Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 12Jun 30, 2017 11:11 pm Just some general thoughts at first glance: Having the alfresco across most of your northern side is going to rob you of nice northern light. There is the potential for that downstairs living area to be a bit short on natural light, depending upon your neighbours (i'm assuming that there's not going to be much distance between your windows and the neighbouring house wall). Your upstairs living area might also lack good natural light - do you have a clear idea of what that space is going to be used for? How's your western exposure? You've got a bit of glass facing west there, particularly Bed 3 - direct, hot, glaring western sun is not ideal in summer afternoons and evenings, especially for bedrooms (you might be able to get away with it if it's overshadowed by the neighbouring house, but then you've got the lack of natural light issues to deal with) I'd be tempted to mirror your design east-west (if you can mirror the garage), or at least the upstairs secondary bedrooms. Have you considered a door to the south of the dining/family area (closing it off from the corridor)? That could help stop your warm air escaping up through the stair void in winter (just leave it open in summer). Sightlines coming up the stairs - are you happy for the bathroom to be what your view is being focused on when you reach the top of the stairs? I agree that the master shower recess looks a bit small - might want to confirm your measurements there. Do you really need all that space in the master bed? You might be better off making the bedroom a bit smaller and the ensuite a little bigger. Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 13Jun 30, 2017 11:20 pm Oh, some last-minute thoughts re bed 2. It's going to be a bit of a squeeze to fit a double bed with bedside tables there with the robe where it is. Have you considered moving the robe to the bathroom wall instead (making the room wider but shorter)? That would give a more flexible layout. It would also help mitigate the issue of the bathroom wet wall being shared with the bedroom - not the best arrangement from an acoustic point of view. Also, with planning kids - do you want to encourage them to stay in their rooms, or for them to be encouraged into the living areas? Larger bedrooms for the former, smaller for the latter. Your secondary bedrooms are reasonably generous, so would be more encouraging of kids staying in their rooms and interacting less with the living areas. Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 15Jul 01, 2017 12:54 am Frankly speaking can't see generous kids bedrooms on this plans - both of them below 12 sq m and I would say that probably 15 sq m-17 sq m is the best sized bedroom for a teenager. Younger kids would also need some space for their modern toys (e.g. for the drones to fly). Considering where technologies are moving, it seems that kids in the future would need to have more personal spaces for VR-enhanced experiences and games. From personal experience, I could say that a lot depends on the kid himself, whether he prefers to spend time reading in his bedroom or playing outdoors with his friends. But what really sucks is a small bedroom and lack of personal space. Agree that alfresco at the north is probably not the brightest idea from passive solar standpoint and converting it to pergola deck/patio with adaptable roof will be so much better option. I would also consider how western bedrooms could be mirrored to the east instead and all eastern and western windows to be minimised in size, otherwise you would need to strongly consider tinting your west facing windows (and, considering bedrooms are at the upper floor, it is highly unlikely that neighbouring property will be able to adequately shade off high summer sun). Having expansive western windows at your kitchen/dining is also not the best idea - I would rather consider them moving to the east and significantly reduce glazing area. You have a lot of glazing on the north already which should provide enough lighting to your room (but after you convert alfresco to a pergola). Otherwise you will be having a real sauna over there in the summer afternoons. Just my 2 cents. Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 16Jul 01, 2017 1:04 pm Awesome ideas here, thank you! Keep them coming! In regards to the alfresco being converted to a patio/pergola (is there a difference?) What type of roof would you suggest? One of those ones with the movable louvres so you can open and close the roof? Do you have to get separate planning permission for that? Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 17Jul 01, 2017 1:55 pm Either one with moveable louvers (e.g. Louvretec) or you can think about just putting joists over there and putting vines on them. There are also fixed polycarbonate roofs with specially positioned blades, e.g. https://www.patioliving.com.au/timber/s ... rgola.html Not sure about planning permission, have to check with the council. Is your alfresco is having a separate roof or there is a bedroom on top of it? Re: Floor Plan Advice Please :-) 18Jul 01, 2017 2:11 pm alexp79 Either one with moveable louvers (e.g. Louvretec) or you can think about just putting joists over there and putting vines on them. There are also fixed polycarbonate roofs with specially positioned blades, e.g. https://www.patioliving.com.au/timber/s ... rgola.html Not sure about planning permission, have to check with the council. Is your alfresco is having a separate roof or there is a bedroom on top of it? It's a separate roof - the back end of the bedroom walls sit on top of the stacker doors leading to the alfresco. I'm guessing a louvre roof will be quite expensive? Although would removing the alfresco roof from the building reduce building costs there??? Re: Floor Plan Advice Please 😀 20Jul 01, 2017 9:03 pm Adelaide Girl We also would prefer to have a single wide door for practicality and aesthetics, but in order to make the top floor as big as it is, we needed to have some of the master bedroom overhanging the garage and front door, which means we needed the posts to hold it up. Hence having two single doors. Not our ideal, but you can't have everything I guess! We have opted to go with the bigger living area inside over the garage door at this stage...... You can get around this with a steal beam. Costly but doable. i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17260 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 25159 Hi there! Absolutely agree on the wasted space. We have no desire for the master to be that oversized, but it occurred when we increased the depth of the garage. We have… 4 12484 |