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Design Dilemma
vasup54

Feedback on Floor Plan

Vasu Patel
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Hi Houzz People

First time builders would like to request some suggestions/feedback on floor plan. Any comments on improvements or modifications are welcome.

Featured Answer
  • desireebarnes1
    7 years ago
    Hi guys
    Mayb look in some display homes and get a feel of how big 3.4 X 3metre rooms are to realise how small they are! U have so many little boxy rooms, I would make the media
    Room bedroom 4 and the join your games
    Room and bedroom 4 together to make one
    V large media/games room so u have space
    To really feel u can relax and not feel confined, my media room now is your size and we hate it, it's like a prison! So
    We now have to take walks out! More rooms
    Are not the be all and end all, open space and comfort is!
    Your main bathroom would b much bigger
    If toilet was not in its own room too! But inside bathroom!
    Just saying!
    Good luck

    Comments (28)

    • PRO
      MB Design & Drafting
      8 years ago

      Seems quite ok. Only thing I don't like is the sink position as I would have it on the island bench. Aside from that its quite reasonable without knowing the site, etc..

    • PRO
      Bubbles Bathrooms
      8 years ago
      The shower should not be beside the entry door - every body who uses the bathroom after someone has used the shower will trac water through the house

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    • PRO
      Studio Urbo
      8 years ago

      It is hard to comment without knowing your brief. The kitchen looks too small proportionally to the house, and it is on the way to the living area. To achieve better bathroom design you may combine the bathroom and the powder room and put an extra toilet pan into the laundry. Access to the bathroom facilities from bedroom two is inconvenient and throughout the living area. Too many doors in the corridor between bedroom three and four. Hope this helps.

    • PRO
      Reclaim your space
      8 years ago

      I like the layout, I'd like to live there, especially the master bedroom :)

      I agree with Studio Urbo though, the toilet is quite a distance from Bed2 and the media room. Hard to make suggestions without knowing the brief, but I'd probably look to add in an additional powder room. Not sure if it can go somewhere above the garage, or maybe compromise on the WIP.

    • PRO
      Envirotecture
      8 years ago

      Where about in Aust are you?

    • Vasu Patel
      Original Author
      8 years ago

      Thanks Studio Urbo, MB Design & Drafting, & sgdeitz for your feedback. Bedroom 2 will be used as nursery for few years and then converted to Study or something later on. We are at maximum now for build area limitations and therefore reconfiguring is only option. Still working on increasing kitchen width & making bathroom bit larger. Any suggestions??

    • Vasu Patel
      Original Author
      8 years ago

      Envirotecture, South of Sydney.

    • clikmania
      8 years ago
      Hi Vasil - very exciting building your own home but it seems massive to me - big house can mean big bills and more time cleaning!! Have you considered multi-functional spaces too? At the entrance-there is a long corridor which may feel oppressive - can you add height or roof lights there? Just a thought :)
    • Bryan Lip
      8 years ago
      Accessibility to the bathroom for Bed 2 seems a little difficult?
    • Najeebah
      7 years ago
      I would:
      alter the master bathroom if possible, to have a flush wall on the right of the house
      find a way to incorporate another/ a larger window there as well
      change the door location of the closet to one of the ends, not centered on the wall, so that the door opens against the wall and does not block storage

      what will the 'games room' be used for? would it be possible to incorporate it into the living room or bedroom 2, and thus have a greater living-dining area
    • Najeebah
      7 years ago
      also consider bringing the short wall with the entrance door forward, in line with the garage wall, so its not as tucked away
      Vasu Patel thanked Najeebah
    • PRO
      Envirotecture
      7 years ago

      Depending on far south...

      Assumption, you have a boundary close to the NE edge of the house and a neighbour just (~2m) beyond. If so then most of your northeast windows will not get great sun for most of the day in winter (hard to be precise here) therefore the recessed corner is key to getting winter sun (free heating). If the alfresco roof is a fixed roof then this will not work and you will be very reliant on mechanical heating.

      Solution; retractable shading device of some sort over ALF.

      Big picture suggestion: you have 3 living areas in the house, why not reduce to two, pull back part of the NE wall to give genuine northern sun capture and have a house with no bills.

      As URBO said at the start. It's very hard to give great advice without knowing the full story.

      Good luck.


      Vasu Patel thanked Envirotecture
    • ibissue
      7 years ago
      I'd put the master bed against a different wall. Our bed backs onto the kitchen as in your design and it can be noisy if someone is trying to sleep in!
    • kubbyfish
      7 years ago

      I would leave the kitchen sink where it is. The first home I built had an island bench with a sink and it got in the way while entertaining ( dishes) and can get quite messy while doing the dishes. The next house I built also had an island bench with sink but I altered the design so that the sink was against the wall like yours. It works much better and the island bench provides clutter free prepping space. Make sure you put power points in the island bench.

    • PRO
      Reclaim your space
      7 years ago

      I think if it was me, I'd forego the Media room. make that Bed1, with the WIR & ensuite moved up a bit. Then behind them have the prayer room and WIP, backing onto the kitchen. This means you could make Bed2 and 3 longer, or put in a powder room or small laundry, and in turn make your main bathroom bigger.

    • olldroo
      7 years ago

      Reverse your master bedroom so the ensuite adjoins the kitchen and keep plumbing together. Saves on water usage and is more economical for hot water.

    • User
      7 years ago

      Hi. I vote for keeping your current kitchen layout! My last house I had sink in island - this time, my new kitchen is same layout as yours. I want to keep my island completely plain - great for prep area, eating, serving area for buffets and moves dirty dishes to a less obvious area!

      Only addition I would suggest - add a skylight to your WIrobe for natural light. Good luck!

    • Paul Brewster
      7 years ago

      Unfortunately, most people start with a plan and then fit it on to a block of land. In my opinion, you need to look at your block of land and the surroundings first - neighbouring houses, outlook, any views to be taken advantage of, slope of the land etc etc. Then consider the orientation of the house. You have appropriately placed living areas on the North side so as to take advantage of northerly sunlight - great. But that means all the bedrooms have a mostly Southerly aspect which is usually damp and receives little if any sunlight. You haven't provided any information regarding the size of the block or the siting of the residence on the block, so I can't really comment on whether any alternatives are available. But please, please, think about the house and garden as an overall project and create something special bringing all aspects together.

    • kooky_karen
      7 years ago

      I agree with others about keeping kitchen sink where it is. So much better to have bench to work on. If you want the kitchen bigger - push the island bench out to the edge of the window and continue the bench with the sink in it to the window also.

      The suggestion to flip the ensuite and master bedroom is a good one.

      I would make the powder room smaller and have the laundry (flip it), toilet and bathroom in a U shaped corridor. That way the shower would not be right next to the door. (I have this set up and still have room for a hand basin in the toilet.) Also, although the bathroom is not overly large, a large clear glass window (almost to the height of the bath) will make the room look larger. (Again, I have this set up - with an 1800mm bath that is the width of the room so it is not large.)

      The hinged door in WIR, I would change to a cavity door. That way you don't have to close the door behind you to find the items hanging behind it.

      I hope this gives you some ideas.


    • Najeebah
      7 years ago
      the sink location is very much a personal preference, so go with what suits you. I do agree with the posters who mentioned the need for skylights (closet, prayer room, passage) as well as the need to build your plan around your plot.
    • longbeachgrannyflat
      7 years ago
      Move the ensuite and air to against the kitchen wall. I would also move the shower, basin and bath taps to the wall closet to the toilet. With the plumbing savings, I would insulate more, and move the AV unit away from the bedrooms to against the garage wall to reduce noise. ( actually I would figure out where the prevailing breezes come from and have cross ventilation and a solenoid operated solar roof vent to keep the heat in the roof cavity down in summer, so that you don't need the air con.
    • ramcub
      7 years ago
      If you don't mind an internal toilet with exhaust fan, flip:
      1. Ensuite toilet/shower to the internal wall against the walk in robe; and
      2. Vanity against the external wall.

      Thus a large central mirror above the vanity can be side-lit from both sides with small corner windows for a bit of wow and significantly more natural light.

      I also vote to flip the ensuite/robe with the master:
      1. Shorter hot water runs with ensuite near the kitchen;
      2. Quieter master suite;
      3. More secluded master suite access from the main entry.
    • john9539
      7 years ago

      The design is fine for family living with bedrooms on the south and living rooms facing north. The kitchen design is good however I have a problem with the dining/family and games room layout and room sizes. My suggestion is to move the alfresco down to where the dining area is and locate the dining where the family area is. The games room can then be extended into where the alfresco area was previously. In other words locate the alfresco centrally so that the kitchen, dining and games room all look into this area. Hope this makes sense

    • Najeebah
      7 years ago
      any updates, vasil?
    • Vasu Patel
      Original Author
      7 years ago

      Najeebah still work in progress. Thanks all for lovely suggestions. Here's some changes that we are thinking.

      - making it a sound proof wall between Master Bed & Kitchen wall as entry to Master bed has to be that way because Bed2 is going to be used as Nursery. WIR will have a sliding door instead of Hinged

      - Trying to swap master Ensuite's vanity with Shower and WC

      - Making family bathroom larger (not sure which way though as I really want to keep WC separate).

      - Skylights definitely on the agenda (cost depended)

      - Partition wall for games room which will only be used for kids to play and can be utilised as extra covered area during family barbeques.

      - Envirotecture , we are putting up a raked ceiling in kitchen/family as it is sloping slightly downwards towards our block so to have extra light in.

      Not saying have ignored other suggestions and will work on things on priority basis and as Beekon Pty Ltd suggested we have taken into consideration this as overall project and want to keep things that will suit our family for many years to come.

    • olldroo
      7 years ago

      Vasil - as much as sliding doors are great space savers, they can become very noisy over time, especially noticeable in bedrooms. Maybe think about keeping the WIR door as a swing but swinging into the bedroom. It will be kept closed when not in use, so it won't be a nuisance, but will give you access to all the wardrobe. My grands all have WIR in their bedrooms with doors swinging outwards and they work very well.

      I can understand you wanting to have your bedroom door as close as possible to the entrance to the nursery, but mirror reversing your master bedroom won't move the door that much and in fact you will find that having doorways a little off-centre to each other is very helpful for manoeuvring large items of furniture in and out of rooms.

    • donnawildy
      7 years ago

      I need a magnifying glass to see this plan.

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