Mrs CFS Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Hello Everyone, This is my first post after lots of browsing & I would really appreciate your help. We have our final designs from our architect and are ready to submit for planning permission. However just before we click go I wanted to see if anyone would be kind enough to share their thoughts. Is there anything I’m missing, a room you wish you’d included in your own build or any learning tips? Just some background: our plot is a knock down rebuild and we are between two bungalows so are a little limited, however both neighbours are onboard with our outer designs. This does limit our overall height and upstairs space but I’m hoping we’ve maximized this to it's full potential. We have two younge boys (3yr & a 9mo) and family that live relatively far away so come to visit requently (hence the extra en-suite). The familyroom/dining room is c.11x5m.. our architect wanted to split this room & go down some small steps into the family room given the room is rather large, but we decided against this for safety reasons with our two children. However I am now concerned if the back of the house is ‘too open plan’ and if there is anything I need to consider? Maybe some interior design tips for this would also be amazing! Thank you so much in advance Floorplan.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Looks good, similar layout downstairs to my last house and we more or less lived in the kitchen/dining/family room but was good to have a formal lounge that was always tidy for visitors! handy too to have the playroom for all the toys and a downstairs loo for potty training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Architects always want to split big rooms and put steps in too....ours wanted to do that and I said no. Stick to your guns. I am not sure the study accessed via the formal sitting room works for me. Do you need a plant room for all the stuff that you need to house boilers, hw tanks etc even if you are not having mvhr etc (I def would not house that in the loft)....... looks like an airing cupboard on the first floor? For me I would have a boot room/plant room ...maybe off the utility room and relocate the study and I would also bring the kitchen out a bit its tucked away as it is, I would make it a bit more of a focal point. Ask 10 people get 10 different opinions LOL your house and you know how you will live in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Looks nice, and massive floor area. No real comment, but i would scrub your boys name (and maybe boy's bathroom) from the drawings, just call Bed 1 and Bed 2 for data protection as these drawings and names will be on public display (like now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 The only change I would make is lose the upstairs airing cupboard and instead put the HW tank in the plant room. It will be just about as close to the bathrooms and kitchen there, and will enable the 2 boys bedrooms to be about the same size, thus avoiding arguments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 The master bed looks a bit small and I don't like the en-suite through the dressing room. Did you think about having the master at the front, beds 2 and 3 at the back and perhaps doing away with the guest suite - a sofa bed downstairs maybe? Not if you are selling on though as the current setup will be worth more In the family bathroom a double sink is handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliG Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 This is one of the best designs that I have seen posted on here with very few issues. Most issues are interior layout which is not a planning issue. The only exterior/planning issue. I would consider swapping the WC and the hall cupboard around so the WC can be larger and have a small window to the side. It also looks like the stairs will encroach on the head height where it currently is. Seems a shame in such a nice spacious house to have a compromised WC, a room which many visitors will use over time. If you are planning a gas or solid fuel fire it is not going to be easy to get a flue/chimney out from the current position. The longer it is the more expensive it is and you could also need unsightly inspection hatches. The kitchen layout may not be finalised, but I wouldn't want the freezer in the utility room and I would consider putting the hob on the island so that if you are cooking you are looking into the room not at the wall. I would consider accessing the playroom off the hall as you already have a very large open space there, but it depends how you want to use the space and the age of your sons. Making it easier to close it off may be better as they get older. I think the master en suite could be better arranged, unless there is a view out of the window the bath might be better on one of the sides. At the moment the entrance between the sink and shower is a little tight at only around 70cm. But the interior arrangement does not affect planning. It seems a shame to have an ensuite reserved for occasional guests and not your own family, I would give one child the en suite and the other child has sole use of the bathroom, so everyone has their own space. Neither having an en suite might be fairer, but I would guess they would prefer having their own spaces. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Other than the feeling that the study off the drawing room looks a bit odd (such as i have how it would look pictured in my head) i think it looks fine. Probably the only thing I would think about adjusting is extending the upstairs in line with either Arthur or William's bedrooms on one side, so you can play around with the dividing wall between their rooms and give them a touch more space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Looks nice - I'd echo the comments from others though. Move the downstairs toilet to opposite side where hall cupboard is, and put a coat cupboard under the stairs. Hot tank upstairs could come downstairs too. I see your architect has drawn a beautiful open corner on the family room with double sliders etc .... Before you commit to this, just get a structural engineer to have a look at that design as I think you will be in for a fright. The dotted line between dining and family room already shows where there will have to be steel, but with such a huge opening - 4m x 4m...?? - the cantilevered steels to support the corner of the roof will be significant, the remaining roof steel and other components, notwithstanding the £10-15k for the windows alone, will be significant. Consider a brick, steel or other column now, and you will save a lot of heartache when the numbers come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) A fine design. My comments: 1 - I agree with - hob on island, perhaps bring kitchen out a little, downstairs loo is not generus enough for the house, and equalising the boys' bedrooms. Personally I think a freezer is fine in a utility. 2 - Is that downstairs loo accessible (1.5m turning circle)? I think that is a requirement so it should be covered. I would probably nick a little from the dining room to make it a fully accessible shower room,for disabled or frail guests. I would also make sure there is a suitable sleeping space downstairs for such visitors. Under accessibility, I think you also need provision for access upstairs, even if not fitted eg stairlift - is this covered? 3 - Personally I think the study would work as a study, and taking visitors through a large formal lounge is suitably intimidating! Perhaps a peep window in the side of the porch so you can see who is visiting without leaving the study. 4 - Light. A little concerned that the dining area, and the hall, are not light enough. I would want at least one skylight in the hall, and consider more generous skylight provision in those areas adjacent to the dining area, particularly toward the centre of the house. 5 - I would make the doors from the hall to the dining area substantially glass to let light through, and I would add a tall thin window in the back on the LHS in alignment to give a vista to the garden when standing in the hall. We have one; it is gorgeous. 6 - Whilst I think the study / drawing room would work, I would at least consider configuring that end of the house so that a grannexe would be possible later. That will require some careful thought. 7 - Maintenance. A lot of your house has two levels of roof - how will you maintain the top roof, and the walls / windows on the 1st floor? Access could be expensive. If your roofs are basically flat, I would consider making them walkable-on, and have at least one access to each roof via a larger window from upstairs. Is it possible, for example, to get to the upstairs windows with a pole from the ground? 8 - I would consider a lengthways car port following the style of the porch in front, so that you can get into the house dry when it is slathering down, and eg shopping can be unloaded. 9 - Repeating @PeterW's point, it looks complex to build. Best of luck. Ferdinand Edited February 13, 2019 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs CFS Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 6 hours ago, lizzie said: even if you are not having mvhr etc (I def would not house that in the loft)....... Thanks Lizzie, just out of interest why would you not house an MVHR in the loft? This was what we were planning to do, so really keen to hear your thoughts thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 6 hours ago, Mr Punter said: ... I don't like the en-suite through the dressing room. We have that general arrangement and it's fine. The only minor issue is that it's a long way to the loo in the middle of the night, but that's not the end of the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennentslager Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 @Mrs CFS wanted to be the first to give you a *like* as I think this looks like a smashing space. lots of various opinions from the forum but folks do take the time to consider and type this stuff out so don’t be put off at all...it’s your house! And you have a curved wall upstairs, how cool is that @jamiehamy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Mrs CFS said: Thanks Lizzie, just out of interest why would you not house an MVHR in the loft? This was what we were planning to do, so really keen to hear your thoughts thank you! Main reason is I would want easy access to filters for changing, not want to have to climb up there every time.. Also much easier for servicing and maintenance to have it in the plant room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 5 hours ago, jack said: We have that general arrangement and it's fine. The only minor issue is that it's a long way to the loo in the middle of the night, but that's not the end of the world. I have that general arrangement too. I don’t find it annoying TBH. Never considered that it might be an issue really until I heard people mention it on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Nice layout. Looks like a good use of space. The only things I would consider changing have been mentioned really, ie make the downstairs loo larger, add a plant room downstairs, move the hob to the island and maybe move the sink to where the hob is as it’s a bit shoved away in that corner. There is no need for a sink to be under a window, it’s not like most people spend hours washing up in this day and age. Maybe consider moving the island back into the dining room slightly too. One of the things I regret about my house’s layout is that I didn’t make the utility room larger. It needs to be a good space for muddy boots and general bits and bobs. When a house is mainly open plan it can get cluttered up with stuff so somewhere to store said stuff is useful. At the moment you only have room for the units and a small walkway by the looks of things. Also I echo the comment about evening up the size of the boys’ bedrooms. They may not care now but when they are older they might. I grew up with a bedroom quite a bit smaller than my brother’s and it always annoyed me lol. They will want room to do homework and have sleepovers in years to come. Even if you are not planning on staying there forever, evenly sized bedrooms are a bonus when you come to sell. In terms of splitting the large room, I wouldn’t do that. You will live in that large space most of the time I imagine and a large space will work well. Plus you have the bonus of a separate formal lounge when visitors come. I even call mine the visitors lounge as it’s the only time I go in there. @vivienz is changing the ceiling level in one of her open plan spaces to define the room better. That might be an idea for you to consider. What plans do you have for the build? Main contractor, self managed or a lot of DIY? What construction method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Forgot one. 10 Do not worry about the architect wanting to divide your kitchen-diner. Build it, then experiment with room dividers in the form of furniture, bookshelves etc, then you can add a stud or glass brick wall if you really need one. It may be worth making sure that you have extra tiles or whatever so that you could take the wall away again and make good later ! You could even put a stud wall thick row of tiles as a symbolic divider that could be sacrificed should you do it. Just do a sanity check on where you would attach such a wall to the ceiling. But this point is a bit anal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivienz Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Lovely design. I second the comment about switching the hob to the island. Cooking has become a far more sociable activity and it could be tricky if you have people sitting at the island whilst you're cooking but have to have your back to them most of the time. To separate the family room, the altered ceiling level has worked well for me but you could also look at internal bi-fold doors. The tricky bit with these is that you can't have an MVHR gap below the door because they need to run on a track. There are plenty of other internal folding doors, though. Never underestimate the amount of space you need for the utility, plant and srorage. It's a bit like when you first work out your build budget - whatever you think you need, you will always need more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 @Mrs CFS I don't normally comment on this type of question because it's so subjective, but I think it's a great layout. If the MVHR can be installed so it runs quietly and you don't mind going into the loft to change the filters etc no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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