I'd love any advice on a new house design
We are in the process of designing a new home for myself,hubby and three daughters 17, 16 & 8. I have a business from home and want this at the front of the house. After MANY changes of design on an odd shaped block I have come up with this layout which I love. I just want to know if there appear to be any major design flaws (particularly in the kitchen/dining/living area) as this is not my field of expertise. I just know I want lots of natural light. The garage needs to stay there as we have designed the house with a future sub division of the block in mind.
Comments (34)
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Any advice on my new floor plan?
Comments (139)Hi there Dave, sorry for not responding sooner, I have been a bit unwell. I would like to add the following ideas. 1) You mention going to a kitchen company and showing your current kitchen plan, the better thing for you to have done would to have taken your floor plan with measurements and asked them what they would suggest, as long as they didn't want to charge you. This way you would get more ideas, not just them politely agreeing hoping to get your business, and why not, 2) I would contact several builders to come on site and give you their ideas of what needs to be done and advise if you would need to involve council and the building costs involved in doing this. The builders will have their own trades electrical and plumbing that work as a team 3) You mention flat packs, they are a great option and can save you a lot of money, Bunnings will do a kitchen plan and cost in store at no charge, Ikea will do the same but not sure about any charges. You can also go online to both and work out a plan, but I would strongly suggest you speak face to face them as they know their product. Bunnings run in store programs where they show you how to assemble their cabinets, both stores have video tutorials, believe me it's worth watching as flat pack anything can be a nightmare. If you can assemble your own cabinets in your own time it will save you a.lot of money, starting sooner than later would be a very good idea I didn't get up to mentioning in planning the layout of your kitchen that the larger the cabinets you use will also save money, ie 2 x 900 as against 3 x 600, the cost per unit plus instead of paying for 3 cabinets to be installed it's 2. It's also makes for a simpler looking design. Most of our Bunnings kitchen is made up of 900 units 2 x Drawers & 900 units 3 x drawer. The exception is 800 cabinet for the sink. 5) Cook top, I would strongly suggest you work a 900 into your kitchen (this would mean having to use a smaller cabinet either side or just between the cook top and the wall). 900 cook tops give superior space to use especially when using large pots/woks and fry pans, they also help to protect laminated bench tops from accidental put down and burns, 6) Range hood, the best look for your kitchen wouldn't be a large stainless wall mounted unit and that's good news as the intergrated ones in over head cabinets would not only look better, give more storage and would cost less. 7) The Island, you have been trying to decide what size, well if you don't have plumbing installed, the island can be free standing with or with out plinths and can be moved if you decide you need more space. You do need to have a couple of power points but make sure they have a longer connection. Our Island is 2.7 x 1200 and has both a cook top and oven with power points and can be moved approx 500m in each direction due to having longer connections. 8) Bench tops, you mention laminate due to cost, we had that problem what with the size of the island. So we went with Plywood (not Marine) We went to Mr Plywood who when the next delivery came in chose a piece with a beautiful grain, had it cut to size and delivered. The plywood sheet came in a 3 meter length but not all do, we had enough to do the sink bench and a top for a tressel table & legs my better half made. cost with delivery 2hrs approx $400. We did a shadow line bench top which had a smaller size white set back under lay. You need to use a good two pack pot sealant on the Plywood. Finally I don't know where I got the picture of the retro coloured kitchen cabinets, but look online at both Bunnings and Ikea cheers...See MoreNew design advice
Comments (36)Hi again, Jessica. I'm not sure anyone completely understands or is adequately prepared for the construction process unless they are in the industry. The way to learn is to jump in; you will learn as you go along. Ask your builder questions when you don't understand something or need clarification, and monitor the build because mistakes can and do happen (they are usually minor and easily rectified when caught in time). We have built four times, the last two were custom and we caught mistakes in each one of those at various stages of the build. In my experience, builders generally prefer the clients not to access the site without their permission; this point is usually stipulated in the contract. The time to address access (with the builder) is when the contract is ready for you to read and sign. Anyone who is building a house is going to access the site to monitor the progress, but it's better to do so when tradesmen are not working, for everyone's safety, and because then you can take your time. Be sure to read the contract through thoroughly, check that the specifications and inclusions are correct, and resolve any queries before signing. And check that the completion date is specified and it is to your satisfaction. Completion date should never be left open-ended. I'm sure everyone's experiences are different, but this is a good opportunity to learn and what you learn will help prepare you for any future builds....See MoreAdvice on house design
Comments (29)sorry about the drawing, but I quickly just sketched over your plans. I tried to keep the basic design you had just to save on re drawing over, but I would suggest the following as there was a lot of wasted space before. Also keep in mind that you are able to flip the house over (mirror image) if it will be too hot for the bedrooms to be on that side. Following the above drawing I would get rid of all the small hallways and extra doors you have, I would put the activity room directly on the Bed 1 wall and have built in bookshelves around the two walls, this will turn it into a study which will be a better choice for resell value. I would also put a skylight in that room as there are no windows. Entry to Bed 1 will be via the corridor which links all bedrooms, it still gives you dbl doors into the master, WIR and your ensuite. Your ensuite I would move the shower to the end and put floor to ceiling glass and turn it into a dbl shower one side can have dbl vanity and the other the WC and you would also have enough room to install a cupboard which could be a nice decorative on with glass on the top half where you could keep your towels and door on bottom to hide things. I would move Bed 4 in line with the other bedrooms, I did not move the main bathroom but you could move int and have it in the middle between two bedrooms. The main bathroom I would do a wet room which incorporates a bath and the shower behind again floor to ceiling glass. You would still have room for dbl vanity and toilet. By moving the activity room in line with the entry way, it will give you room in the bedroom hallway to incorporate a linen cupboard. By moving the drop zone and putting the PDR room door at that end it allows you to have a bigger laundry. therefore, behind the laundry door you could have overhead cupboards as well as undercounter cupboards for extra storage. Drop zones end up becoming messy and with yours right in the entry way, whenever you had guest your mess will be out in the open. By moving all this around it opens up the main hub of the house; it gives you enough room to extend the kitchen bench a little further down, I would put a large square island in the middle it allows for better flow around the kitchen and it also gives you extra seating, especially for quick breaky with the kids in the morning before running out the door to do school drop offs and work. It also gives you extra cupboard space as you are able to have doors put right around underneath for extra cupboards. Your dining area now has grown and leaves you with extra space along the the new study wall that you can have as a kids zone. Firstly, being little you will want to keep an eye on them secondly as they grow they want their own bedrooms. Your family living area is still the same; I would also wrap the pergola around to the end of the house which enables you to build an outdoor kitchen/bbq area with a table for entertaining and on the other end you could have comfy couches to lounge in when outdoors, have your morning coffee and watch the kids play in the backyard. Hope this helps Good Luck...See MoreNew home - Off grid, rural. Advice
Comments (15)How exciting El Bee. I live in a similar rural climate. Everyone with bottled gas for heating (and anything else) constantly remarks how expensive it is. It’s really expensive to run. The most efficient heating type is reverse cycle air conditioning. The Daikin US7 has a COP (coefficient of performance) of up to 7. What that means (in lay person’s terms) is that one unit of energy produces 7 units of heat. Most other brands have a COP of up to 5. COP is also affected by the size of the unit and the temperature where the compressor is located (usually outdoors) Other forms of electric heating have a COP of 1 at best. An alternative could be wood fired or heat pump hydronic heating and water heating. It gives a much nicer heat than ducted and may be cheaper to run if you can source your own wood. If you buy firewood then the economics may not work for you. Whether a heat pump system will work for you in winter, which is when you need heating, depends upon how many sunny days you get in winter. It still needs to be powered by some electricity but is efficient. The best solution is to build a house that requires very little heating or cooling (or even none) using solar passive design principles. Good places to start are the yourhome.gov.au website, the alternative technology association website (although it can get bogged down in debates about technology) and renew and sanctuary magazines. If your house is oriented correctly, right amount of shading, cross ventilation, insulation, right materials etc then you may need very little heating or cooling at all. Good orientation and cross ventilation costs nothing but will reap huge benefits in terms of comfort and liveability, and reduced reduction on energy to heat and cool the house. For me, I would prefer the master separate to the kids rooms unless there is a solid reason for grouping the bedrooms together. It’s good to be close to kids when they’re little and need you during the night, once they are older you might want more privacy for adult activities. Teens typically go to bed later than their parents and there are likely things you don’t want them to hear. If possible it’d be great to get the loo out of the bathroom. Especially for morning rush time. Even though there’s another loo in the laundry. Think about wood storage too. Accessible to the house and easy access for the delivery truck. You don’t want to be pushing wheelbarrows of wood up a steep slope. Some wood storage inside is also a good idea so you don’t need to dash out in the cold to stock up on wood all the time. And finally, possibly more pantry space. If you are not close to a major town or decent food shopping then you may have longer between shopping trips and need more storage for food. It doesn’t need to be fancy. Just bigger. Think about using a building designer or architect with an understanding of sustainable design and solar passive principles in your climate. Or if designing yourself then going with a builder who understands these principles and has worked on similar projects in the past. They’ll have great insights about what works in your climate. Is there a sustainability or permaculture group in the area? They’ll probably be a great source of information and contacts. Good luck with the build....See More
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoyour floor plan has great interaction between family and private spaces and I prefer the cosier living area for TV and the generous family dining area (with space for a comfy chair for coffee and a paper)... my suggestions include some small variations to increase light in the activities room with a sliding glass door or wider windows looking towards the alfresco and a sliding wall to open the activities to more light through the dining area (which also creates a direct line of sight from kitchen to the computer nook) I've rearranged the bathroom and salon toilet for more privacy and better access from public areas and if your work needs water for clients' a cabinet with extra sink could be useful inside the salon on the other side of the wall from the toilet
LadyG thanked oklouise
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI also love your design you have certainly put a lot of thought into it. there are just a couple of spots that I would change to save wasting space
- access to the girls area and introducing a pocket door between the family living and the nook so that you can still manage computer access especially with your 8 yr old, you sound a lot like our family we had two and a third 10yrs after the second. this also gives better access to the outdoor area for them.
2) Front entrance matching solid double full height doors to the Salon and Master, with one being locked in place until needed. a bit of Wow factor
3) reduce the wall into the family area and entrance doors moved back, lounge layout can be changed
4) a pocket door for your WIR (cavity doors) to save wall space.
Other than that lovely, I" am attaching your drawing with the changes I have suggested. The only other question I have is there a view from the girls bathroom that maybe could be swapped with one of the bedrooms, cheers
LadyG thanked siriuskey- 7 years ago
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my suggested floor plan reduced the storage wall in the activities room by 50cms but added 1m into bed 2 and there's also an extra 2.3m in the entry and 30cms added to the wiw ...please consider soundproof plasterboard and insulation around the bathroom (or any wall) to reduce noise because changing the position of the wardrobe in bed 4 will create problems with the doorway and make the room very narrow for furniture arrangement
btw a kitchen sink along the outside wall would be good for a servery access to the alfresco but clearing the dining table will be a two step process from the table to the island and then from the island to the sink. the stove, sink and frig would be very spread out, the island would need to be reduced in length by at least 60cms, there's plenty of space to make it wider but you would lose the rare opportunity to be able to step directly from the kitchen to outside and the lovely open feeling created by the big island and simple line of cabinets with the sink, stove and frig grouped symmetrically and closer together with the extras like wall oven and MW, coffee maker etc further along the cabinets
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- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
This kitchen pantry laundry by a Sydney Designer is my go to it reminds me of the great space you have designed plus a photo full height pocket doors, these are used to divide the kitchen pantry Laundry spaces when needed
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Hi Houzzers!!! So, I've been having a little play around this afternoon and taken all of your advice into account and come up with this.......let me know what you think??
I like the privacy of having the WC on the other side - not sure if the basin works like that??
Added room for our chest freezer in the laundry - think I'll put a hanging rail above that and an IT nook up the other end for charging devices etc
Added the pantry into the kitchen area so not so much storage is needed in scullery and much handier :)
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
apart from the tiny window in the study nook there's no other external light or ventilation for the activities area and you should check before finalising plans to make sure that this small window is enough to satisfy building regulations and here's a more private version of your latest bathroom (and remember the in wall sound insulation)
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what do you think of this ??? I have always had a little problem with internal WC's :) Opens up the window area near the nook...would the shower be ok there? ps I really appreciate all of your help oklouise
- 7 years ago
the window near the nook will be smaller than we hope because we still have to allow for wall thickness and window frames (another option would be to reduce the depth of the dining room to increase the window and the depth of the alfresco!!) but here's another bathroom
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Hi ladyG I will post part of oklouise first girls bathroom which I
thought was the best as this gives easy access to a toilet for everyone
from family room and outdoor area, this toileis also on an external wall
and allows for a window but reduces the girls bench, could that be kept
as my sketch suggests as their hair and MAKEUP by adding a large mirror
above the bench top.You have taken some space from the
master WIR to make the cupboard on the entrance deeper, could this now
become the study nook, with stools that tuck in similar to what would be
needed to use at the girls bench so as not to block the flow.Posting a photo to show what I thought would look stunning in your entrance giving access to both Salon and Masterbed.
- 7 years ago
I love all this feed back - thank you ladies & gents :) I do think the light and flow would probably work better like oklouise's first post - I concede you are both right. My concern was the depth of the shower - we have a very pokey one at the moment but think I see how to rectify that - tell me what you think? Also I want LOTS of storage and think keeping the storage in the activity with the entrance now up the other end would limit the furniture layouts so I would probably keep that in the entrance hall and still use the nook as is - no doubt they will sit there to do their makeup as the light will be amazing BUT i can imagine the mess will not - haha! I LOVE those doors siriuskey- so grand and impressive but my husband is a lay in bed TV watcher so that would possibly take up too much wall space for his liking - again I giggle ( you have to right?) - 7 years ago
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