Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 01, 2015 10:05 pm We're in the process of deciding our floor plan. I've read a lot of people here talking about smart floor plan design and wasted space. How do you know whether it is a good design? It is entirely subjective? What does wasted space generally refer to? I guess we need to decide where we spend most of our time and focus on those areas as a priority. And storage.. Where do people add extra storage? Thank you Re: Good design.. Wasted space.. How can you tell? 2Aug 02, 2015 8:22 am It is very subjective the thought of good design vs waste of space. I think a "waste" of space can happen when thoroughfares and corridors are poorly designed as a result of poor room placement Rooms that become too massive to effectively use and furnish can become a waste of space especially if they are at the expense of other rooms. But things like large entrances and voids are beautiful and can really add to the feeling of a home as can very open plan living but there is a trade off in energy efficiency and zoning for heating and cooling. I think that it is really important to think how you use a house personally and design towards that tempered with what will also be re saleable, you don't want your house to be impractical to the masses. For storage we personally have built/building twice and included a store room and included a lot of storage in the kitchen/bathroom/bedrooms. But then I don't like storage furniture everywhere.... This site http://www.ausdesign.com.au can also provide some helpful tips as can looking at lots of houses. Good luck its fun......mostly Re: Good design.. Wasted space.. How can you tell? 3Aug 02, 2015 9:34 am I'd say its a personal thing. When I walk through display homes, I instantly dislike the ones I think of as wasteful... usually excess hallways or random little empty corners. If you are paying for every square inch, you should aim to get as much value as possible. Hallways are probably some of the worst space wasters. I saw one house by Metricon which had a lounge room, then a hallway running from the main hallway to the garage and then the laundry. So you have a 3x1m hallway just to get to the garage door, I asked why they didn't just make the laundry 1m wider and put the garage door into the laundry... they all looked at me like I was a genius!! Sometimes I think the project builders do obviously silly 'mistakes' in their floor plans, so they can charge you extra for changing them... but I'm a cynic. Re: Good design.. Wasted space.. How can you tell? 4Aug 02, 2015 10:38 am There is space wasted when you could have achieved the same goal using less room. Generally, passage space is a good place to look for waste: this can be corridors, or walkway space through a room. An example is a pantry or robe that only has shelving only on one side. The walkway area is essentially a waste in terms of storage, but needed for access. By shelving both sides, you get twice the utility out of the access space. A good way to get extra storage is to widen the garage from minimum size to allow shelving along both sides of it. As there's already passage space to get around the cars, the only extra space needed is the storage itself. Re: Good design.. Wasted space.. How can you tell? 5Aug 14, 2015 1:36 am My current house has so much wasted space - numerous overly wide hallways. Some of them are massive, ie 3 metres wide. Meanwhile bathrooms and the laundry are too small. The house is also open plan and to get to the living room area you walk through what is meant to be the dining room but this area is too small for a decent dining table. The kitchen is also lacking in bench space and cupboard space and is very narrow. The entrance is also the size of a small bedroom. Re: Good design.. Wasted space.. How can you tell? 6Aug 14, 2015 9:04 am Sometimes the larger space it to create a certain feel. My house and my parents house both have quite large entries which I never thought of as waste. I think it does come down to the overall look and feel and personal preference. dimensions on your original plan are inconsistent and with accurate dimensions (including site plan, upstairs and down) i could make a proper scale drawing with furniture… 3 7513 This is the current bathroom with a european laundry. Overall internal dimensions are 3.69 wide and 3.65m deep, including the footprint of the laundry. There is a toilet… 0 10343 You can really use anything you want the main consideration would be how it looks once painted/finished - or the look you want. Cabinetmakers use MDF because its cheap… 2 9957 |