Needs feedback on the Floor Plan

Hi Everyone,

I would like to get some feedback on the custom-build floor plan for our 36-37 square home we are planning to build in Eastern Melbourne Suburb. The front of the property is facing the North. Please see the attached conceptual plan.
Out intention is to have

• 2 Bedrooms with ensuites - one master bedroom and second guest bedroom with ensuites.
• 3rd and 4th Bedroom with common bathroom.
• A courtyard to get natural light to the Family and living area at the back.
• A 4m X 5m rumpus/theatre room.
• A small lounge room at the front followed with a small study room.
• We have a trail at the back side of the property with quite a few trees. That is the reason we would like to have our living area and kitchen area facing the backyard to enjoy the natural scenary.

By looking at the conceptual plan I'm not highly impressed with it. Can you please provide some feedback on this to improve upon.

Cheers and tnx - Vineet

I like it. It’s difficult if your front is north, but they seem to have taken the orientation into consideration.

I think I would want a door to courtyard from the kitchen (I can’t really tell, is there one from the laundry?) and I’m not a fan of the powder room separated from the bathroom by a bedroom like that, but it’s ok.

What are you not liking?

Study might need a skylight since it can't have a window.

Bed 2&3 have west facing windows so will get hot.

Powder room seems a bit far from the family living area and bedrooms. I personally would try to find a way to move it.

Where is the laundry? Behind the kitchen?

Consider also that your master ensuite is going to be dark. Natural ventilation is more difficult with no window.

Thanks guys for your reply.

@the_doesnotexist and [b]Goxxo[/b]
I agree with you on the door to courtyard from the kitchen (probably a sliding door).
I'm thinking to have add a toilet suite to the bathroom and leave the powder room as it is (or may move it near to the living area) as Goxxo suggested.
Basically, I dont like the layout of the Master Bedroom. it feels like a hotel room entrance crossing the WIR and the ensuite to reach to the main area of the bedroom. I would love to hear more suggestions for improving the layout of the MB.

Bed 2&3 will definitely get hot but there is no other solution.
Laundry is behind the kitchen.

Keep the suggestions coming in guys, please!!

Thanks - Vineet.

if you flip the guest bed with bed 3 and the bathroom you'll end up with the powder more central to the living area.

You could also do a floating wall for your WIR, the wall can then be set up as a feature bedhead with access to the WIR from either side of the bed.

It doesnt eliminate your walkway issue entirely but it reduces it to a more reasonable size.

You'd also need to consider the courtyard window/door and whether to rejig it.

I’d make the study narrower and add a mud room/linen in the hallway.
You dont need a study that big.
I also dont like the ensuite without a window.

unable to read dimensions but my estimated room sizes makes 35 squares ...swopping guest room and study lounge allows for windows in all the rooms, there's a mudroom and more generous guest ens, family bathroom and powder room and the alternate arrangement for master suite has direct northern sunlight for the ens and bedroom with more storage walls in twin wiw but suggest that you carefully plan how you will use the courtyard as you may want to avoid direct views from kitchen and rumpus to master suite although splashback windows for the south side of the pantry could create a more private view of the courtyard and the kitchen and pantry is generous and would allow for many alternate arrangements

As usual ok Louise hits the brief. In regards to the WIR, you could have the access directly from the bedroom rather than the hallway, which you mentioned you didn’t like.

Hi All,

Thanks to all of you for the feedbacks. I'm really overwhelmed with all the responses. I'm so glad that this community is so helpful.
A special thanks to Oklouise for putting in special efforts and time for putting together this plan.

I really like the plan. I would like to add some comments to it and see what you guys think about this.

Please see the this plan with red comments - whereby I'm thinking to move the rumpus area to where the kitchen area was. Then flip the kitchen (including butler and laundry). I would like to have the rumpus size to 4m X 5m (atleast, anything bigger is a bonus).

I could be totally wrong in these changes.

oklouise, can you please see if that would be possible if you can amend that on a plan?

I would love to hear more suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Vineet.

Do you need a big study at the front of the house?
The reason I ask is that with the new layout you have asked about bed 4 basically opens into the living area.
If you don't have a specific reason for a big study at the front ( ie a home office that you have clients visit) there are better options for the layout of minor bedrooms and bathroom

Hi Chippy,

Thanks for the text. I don't need a big study. We can squeeze the size a lit bit down.
Can you please suggest what you are thinking.

I'd take 500mm out of the study so it measures 4000x2000. We have a study the same size with custom cabinetry and desk along one wall and it is plenty big enough, and we run a business.
I'd then put that extra 500mm into the bathroom/powder room set up.
I would then arrange (from front to back); lounge room, bedroom, bathroom/ powder room, bedroom and finally study.
This means the study opens into the dinning/ living area rather than bed 4.
I would also step the bathroom/ powder room back a little bit so you can get the doors for those two bedrooms opening into this area rather than just opening into the passage. It's one of my pet hates that to get to the bathroom you have to walk through a common passage way.
The below plan is sort of what I mean with the layout of the bedrooms and bathroom except this plan includes the laundry. It's just a matter of getting the bathroom and powder to fit.

Thanks mate, Its a good suggestion, because the we wanted the bedroom 3 and 4 a bit bigger, probably atleast 3.5 x 4. By sequecing the size of the study and moving it towards the living, we can make the rooms a bit bigger. However, we would like to keep the laundry where it is.

I'm not suggesting to move the laundry.
It was just showing how to get the bedrooms to have their doors not opening into the main hallway but into an area adjacent the bathroom.
If you take the laundry out of that plan I linked is more like 2hat I was thinking.
You have a lot of wasted space in the hallway.
There's over 20m² wasted in hallway.
You also have enormous WIR. Personally I hate having to walk right through the bedroom from the ensuite to the robe to get changed. I'd prefer them adjacent to each other.

The biggest issue with asking for advice on plans is we all like different things.

You also have enormous WIR. Personally I hate having to walk right through the bedroom from the ensuite to the robe to get changed. I'd prefer them adjacent to each other.

Very valid point above. But looking at the layout of the Master Bedroom, how can we set-up the master room with ensuites and WIR considering the light aspect?

as requested and also a little smaller but please advise width and length of your block to ensure that the overall size of the house is within limits

Louise, can you draw up a quick example of this rough sketch.

Hi oklouise,

Thanks again for the updated plan.
The block dimensions are 20m X 40m. I think that the front setback is 8.5m. Can you please let me know the house overall dimensions?

The doors from the minor bedrooms open up to the bathroom powderoom area and not into the main hallway.
The WIR is next to the ensuite with a walk in linen off the hallway
I've reduced the study down to 2000 so that extra space is in that are outside the bathroom powder room

Hi oklouise,

Can you please also send me high-res copy of the plan. The dimension are not clear. Tnx - Vin