should maybe say that I work as a delivery driver so I don't need WFH or client visit space. I do use my computer quite a lot though, I think it's just a tool that we all need in modern life and I do love being able to do things on my desktop so that I can properly see what I'm doing. I probably spend too much time on it atm, so I don't want it in my main living space where it might tempt me to use it more.

[-rick-]

One question: What restrictions are you working under with the overall size of the design. Obviously cost, but in terms of planning/site?

 

I'm thinking whether it would be possible to add length or width (or trade one against the other) if it made the overall layout easier? I could see a wider but shorter layout possibly solving some of the trade offs we have talked about for example.

[Square Feet]

57 minutes ago, -rick- said:

One question: What restrictions are you working under with the overall size of the design. Obviously cost, but in terms of planning/site?

 

I'm thinking whether it would be possible to add length or width (or trade one against the other) if it made the overall layout easier? I could see a wider but shorter layout possibly solving some of the trade offs we have talked about for example.

It's purely financial - money's too tight to mention. I won't have much money on a day-to-day basis at the end of this either, so keeping it small and manageable will help. There's always compromises to be made. 

[Square Feet]

I'm still working on this, but here's the latest iteration.

 

[-rick-]

21 minutes ago, Square Feet said:

It's purely financial - money's too tight to mention. I won't have much money on a day-to-day basis at the end of this either, so keeping it small and manageable will help. There's always compromises to be made. 

 

You might consider whether the lean to part adds more cost than it's worth vs a slight larger main building. Yes you plan lower insulation etc, not part of the main space but I'm not sure that is a saving (more likely a cost due to extra complexity/junctions). Could still have covered porch area but remove the need for proper foundations.

 

Are the eco insulation products part of a concept to get planning? If not, they are generally a more expensive way to build for relatively limited environmental benefit. Choosing the low impact but more standard options might save money without a big environmental impact (especially if that then allows you to use the money elsewhere for other low impact things).

 

Keeping to dimensions that allow standard off-the-shelf construction materials likely is a benefit, though I'd guess Gus has already talked about that. But that leans towards longer but narrower vs wider but shorter in trade offs.

[JohnMo]

Initial thoughts, it looks good. Internal wall are most likely going to be 100mm thick, may have been answered already. Can you make the lean too more flat roof to help with head heights? Or start it further up the roof? Or get rid of it altogether? Use the the space used by the angled wall in the living space, and over sail the roof more for a covered area?

 

But not liking that angled wall, it kills your living space and gives nothing much outside either.

 

 

[-rick-]

5 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

But not liking that angled wall, it kills your living space and gives nothing much outside either.

 

Tend to agree. Didn't really stand out to me first go round but noticed on the most recent version. Keeping the wall straight but with the roof/walls overlapping the outside (as shown in many of @ETC's previous designs would seem nicer and less complex/expensive to build. Might get your covered area automatically if doing a space frame construction. It's just another unit or two in length.

 

@Square Feet by space frame do you mean the i-joist/beam type that one or two others here have done? Could see that being a good way to go if doing a lot yourself and likely doesn't need that kitchen wall/divider to extend so far as no roof supports needed.