Need some fresh eyes and thoughts on my floor plan please

7 years ago

Hi,
My husband and I are doing a full renovation and extension on our house. It’s currently a very tiny 3 bedroom (1st pic), and we are gutting it and extending out front and going up on one side (2nd and 3rd pic). We won’t be living there while this is happening.
Some background: we have two little boys who share a room at the moment. We have elderly parents who visit from overseas and stay for a few months. I cook (a lot) and we entertain a fair bit. We’ve tried to maintain as much backyard as possible for the boys.
We’ve looked at this too much so would love some fresh eyes on this and any ideas:) thanks in advance!

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Comments (3)

oklouise
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
the plan makes excellent use of the available space but unable to accurately read all the dimensions some of my suggestions are based on estimates and aim to allow more flexible arrangements for furniture and potential space/cost savings and include: removing the front porch in favour of an entry deck (with simple skillion roof and allows for a more generous reversing bay, visitors' parking space) combined step up kerb and garden beds, central entry through the old laundry, pantry relocated, remove rear verandah in favour of extra alfresco and more light into dining area and bed 3, enclosing below stairs for wiw, adding a shower in the upstairs powder room for the boys or visiting grandparents to have their own bedroom suite upstairs or down, walk in storage at the top of the stairs and more generous study area in the lounge

btw the family meals room seems like it should be longer than shown in the original plan and based on available space..which is correct?
sharini_b
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks so much oklouise these are fantastic ideas! The verandah at the back is an existing one so less effort to keep it. Love the entryway idea we have not been 100% on the entryway as it is, so this is a great solution! I think the draftsman was trying to incorporate my dislike of narrow entryways by creating a half-foyer type thing but what you have done achieves this without a corridor which I feel is a waste of space in a small house. Really appreciate this!
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having extra living areas downstairs suggested to me that the 4th bedroom (guest room/study/mum's retreat) upstairs would be a much better use of the family room (and also allows enough extra space for the master wiw and hall storage) and makes the "giant hallway" more useful as a better proportioned entry foyer with desk and bookshelves btw..thinking about the downstairs i'm wondering if you have any problems fitting in the cars? and, depending on available space (and unlimited resources?) i'm wondering if an extension to the walkway down the side could include a carport and wrap around to create access to the rear terrace upstairs and an entry porch for the office and allow for more options downstairs but, we need a site plan and better understanding of the angle of the driveway to consider these ideas but always best to plan the whole house even if the work is not all done at the same time
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Somehow the plans only show up on mobile, not on PC for me... I think that the kitchen/living/entertaining area in the front with the sea view is gonna be gorgeous. I'm guessing you and your family have guests over often? I love that there is a good separation between the entertaining area and the private areas. Some questions though, would the 2 garages have separate entrances? Would the astro turf / courtyard area on the lower floor be covered by the top floor? What's the distance from the building to the boundaries on each side? From the top floor, would you have to go through the stairs and garage to hang the laundry? For the en-suite in the lower floor, might be a good idea to future proof it, by starting to plan for hand rails, ease of access with walkers, etc. The gap around the vanity seems to be quite tight on the drawings.
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I'll throw a few ideas around . In spite of what you said about noise , I'd be tempted to go open plan and include the entry into the area . You said about the narrow hallway -- why not do an 825 or 850 wide door to the 'left' of the laundry door , slightly in the hallway ? One thing ( well 3 ) I'd seriously consider if you did go open plan would be to take out the right hand laundry wall , and enlarge it another 50cm or so 'right' into the old kitchen area , and second thing would be swing the external laundry door outwards , and then you could do as big a series of cupboards as you want in the laundry along the right side wall . There's sometimes a problem with condensation forming in cupboards if you use the dryer lots , but a fan exiting to outside should fix that . So , in a nutshell , a bigger laundry but with cupboards . The rest is totally up to personal choice -- you have more space by including the entrance , and more usable space as you don't have to worry about walls and doors . So maybe a TV on the wall where the entry is now , lounge around that , a dining in the middle or the far end , kitchen can be 'square' ( 2 or 3 high lots of cupboards in a square ) , or similar but only 2sided , or along that back wall . Decisions . . . . . . .
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retain the second living area, better resale value as more rooms and you will find it more useful the longer you stay. until the children are in primary school they will want to be in the same living room as you so they will play out in the back living area but over time you will be happy to have a separate play room full of toys you dont have to look at constantly while in the kitchen. I would definetely put both children in 1 room for at least 5 years then you will have another room that could become a third adult sitting/reading area. courtyards let in light and could almost become the second living room, or could turn out to look neglected with dead plants and somewhere you have to sweep up all the time its windy?
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oklouise
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
glad the rear verandah isn't a new addition as it seemed too narrow to justify the extra expense but it should be a nice position for a quiet sit with a view of the trees, also prefer the new entry foyer and the front porch could be reduced to about 2.1 x 3.6 and still retain enough space for a couple of chairs and a small table but all my sizes need checking as there seems to be a discrepancy with the length of the family meals area compared to the overall width of the building which, if i've calculated badly, could compromise the pantry/kitchen ...would like to be able to read all the measurements as there may be other options but my enlargement just makes the numbers blurred.
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Need some fresh eyes and thoughts on my floor plan please

Comments (3)

oklouise

sharini_b
Original Author

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Need some fresh eyes and thoughts on my floor plan please

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oklouise

sharini_bOriginal Author

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sharini_b
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