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Building a Home Renovating Design Dilemma

Floor Plan Design Dilemma

3 years ago

I have received so much support and assistance on this forum. Thank you everyone who has helped me on my journey. We met with the builder today and unfortunately because of budget constraints we have opted out of building the attic which added a large main bed and ensuite and ample storage. We are a family of 3 and will have no other children and wouldn't use the extra space anyway. I know for resale a 4 x 2 is better but the 4th bedroom on our original house is tiny. It really is impossible to extend it in either direction without adding massive cost. What's everyone's thoughts on turning bed 4 to a mudroom/drop zone for added needed storage and a place to keep clutter at bay? What would you turn it into? My son is only 8 and I'm not sure it'd be much use as a study nook and we have specially built an outdoor office space. Any insight to how we could use the space to make floor plan better? Sorry to be a pain!

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Comments (11)

siriuskey
3 years ago
The following rough suggestion
siriuskey
3 years ago
You have a 3 bedroom house without room for a dining table, The Home Office ,Pool room becomes a MFR which includes the Media Room.
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Wow. This is a challenge. And great that you see it as a staged project and need an overal plan to work to. Yes as others said, need a proper base plan with room dimensions and all doors and windows in there right place. North point too. At present I can’t work out where front door is. Now questions for a fuller brief,, these are only a start, 1. are you on a concrete Slab or stumps, tiled roof or steal? 2. Make a list of rooms wanted to keep or change and indicative size Or what you want to achieve or like about existing room size 3. What size do you want each bedroom, and then specify wardrobe and en-suite requirements 4. What do you need in bathroom and en-suite. E,g bath in both? Double vanities, shower sizes. 6 Laundry, do you want internal and external direct access?, does it need to be it’s own room Or shared with bathroom 7. The closet outside master is that needed at that size and location, I would at first glance establish a hall connecting the right hand bedroom with bathroom at the left end, moving door to bedroom to left side of room Perhaps. 6. Kitchen again need specifics about pensinsula or island, oven size, fridge size, 7. It would also be be to understand the roof structure to identify load bearing walls. in terms of flow. Ideally from front door you should have at least 2 doorways/openings - one to living area/kitchen and one to the bedroom zone. Avoid bedroom directly off a living zone. Don’t want to have to walk through an entertaining area to go to loo in your pjs. noise is also an issue. in respect to turning the outdoor balcony into a living space, the designedpr needs to ensure adequate light to the internal living room.. pay attention to the walkways though this space to the other wing of house. have a go at this and either post again or go to a professional with a clearer brief.. Remember the design process never stops until it’s built. Lines are cheap building is the expense. Good luck
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Kate
3 years ago
It’s your house, use it for your needs. Storage mud room sounds great idea.
siriuskey
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
For resale and adding value, your MFR is excellent, it's like adding a granny flat and can be used for whatever purpose you or any new owners need, and certainly covers your concern of a forth bedroom.. If you consider swapping the kitchen you already have bathroom plumbing to cover that and the same would apply for the new master ensuite using the old laundry plumbing all which saves on costs
oklouise
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
my suggestion includes a simple skillion roofed extension for pantry, laundry, porch, mudroom and carspace and allows for more open family space with dedicated dining area at the same floor level as the kitchen and no extension for the small bedrooms...bed 2 or 3 can be for sleeping, the other bedroom for a kids retreat and bed 4 can be study or mudroom with new doorway
dreamer
3 years ago
And this was also a plan that oklouise posted back in July. I remember your land slopes down on the angled side, but this is another option that should be costed by your builder.
siriuskey
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
As per my suggested floorplan sketch above. Working within the current footprint with no extensions to save on costs.

I know you have some different floor levels to work around, but fixing that would give you a floorplan that flows
beaumitchell
Original Author
3 years ago
I'm not great at tech and keep posting in different places. sorry!! What's your thoughts about this latest plan? I needed to be mindful of switching too much in terms of plumbing and room positioning. Trying to keep within budget. Thank you to siriuskey for helping me with tech problems!
siriuskey
3 years ago
To have everything together helps to make constructive comments, I was starting to get confused as to what stage you were at, Having your final plan working to suit your lifestyle and aspect is very important to help with light, heating and cooling and using existing available plumbing etc will help to keep costs down and not blow the budget. Working with this you can decide what works best for you and your family.
siriuskey
3 years ago
When thinking of ideas for making changes to a floorplan aspect is always considered, you are very fortunate to have a rear Northly aspect
siriuskey
3 years ago
I promise this will be the last, because of this is why I considered moving the master suite to the Eastern wall and keeping the Northern aspect for family living space

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