Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 12, 2009 8:22 pm Hi,
This is the plan that our builder has suggested we put on block of land. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions? The first thing i thought was silly was having an alfresco in the middle instead of the back of the house.. Re: Comments on floor plan please 4Jan 12, 2009 8:28 pm Thats a good floorplan = the bedrooms are a fair size which I think is important. Is the ensuite a little awkwardly designed though? Might look better when you see it
Best of luck with the build! Re: Comments on floor plan please 5Jan 12, 2009 8:36 pm Our al fresco room is in the middle of the house. It makes sense if your block faces east or west....lets you take advantage of the northern aspect for your outdoor living area. It also works well when the house is quite long (like ours) and blocks available aren't all that deep.
Plus you'd have access to the outdoor entertaining area from your living, dining and rumpus rooms. It might not work so well if your block is narrow and you want to extend the outdoor area past the roofline. Although you could have a second outdoor living area at the back if you wanted - just move the sliding door to your rumpus to the back wall. I like the floorplan, it flows quite well. Will you need two basins in the ensuite? You could move the vanity to the wall that adjoins the bedroom and you'd probably fit a double vanity there. Maybe a broom or general storage cupboard would fit in the laundry too - next to the washing machine, unless you plan to put a dryer or something else there. If you have room on your block (and in your budget), consider making your garage bigger. It's surprising how hard it is to fit two cars into a standard "double" garage, once you have tools and things stored along the side walls.... Re: Comments on floor plan please 6Jan 12, 2009 8:42 pm Our block faces east - i didn't think about the northern aspect. All i thought about was that i wouldn't be able to sit there watching the kids play in the backyard.
The block is narrow - we will only have 1.5m on each side of the house. That's a great idea to move the sliding door in the rumpus room - will definately consider that. Thanks for the advice so far - please keep them coming. Re: Comments on floor plan please 7Jan 12, 2009 8:52 pm Quote: Our block faces east - i didn't think about the northern aspect. All i thought about was that i wouldn't be able to sit there watching the kids play in the backyard. Make sure your living and al fresco areas are on the north side then, even if you have to move the driveway crossover - a south-facing al fresco room is pretty useless. We rented a place that had a small al fresco on the south side and we literally never got to use it, it was far too cold and windy. If the kids' play area is going to be at the back, then definitely move your sliding door, or you could move the window at the side around to the back. I always forget about that consideration with little kids - mine are old enough that I just want to be far, far away from them and their noise. Re: Comments on floor plan please 9Jan 12, 2009 8:56 pm yes its on the north side as we have to flip the house around as the driveway is on the left hand side...
i've got a nearly 2 year old and one on the way so definately need to keep an eye on them. Re: Comments on floor plan please 11Jan 12, 2009 9:25 pm two small things. both on the same vein. I'd look at adding a door where the front hallway opens into the main living areas. Perhaps a slider along the living wall or a door that opens up into the hallway. You can see from the front door right through to the back end of the house at the moment. If people you don't know well come to the door you might not what them being able to look right through your house. It also helps create zones for heating and cooling. I would also consider a slider to the doorway going to the minor bedrooms to limit sound travel down to the minor bedrooms if you have visitors late in the evenings when the children are trying to sleep. These are 2 doors we considered in our last house. things happened and we didn't put them in and then had to spend lots to add them later. Even if all you did was add the framework.
On a pricier note. You might also want to consider the expense of some sound insulation in the wall between the rumpus and bedroom 4. Depending on what you think the rumpus might end up being used for in years to come. I've seen a few people consider using this on the forum. If you do put a door out to the back yard on the back of the rumpus and add a patio then you could have 2 areas for visitors. One out the back when people come with small children ( i.e. play dates)and the main alfresco could be handy for more adult gatherings as it's further away from the kids bedrooms. Re: Comments on floor plan please 12Jan 12, 2009 10:08 pm Double vanities are over rated IMO, but there does seem to be wasted space in the ensuite, I think I would look at reconfiguring that to be a bit narrower and then you would be able to extend the WIR such that there would be space each side as well as at back, that way you can have his and hers hanging space one side each and install some shelving/drawers /freestanding tallboy on the back wall. Re: Comments on floor plan please 13Jan 13, 2009 5:46 pm Helyn Double vanities are over rated IMO, but there does seem to be wasted space in the ensuite, I think I would look at reconfiguring that to be a bit narrower and then you would be able to extend the WIR such that there would be space each side as well as at back, that way you can have his and hers hanging space one side each and install some shelving/drawers /freestanding tallboy on the back wall. We don't actually have double vanities - i don't like them either. The ensuite has the shower on one side and the toilet on the other - back to back with the single vanity running alongside. Re: Comments on floor plan please 14Jan 13, 2009 7:45 pm Looks a well laid out plan - Like the minor size bedrooms and flows naturally
I like the 3 rooms opening onto the Alfresco. It would feel so open and great. Changing the window in rumpus to the back or maybe adding a sliding door gives you access to the backyard Also a window in the laundry Quote: We don't actually have double vanities Agree with Helen9/Helyn - Double vanities are overrated and don't seem much of use. We have it in ours because it came as part of the standard plan. Re: Comments on floor plan please 15Jan 13, 2009 8:39 pm Quote: Agree with Helen9/Helyn - Double vanities are overrated and don't seem much of use. Wow, you must all have nicely co-ordinating schedules with your partners ....my husband is ALWAYS wanting to shave (or something) when I'm halfway through putting on my makeup or cleaning my teeth. Maybe he does it just to annoy me.... Re: Comments on floor plan please 16Jan 13, 2009 9:20 pm The top/right hand L is very similar to our set up.
kek If the kids' play area is going to be at the back, then definitely move your sliding door, or you could move the window at the side around to the back. Or, just keep the nice north facing window as is and add another sliding door to the back of the rumpus for easy back yard access - that's what we did Agree with kexkez about internal insulation - we are always tip-toeing around DD's room (BR2), why we decided to put the baby's room in the middle of the house I don't know but anyway that's OT. But if you have kids or are planning them I would do the internal insulation thing. Re: Comments on floor plan please 17Jan 13, 2009 10:38 pm Hi,
Am new here and seeing as l've just submitted my floor plan for comments, thought l'd do the same here. First thing that popped out for me was storage, it appears that there is little of it, only the linen cupboard and the robes in the bedroom, but they will be full of clothes. You can never have enough storage space. So perhaps consider adding extra storage to the Rumpus. Don't know about the age of your kids, but the bedroom 3 & 4 seem a tad small. I agree with some suggestions to add a sliding door to the Rumpus room so you can access/see the kids in the backyard. Maybe rotating the Rumpus 90 degress and aligning Bed 2 & 3 thus extending them. (does that make sense?lol) This will also give you a bit more visibility to the backyard and make the Alfresco more open. I would definitely make the garage bigger, 6m x 6m is fairly standard here and just suffices but like others have said, when you fit two cars and all the other stuff, it still makes for a very tight fit, especially if you don;t have ample storage inside the home for stuff like luggage etc. I would also put doors whehter sliding or normal to the Ensuite and WIR. And doors to where others suggested so you can zone your home off for heating/cooling and noisy kids! lol.. Hope this helps a bit Re: Comments on floor plan please 18Jan 14, 2009 8:50 am Kek, I rarely wear make-up and DH and I both work shift work, different starting times, anyway a single vanity in a standard bathroom in our old house (no ensuite there) was never a problem so we were fine with that in our ensuite in this house - but to each his own.
Beegeers, looking at the floor plan, the laundry seems to have a sliding door to outside which would be all window Thorney, minor bedrooms of 10.8 m2 is fairly standard size, I have certainly seen smaller, our minor bedrooms are not much bigger at 11.2 m2, our son fits a single bed, TV in cabinet, tall boy, BIR and small desk all quite comfortably, I think this size is fine for one person. Re: Comments on floor plan please 19Jan 14, 2009 9:25 am I agree with Helyn on the bedroom size - unless you have a large family and will have kids sharing rooms, the rooms ought to be big enough. Especially considering that there are ample living areas so everyone can do their own thing. Re: Comments on floor plan please 20Jan 14, 2009 9:33 am My two cents worth:
Get yor builder / draftee / architect, or whoever drew the plan to drop some furniture onto it. Show beds (king,Queen,double etc) in the appropriate rooms, indicate sofas, coffee tables, TV etc. Ive seen it all too often...builders saying your getting a 3.5m x 3.5m bedroom, sounds big enough...then when you put a bed in there, your suddendly left with a sliver of circulation space around the bed itself. PS-I think your living area is way too small for a 4x2 house. pat. I am building Enfield 201 by Mimosa Homes - York Facade Link: https://www.mimosahomes.com.au/new-homes/enfield-201/ I did my colour appointment last week. I am looking… 0 552 i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17278 Hi, Seeking volume or semi-custom builder in victoria(east), which have existing double story wide floor plans. Seeking 18-20m wide homes with depth of 12-15m long. Or… 0 25163 |