Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 17, 2009 3:59 pm Hi everyone!! I am new to the site and I am currently building my first home.
I would love some feedback on what I can/should change (within a budget) The main thing i dont like is the kitchen sink attached to a laminated top recess used for tv storage. Any thoughts?? My plans will be flipped the other way round on my block, so garage on the Left instead of the right. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Ssalga Re: New home plan 2Mar 17, 2009 4:06 pm I agree about the tv recess, I wouldn't like the tv under the kitchen bench. I think I'd do away with that bit of bench there altogehter and just have a big island bench facing the dining.
I don't like how you have to go through laundry to get to the toilet, this would be annoying for family members and unsightly for guests, I'd rework that area, and also have a vanity in the WC for guest use or if somebody is using the bathroom. The robes look a bit on the small side, I think you can get away with that in one room, eg Bed 2, but I'd look to increase them in the other rooms. I think the WIR looks a bit on the small side for two people, I'd adjust the ensuite somehow to get a bigger wir. Re: New home plan 3Mar 17, 2009 4:09 pm Hi ssalga,
What is the orientation of your block? As that might help you to decide how your rooms should be placed. As for the kitichen, I suggest that your kitchen sink to be relocated facing the wall and extending the kitchen island top by another 300mm for a breakfast bar. This way you have a huge area to do food prep. Ed Re: New home plan 5Mar 17, 2009 4:22 pm Hi and welcome to the forum, nice to see another West Aussie posting.
After looking for a while at your plan I think for me as a personal plan change. I would move the kitchen over to the dining and make it a galley kitchen I don't think corners are very usefull like the one in your theatre and the one in your kitchen. They end up being dead space for furniture and angles just make rooms feel out of balance.................this is completely a personal thing don't forget. You could then move the door to your other bedrooms over. I would put doors on your WIR and ensuite and a roller door at the back of your garage. The other bits and pieces that Rachelle has suggested could be something you run by your salesperson as they may have ideas from other customers building a similar home. Where are you building? Its all very exciting.............good luck. Re: New home plan 6Mar 17, 2009 4:29 pm Ooh, my favourite topic - analysing floor plans!!!
I agree with Rachelle about the BIR's : I would leave B2's robe as is, fits neatly into the alcove, but increase other bedrooms to come almost to the door opening. Bed4 is exactly the same dimensions as the minor bedrooms in our house and we did that, neatly uses up that wall and room still a decent size. Otherwise you have a wasted space next to robe which isn't much use for anything anyway Re toilet off laundry: whilst you don't see this often in new homes now, I'm not sure why not - was extremely common configuration for many years, I think it is quite practical, as you can come out of toilet and use laundry taps for hand washing, put up a ring for hand towel by the trough. Your main bedroom is quite large, ours is 4 x3.8, which is not small; 5.5 is very long, especially when your other rooms are of average size. Not sure why this is so? Anyway I agree, in a room that size I would somehow increase the area given to WIR. I like Judies kitchen suggestion, I think this is what Rachelle suggested too,; minimal change, therefore shouldn't cost much, but more practical design. The back of the garage doesn't look wide enough for a rear roller door, but a personal access door could go there. Re: New home plan 7Mar 17, 2009 4:36 pm I don't like all the bends in the front hallway to get to the main living room. PITA to get furniture into the back of the house unless you have side access to get it in the family sliding door. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: New home plan 8Mar 17, 2009 4:40 pm I agree with Rachelle about the toilet location - nothing worse than having guests traipsing through your laundry (where else can you hide all your crap? You can only fit so much under the bed. ). There's something about a toilet opening off a laundry that's just yukky - don't know why, but I cringe every time I see an older house with this configuration.
As for the kitchen bench, I'd think about furniture placement before deleting the extra bench/cabinet. Are you going to have a TV in the family room? If so, where? Remember that you have two large windows and the door to the hallway, plus a walk-through area to the kitchen. So if you put a TV against either of the remaining walls in the family room, you'll have couches in the middle of the room. That may work fine, but make sure you consider traffic flow - it's the kind of thing that will drive you nuts for years if you get it wrong. However you work it, just make sure that the space is adequate for whatever furniture you plan to have, with enough room to walk through the traffic areas without doing a series of zig-zags. Definitely add some doors - am I right in thinking that the LAUNDRY has no door? The main bedroom is quite large, but not really large enough, or the right layout, to have a retreat in it, so you can maybe afford to lose some space there to give you a bigger walk in robe. Re: New home plan 9Mar 17, 2009 10:25 pm Hi ssalga and welcome to the forum
I just loooovvveee looking at floorplans...thanks for posting it . Ok, so here is what l would personally change if it were my house. - I'm agreeing with others about the Master...it's really really big. I would much rather a bigger WIR and ensuite, than have a retreat kind of area... Your WIR is an ok size but, your home does not have enough storage (more on the later) overall. Also, by making the ensuite bigger, you could re-config the toilet placement so as to make your shower a double one. - I actually like how you cannot virtually see right through the house to the family room as soon as you enter the home. - Check your fridge space...will it be wide enough now?....if so, then consider if you might perhaps buy a bigger and wider fridge in the future? If so, plan for that now and make the space wider. - I don't like the tv/kitchen bench thing either. I'd get rid of that and extend the other bench as others have suggested. I think your pantry is a bit on the small side. Perhaps enlarge that, lord knows you have plenty of benchspace there! -I'd move the entry to the hallway closer to the pantry...will give you more useable room in the family area - I'd make the BIR's larger. - Am not liking the toilet access via laundry....and the tiny linen cupboard is dismally inadequate. How to fix? Well, l think your kitchen and family area is quite large and there's a potential for wasted space there. (Our plan was the same). What we did, was to move the family/kitchen wall in 500mm and extend the laundry/bathroom/toliet and bed 2 walls across the same distance. If you did that, you could take change Bed 2 and make it a bit smaller, though as it will be wider, the overall size might not change. (You'd probably need to make the window a small one though, 900mm.) This then gives you extra width and length in the laundry/toilet and bathroom areas to play with and re-configure to a more spacious and practical layout. - If budget and site width allows, l would make the garage wider, and have a rear access door. And l have just realised how very similar (apart from the rumpus, study and WIL), that your floorplan is to mine! Perhaps check my thread out and see the floorplans (original and ours) so you get my drift better with all the suggestions l made above. Re: New home plan 10Mar 18, 2009 11:00 am What a warm welcome. Really appreciate all the feedback!!.
The island is a great idea in the middle, but i was wondering should i keep the sink there or not? I know some people have suggested moving it, but what are the advantages of having it there?. Also, the suggestion of where to place my tv in the family room is a very good question, if i get rid of the tv recess laminated top. It would be a better idea to move my pantry over more to the entrance into the hall and making it bigger, is very small, almost the size of my linen!!! Will definately increase the wardrobe size in bedrooms 3 and 4 and also in my WIR by making my room smaller. I love the idea of a big room, but not that big i guess. I am going to build in East Cannington in Perth, about 15 min away from CBD. I was looking at putting doors for the WIR, ensuite and laundry. I would think about putting it for the WIR but others im in two minds. I guess it comes to the budget For my garage, my house is on a 432m2 block, so not that much room to play with. will ask if i could put a roller door on it. would be good to access that side of the house. Another question, in my second bathroom, not very fond of the bath tub. If i get rid of that i could some how manouvre a larger llinen and shower, but have to be mindful of the raking ceiling. Any thoughts?? Or should i keep it the way it is? will also check fridge space, i love food to much to have a tiny fridge Ssalga Re: New home plan 11Mar 18, 2009 11:13 am ssalga,
who are you planning to build with? I am a couple minutes away from you, in Queens Park. Ed Re: New home plan 14Mar 19, 2009 4:22 pm Going one step further from onebuild's plan mods (which are really clever btw)
- increase B2 by turning the theatre room into a smaller, rectangular study - add double robes to B2 - kitchen now has L shape bench (is that slightly more bench/cupboard space?) So you lose a theatre room. Might not be something you are willing to sacrifice Re: New home plan 15Mar 19, 2009 4:59 pm I like onebuilds plan - you could make the shower in the ensuite a double shower with this plan as well (if you move the window down a bit).
I also like the idea of a L shaped island bench. Could you put TV on either the wall that backs on to Bed 2 or the wall that backs on to the hall? Would also consider adding a sink to the toilet (as on onebuild's plans it looks like it is big enough to make into a small powder room). I'd move sink over next to the wall so that if you happen to have dirty dishes they won't be sitting out in the middle of the room. I guess it all comes down to cost though and whether or not your builder will charge for making changes! Re: New home plan 16Mar 19, 2009 5:05 pm gweluphome I would move the kitchen over to the dining and make it a galley kitchen . Gweluphome- I would do the exact same thing!!!. you have so much room to move in a gally kitchen and they look fantastic. A big long splashback either mosaic or glass with under cupboard downlights ahhhhhh HEAVEN Living in Caloundra Thread****** Lovin my house all finished!!! Now tackling the HUGE task of the Garden- viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14782 6 55345 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 5 10476 |