Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 13, 2020 11:57 am hi Guys , so we recently signed a tender and have the initial plan design. we made a few changes to the builders original design. I'm attaching the design. its a 2 story 5 bedroom house. It would be great if you guys could review the design and see if anything needs to be changed. Open to suggestions as currently cant think of anything . One thing not noted on the design is , we're getting a concrete slab added at the back - behind the family room and will get an alfresco built after handover. We haven't included tiling as part of the tender so will be sourcing our own tiling- tiles downstairs and laminate floorboards upstairs. The media room doors will be changed to double sliding doors. Also one question I had was , the Master br is sitting above the garage. Not really sure what things I need to consider as I've never lived in a house that had anything built above the garage. Let me know what you guys think.. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Design suggestions 4Feb 13, 2020 5:18 pm I dont think you want pantry door swinging out. Also, do you really want the prayer room as a thoroughfare? You could consider moving the internal access door. Maybe storage downstairs for linen amd I think fridge is in the wrong spot. Are you having doors to rumpus? Re: Design suggestions 5Feb 13, 2020 5:51 pm thanks for your reply guys , i will post clearer pics of the plans with the North arrow for a better understanding of the aspect of the house . Alymei- i did think about the pantry door - i might get them to put a sliding door instead- to maximise the space. haha yeah the fridge space is something i questioned too- still waiting for an answer . i have moved the garage access door to the front of the house- sorry forgot to mention . the rumpus area is all open . no door or wall . so basically family/dining and rumpus is all open plan living/family . good suggestion about the linen storage but not sure where i could fit that Re: Design suggestions 6Feb 13, 2020 6:01 pm I would do a wall between rumpus with big doors so you can choose to have it 1 big room or 2 seperate spaces. You could sacrifice a some space in powder room for some linen storage or steal some from the front living room. Re: Design suggestions 10Feb 14, 2020 4:50 pm We have been renting a house with master above garage, the noise of the garage door opening was annoying, i work shift work, was difficult to sleep. Also my big pet peeve is sliding glass doors in laundry, an absolute waste of space, add a standard glass door, then you can run the bench all the way to the wall, otherwise you end up with a gap between washing machine and sliding door ( a big wet dust trap-yuck!) I think the downstairs powder is poorly designed and just seems to waste space. Agree the fridge is in the wrong spot I’d be putting it opposite the breakfast bar and take some pantry space, also get rid of the pantry door, will be annoying as hell opening outwards, most contemporary homes just run the bench straight into the pantry. Re: Design suggestions 11Feb 14, 2020 11:39 pm gogo65 We have been renting a house with master above garage, the noise of the garage door opening was annoying, i work shift work, was difficult to sleep. Also my big pet peeve is sliding glass doors in laundry, an absolute waste of space, add a standard glass door, then you can run the bench all the way to the wall, otherwise you end up with a gap between washing machine and sliding door ( a big wet dust trap-yuck!) I think the downstairs powder is poorly designed and just seems to waste space. Agree the fridge is in the wrong spot I’d be putting it opposite the breakfast bar and take some pantry space, also get rid of the pantry door, will be annoying as hell opening outwards, most contemporary homes just run the bench straight into the pantry. Thanks gogo65. Those are some very good pointers! I hadn’t even thought about moving the fridge Space opposite the bench . I was thinking of having it next to the pantry on the side of the cooktop but having it opposite side of the bench makes perfect sea se . Also a good point about the sliding door in the laundry . With the pantry I would prefer to have a sliding door , as opposed to no door - just to hide the mess! Lol wonder if they can fit a sliding cavity door there though . Thanks for the great input . Anything else you can think of ? 😊 Re: Design suggestions 12Feb 15, 2020 7:32 pm Do you need the 5 bedrooms upstairs? If not I’d be doing 4 good size bedrooms, rather than bedrooms that would only fit a single bed, however if you’ve got 4 kids understand that a small bedroom each is probably better than some kids having to share. In our last house we had a hafale hinge on our pantry door, it was a full 180 degree hinge, that is you could push it either way, I had a full handle less kitchen so it was important to me, to continue the Clean lines, not cheap but worked well, however the door was always open 😂 Re: Design suggestions 13Feb 16, 2020 5:53 pm gogo65 Do you need the 5 bedrooms upstairs? If not I’d be doing 4 good size bedrooms, rather than bedrooms that would only fit a single bed, however if you’ve got 4 kids understand that a small bedroom each is probably better than some kids having to share. In our last house we had a hafale hinge on our pantry door, it was a full 180 degree hinge, that is you could push it either way, I had a full handle less kitchen so it was important to me, to continue the Clean lines, not cheap but worked well, however the door was always open 😂 I’m still considering 5th bedroom removal . Just not sure yet . I don’t think I could do an open pantry lol . It would be too stressful to keep everything clean all the time haha Re: Design suggestions 14Feb 16, 2020 6:15 pm I would do 4 big beds over a 5th. I would add WIR to them all too. You could maybe squeeze a little study niche in too. We have a cavity slider on ours which is best of both worlds - you just need to consider placement of electrical outlets on the wall where the cavity sits Re: Design suggestions 15Feb 16, 2020 7:18 pm Sorry i understand you want a door on your pantry, i was just saying we had a pantry door on our last house, it opened 180 degrees, you push it inwards to get inside and push it outwards to get out. The hinge was floor and ceiling mounted (like a pivot system), it worked well, i think it would be much better than your current plan which has a door swinging out, i cant imagine Having the door opening into your work space. Re: Design suggestions 16Feb 16, 2020 7:29 pm gogo65 Sorry i understand you want a door on your pantry, i was just saying we had a pantry door on our last house, it opened 180 degrees, you push it inwards to get inside and push it outwards to get out. The hinge was floor and ceiling mounted (like a pivot system), it worked well, i think it would be much better than your current plan which has a door swinging out, i cant imagine Having the door opening into your work space. All good . I guess having a door to the pantry is in general painful but I guess it’s a necessary evil. How did your hinge work ? And how much did that cost ? Sounds like an interesting concept . I might look into it. Re: Design suggestions 17Feb 16, 2020 8:26 pm As Gogo65 I think already said, an outward opening hinged door like that will either be a proper 180 deg hinge (& IMO they look a bit stupid) or a standard hinge that won't properly open all the way out to the wall. Yes it is a silly design (sorry to be blunt) and you will regret I think. You should be able to get a CSD into that wall, and I would upgrade to a 'flush-to-Jamb' type so you don't lose the ~60mm on a standard cavity slider. I would also consider deleting the 2nd sink etc in the WIP and instead use some of that space for a fridge/freezer cavity. Getting these bulky items out of your main kitchen area (but still close and handy) I think is a good move. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Check our Homeone build blog here Re: Design suggestions 18Feb 17, 2020 1:22 pm Sbanu, the hinge was a pivot hinge by hafaele, i think it cost close to $1000, but that was back in 2012. It looked beautiful, completely hidden, flush mounted in the floor, and flush mounted into the ceiling, like I said no handle on the door... Ill try and find a photo.... Re: Design suggestions 20Feb 17, 2020 1:37 pm That’s beautiful ! Love your kitchen and tile selection . 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