Floor plan to allow more light
Comments (18)
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Need help with my new floor plan (this time with the plans attached)
Comments (10)Hi Sophie, I immediately agree with the suggestion to remove the angled/chamfered wall to the bedroom entry and create a small lobby, although a good alternative is to consider a straight-run stair and adding a corridor wall to create a 'private' zone - then toilet can stay where it is, tucked in under stair, and privacy (and acoustic/smell separation to the toilet) is created for living and master bedroom. This might mean widening the kitchen room by 100mm or so (noting some reductions mentioned below) and mirroring the bathroom/rumpus arrangement upstairs - it does create a bit more circulation but adds a lovely sense of space when don't have your main circulation through the middle of a room. The laundry pantry is not the usual arrangement - and the distance needed to travel to the linen cupboard is excessive. I would definitely flip the arrangement of laundry /pantry and try to turn the linen into some kind of study nook off the new corridor - and get rid of the tiny desk near the front door!! Imagine that lovely living space with light coming in from the porch which is facing north. That brings up the final comment that north is where the garage is and the main kitchen is therefore south-east facing, this is fine for morning but it is darker for the afternoons. This is a bit harder to change, but the kitchen could be reworked to turn through 90 degrees to face the garden but extend across to the west facade to allow afternoon light in. The nook could be deleted (which blocks afternoon light to deck) and the deck could extend or wrap around the corner for afternoon light. A little corner of deck in the afternoon sun you would never regret! Your draftie designer would need to look at this in detail as the west external wall would might need to shift inwards and south widen into garden, but if afternoon light is important to you then I would encourage you to consider this change too....See MoreHow do I make my open-plan room more contemporary?
Comments (61)For me, it would be colour. Maybe a feature wall for walls around dining, or living, pick colour from your favoured painting, and use same and other colours from pictures for cushions or even some occasional furniture in the brightest colour - I saw this done beautifully in a tarted up house for display - a small seat/coffee table painted and upholstered in an orange mix, which was taken from the splashback (everything else was neutral) and also in a throw for lounge....See MoreHelp with our floor plan! We need more space in our tiny house!
Comments (18)anything is possible with enough money but with such a modest budget you might achieve the new bathroom and kitchen OR the extension but it would be difficult to achieve both at the same time but you haven't answered the questions??? what is the distance from the house to the back fence, what are all the floors, walls and roof built out of (ie inside and outside walls, concrete slab on ground, or is it a timber floor with crawl space underneath the house?? and NB where is north? ...what is the shape of the roof (hip or gable tiled roof or??) ...do you have an aerial photo of the roof like Google earth??...extending over the retaining wall shouldn't be a problem with proper cosntruction and there isn't anywhere else to go without losing the best outdoor area that has easy access to inside...the extra lengths of pipe isn't the biggest cost of new plumbing and a ventilating skylight will make a great light source for an internal bathroom......See MoreHow can I improve this floor plan to be more open and have more light
Comments (18)I would re-evaluate my brief, my budget and my site. It is another case of trying to squeeze too many rooms into too small a space and compromising the living space. If you draw furniture to scale in your living room then you will see that it is undersized for a four bedroom home. With the best orientation going to the garage door and bedroom 4 I would look at a complete redesign by pushing some of the bedrooms to the rear, and a central courtyard to give you an opportunity for north facing light to a living room. There is nothing nice about the current design and will feel like an apartment with little resale appeal. The designer has shown no flair or imagination in this "gun-barrel" floorplan, and is a variation on a concept that has been around for centuries. But your biggest problem is the number of rooms. Do you really need 4 bedrooms plus a study and 2.5 bathrooms, a long wasteful hallway, and only one modestly sized open plan living area and kitchen on a narrow block? I would start again with a smaller brief and a designer who can challenge your thinking about what good small house design actually means. Small house design is the hardest to do really well, so don't use a large house designer. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits...See More
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThanks everyone for above comments. We plan on living here for the next decade (I guess) so have long term plans for reno ... as we can afford it. Basically the kitchen has to be the starting point as it is so dark in there, especially with the brick wall. Please see floor plan.
1. We will paint window trims, dado board, skirting door frames in white asap. We will also paint the ceiling. the ugly side by side oven has to go and we will either buy secondhand freestanding in the interim as I am considering a 90cm cooktop and possibly a wall oven for the final reno - this all boils down to the final floorplan decision and cost. As siriuskey suggested with the advice of a pro :-).
2. We will either knock out a hole in the external brick wall, roughly where the oven currently is, to install a door which will let in light and create a walk through direct to pantry on the opposite wall.
OR, we will enlarge current window and/or install proper skylights above kitchen as suggested by siriuskey.
This all depends what we do with the internal brick wall that backs onto the lounge area and the wood fired heater. If we knocked it down and opened up the kitchen dining living area it would be amazing, but its a serious brick wall and more than likely load bearing. See below.
I like the idea of a galley kitchen with cooktop, sink below window, dishwasher along the window wall (this is 4m) and an island bench with wide drawers.
If you have any other suggestions I am all ears :-)
See floor plan below and photo of living area.
Floor in living is currently carpet and we will rip up and install vinyl planks in timer - I like Karndean brand, Lemon Spotted Gum
http://www.karndean.com/en-au/floors/easy-fit-ranges/karndean-looselay
The flooring in the kitchen is currently tiles and ideally we would pull it up and cover with above all the way through, except bedrooms.
My ideal kitchen colourwise would look something like this -
Thanks so much
Dee
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Yes, siriuskey, there is a mezzanine floor above the kitchen dining area. This will become our master bedroom with ensuite. Please see upstairs plan attached and original floorplan.
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oklouise