Floor plan feedback please

Aug 06, 2020
5:55 pm

oklouise

based on your original plans my suggestions include two alternate options for relocating the study and uses the old study for NW family room to brighten up the family/dining/kitchen and opens the laundry to the rear with optional extra powder room with easy external access from alfresco and garden..the kitchen is more spacious with a 3m x 1m island and the master suite has more generous ens with twin wiw, there's a more private area for the kids bedrooms and family bathroom with generous biw, extra storage and the recommended sized domestic media room could have raised floors for seating but you need to consider suitable extra furniture to make sure that every room has a purpose and/or consider reducing the size of the whole house eg unless guest are expected to be long staying family members maybe you could lose the extra bathroom, front lounge and some of the study lounge and potentially reduce the size and cost of the house by around 40 sqm (the size of a double garage) and/or consider a multi purpose building in the backyard to make use of all that extra space

Thank you so much for your willingness to help oklouise, really appreciated, you put so much time and effort to help me.

Few questions

Is there any reason for leaving more setback on the western side?

The family room is smaller compared to the overall size of the house; do you think it will be out of proportional?

In the original plan, our plan was to put clearstory window on the northern and southern side of the living room, to get the winter sun, the plan you suggested how the courtyard is going to help?

Will it be darker in the kitchen and dining, due to the lack of windows?

Definitely I am going to take your suggestions in finalising my plan.

Thanks again.

oklouise

Aug 06, 2020
6:51 pm

amms

oklouise

based on your original plans my suggestions include two alternate options for relocating the study and uses the old study for NW family room to brighten up the family/dining/kitchen and opens the laundry to the rear with optional extra powder room with easy external access from alfresco and garden..the kitchen is more spacious with a 3m x 1m island and the master suite has more generous ens with twin wiw, there's a more private area for the kids bedrooms and family bathroom with generous biw, extra storage and the recommended sized domestic media room could have raised floors for seating but you need to consider suitable extra furniture to make sure that every room has a purpose and/or consider reducing the size of the whole house eg unless guest are expected to be long staying family members maybe you could lose the extra bathroom, front lounge and some of the study lounge and potentially reduce the size and cost of the house by around 40 sqm (the size of a double garage) and/or consider a multi purpose building in the backyard to make use of all that extra space

Thank you so much for your willingness to help oklouise, really appreciated, you put so much time and effort to help me.

Few questions

Is there any reason for leaving more setback on the western side?

The family room is smaller compared to the overall size of the house; do you think it will be out of proportional?

In the original plan, our plan was to put clearstory window on the northern and southern side of the living room, to get the winter sun, the plan you suggested how the courtyard is going to help?

Will it be darker in the kitchen and dining, due to the lack of windows?

Definitely I am going to take your suggestions in finalising my plan.

Thanks again.

more setback on the western side would allow for small deciduous trees to screen western sun, clerestory windows add enormously to the costs of the roof and i'd prefer ventilating roof windows with raked ceilings only in the kitchen dining and family room, and flat ceilings with Solar skylights that can be added to suit light conditions after the house is completed, the courtyard was retained to follow the original design, break up the length of the building and create a sheltered outdoor area that should be comfortable on winter mornings and summer afternoons and with so many separate living areas the family (or dining room) room is no smaller than the original space, is intended as a sitting area without another TV and located on the north west adds more winter daylight to the family, kitchen and dining areas

amms

Aug 07, 2020
7:51 am

ddarroch

amms

ddarroch

Unless you're in the tropics, your south facing living areas will need heating in winter. So I'd be adding a doorway between the kitchen & the hallway, so you can just heat your living areas, not your entire home constantly.

The front lounge is the only living room that will be light, & heated by the northern sun. But not too much you can do about that with a northern frontage block.

I would flip the plan though. Garage & living areas to the west, bedrooms to the east. As you really don't want west facing bedrooms, they can get studying hot on summer afternoons & evenings.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

Thank you ddarroch for your comments.
If I flip the plan would the living areas be very hot during the day, that is where we spend most of the time. My Architect suggested putting narrow windows for the bedrooms with external blinds...
thanks

It's a catch 22 situation.

The block orientation means you won't have many northern windows, & you'll have lots of eastern & western windows. These windows are difficult to shade, so some rooms will get hot in summer (or you'll spend a lot of money & produce a for of GHG emissions running the AC).

But most people are comfortable at 23°C, while they're comfortable sleeping at around 18°C. In summer the daytime maximum temperature will peak in the early afternoon, but the western rooms will continue to get hot for longer, as the sun strikes western windows for many, many hours.

Conversely, the coolest time of the day will be in the early morning, from 5-7am. Eastern rooms will generally start off cool, with the eastern sunshine adding to the heat load of the house.

It's a personal choice, but I'd prefer to have west facing living areas, instead of West facing bedrooms. I can't think of anything worse than west facing bedrooms.

If possible, plant deciduous trees on the western side of the home, to shade or in winter. High, narrow, clerestory (highlight) windows up under the eaves could keep the sun off the windows for an extra hour or two, reducing the heat load a bit. It may also help with privacy, of you have close by neighbours.

As mentioned, it's a very large home, which will not only be expensive to build, but expensive to heat & cool.

Also large homes are very detrimental to the environment, producing significantly more GHG emissions through their embodied energy.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/embodied-energy

Thank you ddarroch, for your very helpful feedback.

My current house is facing Northwest, we have a formal living room at the front, which is of no use during the summer months, that drives me to put the living area on the Eastern side. Based on your suggestions I am thinking of putting a couple of bedrooms on the Eastern side.

I am conscious about the environmental and economic impact of a home of this size however, we started with a 300m2 plan and after everyone adding their preference it became this big. We may not end up with this big house. As oklouise suggested I may reduce the home size and add a multipurpose detached shed facing North, which can be converted as a granny flat in the future
thanks again

amms

Aug 07, 2020
8:02 am

oklouise

amms

oklouise

based on your original plans my suggestions include two alternate options for relocating the study and uses the old study for NW family room to brighten up the family/dining/kitchen and opens the laundry to the rear with optional extra powder room with easy external access from alfresco and garden..the kitchen is more spacious with a 3m x 1m island and the master suite has more generous ens with twin wiw, there's a more private area for the kids bedrooms and family bathroom with generous biw, extra storage and the recommended sized domestic media room could have raised floors for seating but you need to consider suitable extra furniture to make sure that every room has a purpose and/or consider reducing the size of the whole house eg unless guest are expected to be long staying family members maybe you could lose the extra bathroom, front lounge and some of the study lounge and potentially reduce the size and cost of the house by around 40 sqm (the size of a double garage) and/or consider a multi purpose building in the backyard to make use of all that extra space

Thank you so much for your willingness to help oklouise, really appreciated, you put so much time and effort to help me.

Few questions

Is there any reason for leaving more setback on the western side?

The family room is smaller compared to the overall size of the house; do you think it will be out of proportional?

In the original plan, our plan was to put clearstory window on the northern and southern side of the living room, to get the winter sun, the plan you suggested how the courtyard is going to help?

Will it be darker in the kitchen and dining, due to the lack of windows?

Definitely I am going to take your suggestions in finalising my plan.

Thanks again.

more setback on the western side would allow for small deciduous trees to screen western sun, clerestory windows add enormously to the costs of the roof and i'd prefer ventilating roof windows with raked ceilings only in the kitchen dining and family room, and flat ceilings with Solar skylights that can be added to suit light conditions after the house is completed, the courtyard was retained to follow the original design, break up the length of the building and create a sheltered outdoor area that should be comfortable on winter mornings and summer afternoons and with so many separate living areas the family (or dining room) room is no smaller than the original space, is intended as a sitting area without another TV and located on the north west adds more winter daylight to the family, kitchen and dining areas

Thanks, oklouise for your suggestions, that make absolute sense.

Initially, I suggested to leave more setback on the western side and my architect suggested to keep 1 meter, as we are mainly using the Eastern side to access the backyard. If we keep more width on the Western side and use it to access the backyard then the privacy of the bedrooms will be compromised….

I really like your idea of putting a sheltered outdoor area facing North, which may convert to a granny flat in the future. I am considering this option.

One of the builders told me to install clearstory windows it may cost between 6-10k….

Thanks again

amms

Aug 07, 2020
9:20 am

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

Hello HaminZa, thank you so much for your suggestions. We really like it; will you be my architect……

We kept the study, next to the master to give exclusive access from the master. Most of the time I am working from home, the original layout was to provide privacy to the study (home office) and use it rarely as a spare bedroom. How can we achieve privacy to the study/home office in your layout?

Thanks again for the great help.

SIRIUSKEY

Aug 07, 2020
10:32 am

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

? this floorplan still has the kitchen island in line of sight of the front door, a steel and glass door won't change that, This is a large house why is the kitchen so small

MBX3

Aug 07, 2020
11:49 am

alymei

MBX3

I would appreciate any suggestions or feedback for a similar plan that I have designed myself keeping family needs in mind.

Its a good start - I would prefer to have garage on the left so swap woth master bed 1 if you could, for orientation reasons

Thanks alymei, Unfortunately I can't move MB1 to North as the whole design relies on garage being where it is and Master +en suite at south to use extended lot side. Initially we were thinking of moving Lounge to front but that would have meant a south window for MB1 (darker room, no views to park) and smaller Lounge that may not fit Table tennis table we currently have squeezed using a weirdly wide open hallway. (This could be turned into a theater room in future with extra WIL/Study Nook)

The only change that I have envisaged so far before sending it as final design to builder is to mirror Powder next to WIL so that I have a straight entry to Retreat+ better separation of MB2 while also removing the snaky corridor to B3

A builder told me that overall width needs to be reduced by 200mm (max 12.6m) to be able to comply lighting/window or offset requirements. Any thoughts on why they need 1.2m either side when Estate design guidelines say 1m min side setback?

siriuSKEY
@haminZa
@ddarroch
@d@n
@oklouise

I would really appreciate your feedback/scrutiny on this plan now in its own Topic post rather than highjacking OP's floorplan discussion

HaminZa

Aug 07, 2020
5:48 pm

amms

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

Hello HaminZa, thank you so much for your suggestions. We really like it; will you be my architect……

We kept the study, next to the master to give exclusive access from the master. Most of the time I am working from home, the original layout was to provide privacy to the study (home office) and use it rarely as a spare bedroom. How can we achieve privacy to the study/home office in your layout?

Thanks again for the great help.

Hi amms , glad you both like it! I'm flattered

however, your architect may have something to say about that!

I see, makes sense to me now, well if you're open to this concept, I would move the study internally (it's gonna be hot anyway in the afternoon where it is now) and have a private side entry adjacent to your master bed. Now for daylighting, continuing on with the suggested clerestory windows (shown blue dotted line) grand but useful feature for kitchen / dining, by extending it into the study, you can have another wow factor like the sample pic. If enclosed room is not your thing, there are many creative ways you can treat the wall adjoining family to 'borrow' light. Glazed partitions, corner pocket glazed doors, half height wall with plantation shutters but my personal favourite, steel french doors and must be black! For your WIR, you can have it after the ensuite, passing through double shower on your left and vanity basin on the external wall with a window above toilet next to it. It's slightly bigger too and you can have windows for natural light.

Btw, just did a quick roof elevation to show you the concept for the skillion roof with clerestory windows beyond. The front lower skillion roof could also have a nice feature high raked ceiling in the central corridor continuing the concept throughout.

Kind regards, JL

HaminZa

Aug 07, 2020
5:56 pm

SIRIUSKEY

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

? this floorplan still has the kitchen island in line of sight of the front door, a steel and glass door won't change that, This is a large house why is the kitchen so small

Hi, yes agree! SIRIUSKEY its up to them really but I just love steel glass black doors, such a design statement! I was just sticking to their original kitchen size, just made it slightly longer. I suspect its just a show kitchen but the actual 'cook/prep is in the oversize pantry?!

amms

Aug 10, 2020
4:47 pm

HaminZa

SIRIUSKEY

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

? this floorplan still has the kitchen island in line of sight of the front door, a steel and glass door won't change that, This is a large house why is the kitchen so small

Hi, yes agree! SIRIUSKEY its up to them really but I just love steel glass black doors, such a design statement! I was just sticking to their original kitchen size, just made it slightly longer. I suspect its just a show kitchen but the actual 'cook/prep is in the oversize pantry?!

Thanks again HaminZa for your great suggestions and posting those pictures…I am going to pass this onto my architect.

I have attached a street view of my property(the SUV parked on the driveway). It got a slight slope towards the east and a distant view of the city skyline, that made my architect to design the original plan. She was suggesting for a double storey, but we didn’t like that idea….

About the kitchen, Yes you are right, the main kitchen will be a show kitchen, all the preparation/cooking is going to happen in the butlers….

amms

Aug 10, 2020
5:33 pm

HaminZa

SIRIUSKEY

HaminZa

Hi amms , I'd thought I had a go at your plans for another thought process to consider hot west facing bedrooms comments here while keeping your original brief. So by swapping bed 3 & 4 with media, it could potentially provide a better outcome for the rest of the areas, except I didn't like the line of sight of kitchen island from entry. So maybe a nice feature steel glass barn door here creating the opportunity to close off the rear living zone to reduce heating/ cooling load. B3, bathroom, B4 ,WIR, powder are all the same sizes. Media, laundry, kitchen and court are slightly bigger. Study and pantry slightly smaller. Suggesting converting corridor linen to a walk-in-linen, or a mudroom with garage access. Unfortunately there are no more walk-in-library but loved the idea of a full height feature wall library behind the study desk like shown. As you can see, I like to align walls. There are structural efficiencies in them but visually can be aesthetically pleasing. Correct me if I am wrong, the central entry into master/ study appears intentional like a feature? I tried to get rid of the double corridor and recess in both doors but if a direct access into the study required, a secret hidden door from WIR could be a cool feature lol. Lastly, one of the ways to get passive solar heating for your south facing living areas are skylights. I have shown it above the kitchen island. Its definitely a grand statement but only if budget permits! Just make sure it has blinds for summer.

All the best and good luck with finalizing your plans! JL

? this floorplan still has the kitchen island in line of sight of the front door, a steel and glass door won't change that, This is a large house why is the kitchen so small

Hi, yes agree! SIRIUSKEY its up to them really but I just love steel glass black doors, such a design statement! I was just sticking to their original kitchen size, just made it slightly longer. I suspect its just a show kitchen but the actual 'cook/prep is in the oversize pantry?!

Hello Siriuskey, Thanks for your comment
Yes you are right the kitchen is bit small.....I am exploring all the options.

Here is a front view of my property.

dexterous

Sep 06, 2020
11:08 am

ddarroch

Unless you're in the tropics, your south facing living areas will need heating in winter. So I'd be adding a doorway between the kitchen & the hallway, so you can just heat your living areas, not your entire home constantly.

The front lounge is the only living room that will be light, & heated by the northern sun. But not too much you can do about that with a northern frontage block.

I would flip the plan though. Garage & living areas to the west, bedrooms to the east. As you really don't want west facing bedrooms, they can get sweltering hot on summer afternoons & evenings.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

Hi ddarroch,
Our block is a narrow 12.5 * 30 with rear facing north east. We are pondering if we should have a small width but a lengthy window highlighted in blue so that we get north sun at the expense of reduced TV space in the family room. This also means we will have a stacker or windows on all 3 sides of the family room and not sure how this will look like. Could you please provide your suggestion?