Should master bed or Study have the garden view and north aspect?
5 years ago
I have another design dilemma.
We've decided on a stepped down living area leading to the outdoor balcony, however, we can't decide on what to do with the master bedroom and study.
My architect said I should have the study towards the back to enjoy the view to the garden and more sunlight as I won't spend much time in the bedroom during the day. However, my instincts tell me that when most people see a house they look for a master bedroom with good views and don't care too much about the study, or do I have this completely wrong. Or is this purely a preference thing?
What do most people prefer? I've attached 2 images to illustrate what I mean.
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PRO5 years ago- 5 years ago
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Help please? Is accessing the study via the kitchen too wierd?
Comments (26)Simon, 100% agree with OKlouise, she's on the right track..... I've done a stack of these types of things.....big projects, that call for professional solutions....what I would say as a start is that there are always various ways of achieving your needs. It's not just about the rooms, it about the quality of the spaces, the proportioning their connection/relationship to both the adjacent internal and external areas.....I'm guessing from the floor plan you have a lovely older home with some traditional character...depending upon your needs for the rear yard (pool??) I see opportunities here for alternative configurations that would open this thing up and let more natural/north light into the main living/kitchen areas.....if you want my 2 cents I think for a home of this scale no you shouldn't have to pop through the kitchen to get to the study...a study nook within a kitchen is OK but as a differentiated room that could potentially be used for other purpose (always good for the property value factor ;) )....its ALL in the planning, there's a lot of money involved here so make sure you get it right and if it doesn't "feel" right, then there's an issue.....clearly here you have priorities and vision for your study, and that's great, so make sure you get it right and that the outlook is how you want it to be - so it should, it's yours!.....but it's not a simple as just swapping the spaces around/over...floor plans are delicately balanced and carefully considered/arranged and when resolved properly/professionally they will just sit there and be unquestionably "right", appropriately scaled & proportioned, not awkward, representative of your specific requirements/priorities and balanced within the particular context.......See MoreHow to configure WIP/laundry/study/WC2
Comments (15)when you say left do you mean on the Murray Downs Drive or Kidman Drive.. (it's better to say North, South, East or West as left and right depends on which way you're standing) but how close to the north and west fences can you build and if you want the laundry on the North that could be better for coming inside from the carport but where would you have a clothesline or pool or lawns or vege garden and why is the big shed stuck so close to the north east corner and using so much of your block for driveways..and do you realise that if you remove the laundry from the south side that it reduces the size of the kitchen, family and meals area and leaves no other room for the laundry so the whole plan will need to be changed again and there's lots of wasted space and the master suite is stuck in the least favourable corner but you need to decide what is most important and design plans from the inside out...See MoreNorth East Facing House Layouts
Comments (120)theatre next to alfresco would block kitchen or family room from outdoors and you need wide views of the backyard from busy area if you want a pool but theatre can be swopped with master and space next to the kitchen was always a scullery and the computer nook is in the family room these rooms are reasonable sizes and furniture helps explain available spaces and i've shown the simple hip roof but keep in mind that this plan is more than 100sqm smaller than your original so would be much cheaper to build but you will still need external shutters to screen some windows for some parts of the day during hot weather...See MoreIs my study/home office dimensions too small? Please help!
Comments (11)Hi Matt, I too think the study/home office can work fine at 1800mm wide and 3.3m long. It will allow 2 good work spaces side by side or one at the window and another along the length. Be careful with the smaller space and lower winter sun if the window is too big as it will overheat quickly. Even window traetments will not change this much as presumably whilst you are in there, you'll want the outlook. The image you attached looks lovely but with all the white surfcaes and the huge window with the sun, it would be too bright to work on a desk at or near the window. Consider a black desk surface and a smaller window. In NZ we have a plywood that has prefinished laminate surfaces both faces. It's great for desks. https://www.plytech.co.nz/futura-hpl I agree with what KHSD has said. Corners in robes are problematic especially if there is hanging in both directions. Combined with this, the position of the door into the ensuite needs consideration. If you are deleting the toilet enclosure for a part wall, I'd move the door opening to the ensuite towards the toilet so you can have a decent sized towel rail between the door and the shower. If having a cavity slider into the ensuite, slide it back into the wall in front of the toilet so there is sufficient structure in the wall for the towel rail to fix to otherwise, it will end up loosening over time as the cavity slider frame is too thin for really secure fixings for these items. Otherwise you will need to thicken this wall and that takes space away from the rooms. I would consider changing the windows in the master bedroom too. I don't know what your situation with the neighbour to the north is, i.e, are they close, are they higher or lower or two storeys etc? This would help deciding what to do here. Windows don't have to be placed in the centre of the wall as they generally are. If you have close neighbours and are close to the street, consider something different. Western sun from the street can be problematic. My inclination with bedrooms facing the street is to have high level windows as close to the ceiling as possible to give a bit of privacy but great light. Otherwise the window treatments on centrally located windows will almost always be closed. I'd then put the bed on that wall, which I think is the longer wall so no need for extra space to be added to the bedroom. You could also/or have thin slit windows at either end of the front wall above the bedside cabinets so you can see out if needing to see who is approaching etc. I'd put windows on the north wall and the size and location depends on the relationship with your neighbours. If they are below you, the window should be in the top half of the wall so they cannot see you below your neck. If they are above or beside you, put the windows down low and/or in the corners of the room. Windows at floor level need only be 500-700mm high. It retains privacy as people will only see your feet and lower legs but light on the floor brightens the room a lot. You could have tall thin windows if you want a bit of a view out. You pass these fairly quickly so you are not very visible from the outside, unless you stand right in front of them. Back to the robe, I agree with what KHSD suggested. Put the extra 500mm width into this space. Have a coat cupbd in the hall the full width of the robe. Back that with a full width storage in the robe. This could be just 400mm deep in shelves and drawers for all the small stuff and folded items. These can be very efficient storage elements. Then have the doors through the robe next to that. Then running the rest of the length of the robe to the outside wall, opposing runs of 500mm depth of hanging and shelving. This should be about 1800mm long each. Consider also, opening the theatre doors outwards to allow better furniture placement. This only works because you have a wide lobby outside the theatre. Hope this helps. It's the little tweaks and finer detail that makes a plan really work for you. C...See More
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5 years ago@oklouise yes in the architects design the study is at a lower level so the master bedroom has has a window view through the study. To create more privacy at the entrance of the bedroom the dividing wall so extended. Not sure if this will make the dining area too 'closed off'
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