Help me with my awkward floor plan please!
Hello Houzzers,
Our house is a semi-detached 1930's 2 bedroom house with a completely non-functional floor plan (see attached). We are in desperate need of more space, in particular a 3rd bedroom for our kids. Our first preference was to make a 2 storey addition at the back, but due to budget we're most likely going to stick to ground level except we want to convert our already-there attic storage into a small habitable room (study).
We have had some prelim plans drawn up by an architect and I'd like your opinion please: see below.
The next set of plans (with the stairs next to the bedroom are the ones I have drawn after the we had some preliminary ones sent from the architect. (Keep in mind the plans from the arch had the 2 story addition on top). See my plans below, I haven't put any windows etc in yet. (Note for some reason it only shows up if you click on the little square??)
There are some beautiful 1930s features that I wish to keep, such as the entry way. My husband wants to turn that into a bathroom but I won't let him, and he wants to move the entry half way down the house, which I think is awkward.
Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated. I haven't added dimensions to my drawings but can add if needed. I hope this makes sense!
THANK YOU! :)
Comments (16)
- 4 years ago
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Comments (25)Emily A permanently roofed al fresco will reduce some summer heat gain (although sitting out there may be uncomfortable) and will do the same for winter. From scanning the comments it appears that you are at a point where you can still may major changes; I cannot recommend strongly enough getting the orientation of your new home right, it will be warmer in winter, cooler in summer and be significantly cheaper (if not free) to run with some appropriately detailed insulation. I do understand the appeal of a floorplan that seems to be all you have aspired too but have seen many a case where people have later regretted those decisions. If you are unsure about the pros and cons of various floorplans then get a design professional (building designer/architect) to give you guidance on an hourly rates basis. good luck...See MoreFloor plan advice for newbies. Please help!
Comments (16)Hi Kieran, I've spent a fun Sunday playing around with this... thanks for the challenge! Jumping in to post it though, I think my ideas overlap with Siriuskey and Lucia. Isn't it funny how similar solutions can be arrived at independently! Key points: - As far as possible, I've tried to stick with the existing walls. - Since Bed 2 & Bed 3 are quite small already, even though I've encroached into each to achieve separate entries, the impact is minimal, particularly for Bed 3. - I've used pocket doors to both ends of the WIR and to the store room for optimal functionality. - I've depicted Caroma Urbane compact toilet suites with wall concealed cisterns because they save a bit of space and both toilets can use that extra space in that direction. - It's a very stageable design. You may for instance decide to build the ensuite/WIR and reconfigure the bed 2/3 entries without doing any of the kitchen changes. Or you may decide to save the expense and not move the main WC into the existing store, though it does add a fair area to the living space (I've used the exact existing footprint of the store to save cost and demolition pain which is workable with the Caroma Urbane, but alternatively you could demolish and rebuild the wall behind the pan for a more spacious loo). - The Family/Dining area ends up being fairly generous and very flexible. I've added a door to the end of the corridor to screen the loo a bit better from the dining area and for noise separation for the study, but you may prefer to leave this off. - I've not mucked around with your windows, figuring the important thing was to get the concept down for you, except in the ensuite. Really good idea there to have a central mirror with a narrow window to each side to throw light on your face at the mirror. Has the side benefit of a symmetrical effect which is always good aesthetically. - I've also flipped the main bathroom door to relate better to Bed 2/Bed 3, though not strictly necessary. - I originally used the Bed 1 robe space as a big walk-in-pantry, but it didn't relate particularly well to the kitchen and it also left no provision for general storage. Rather than take up a lot of valuable kitchen space with a pantry which would reduce the length of the peninsula breakfast bar (not ideal), I came up with the idea of shallow shelves with a roller shutter which I think you'll find give you an amazing amount of readily accessible storage. I'd like to think it would be possible to source a horizonal roller shutter that would coil back into the dead space at the back of the fridge, but perhaps better to just go with a vertical shutter and avoid the headache!...See MorePlease help me with floor plan design for a small Australian home
Comments (20)OP, OKL's plan is better from an energy efficiency point of view than your plan (your plan wastes the northern aspect with bathrooms). But DON'T just flip OKL's plan, as the orientation would then be all wrong! It's important to get the orientation right, this will greatly effect the comfort of your home & your heating/cooling requirements (& hence your bills). Read this. It's all very useful, but maybe focus on the section about orientation first. http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design Below are some generalisations. As has been requested, it would be nice to know your general location, as climates vary across our big country, so building requirements change. But generally, you want your living areas (& a large proportion of your glazing facing north). If possible, have a smaller portion of your glazing facing south & east, for cross ventilation, & try to eliminate western glazing. Bedrooms to the south & east (if they won't also fit in the north), & rarely used rooms, like garages, bathrooms & laundries to the west. Your verandah is south facing, good, as it won't shade your home in winter. Hopefully you have north facing eaves & they aren't too large. If they are the right size you'll get sun through your northern windows in winter, but the eaves will shade the house in summer, when the sun is higher in the sky. So can you knock out windows & doors wherever you want? Would be good to know where they are currently, the size of the verandah, the block dimensions & any other structures which will influence shading & privacy. I'd also be looking at some tiny house blogs/websites. 72sqm isn't tiny, but you really want an efficient house that works well, & you'll find some ingenious storage solutions that are used in tiny houses. Well designed built in storage is definitely very important in a small home. Can't see if it all fits now, while using the app on my phone. But I'd aim for something like this. The kitchen in the NE corner, running down the eastern wall (so you get good morning sun). An island bench for dining, separating the living area on the northern wall. Master in the NW corner, with the ensuite on the western wall (if it fits - important not to have the master bedroom window facing west). Minor bedrooms (& windows) on the south wall. Main bathroom or powder room somewhere on the southern wall, in the SW corner would be nice if it fits there. No idea is that all fits, just some ideas. If you're not fussed about an easy facing kitchen, you could flip this all, & have the kitchen in the NW corner, & the master in the NE corner. If you're taking off external or internal cladding, this is a good time to insulate you're walls. Also up insulation levels in the roof cavity of they're inadequate. It will greatly effect comfort, is quite cheap & the walls are very hard to do at other times. Edit: as I got the verandah location wrong, then added to my post....See MoreHelp me plan my kitchen
Comments (5)it's possible to make a kitchen in either space but if you plan to remove the entry wall the door will open directly into a view of the kitchen..is that OK for you and you will first need to check if the wall is load bearing and do you like to sit outside, would you have a deck out the back with doors out from the old dining room or is there a view and comfortable space to sit out on the front porch..attempting to reproduce the plans suggests that the laundry is only 140cm wide by about 2m and the bathroom about 2m x 2m..but these real estate plans are often incorrect so would be a good idea to confirm all the measurements...See More- 4 years ago
Hello, thanks for your feedback!
Where would you place the entry? I feel like it's so far away from the front boundary if we place it past the bedrooms? Also, we have a front porch (see photo) - what would you do with that?
- 4 years ago
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
4 years agowith a little extra width in the front entry some improvements to the ensuite and a tiny downstairs study but you haven't mentioned floor heights so i've added potential location for a few steps down to the extension on a slab with lofty ceilings? and no advantage to stealing more space of the east side path so another narrow courtyard with side access to the family room would allow for family and friends access to the rear without walking through the whole house
Belinda thanked oklouise- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
and, depending on your local setback..without changing the front entry either of these ens options with a wrap around verandah could be worth considering
Belinda thanked oklouise 
4 years agoTrying to work within the existing footprint. dimensions aren't exact as some are missing in the original plan. I find the passageway a waste of good space
Not pushing the wall out and not going up into the roof space (but You could) and instead spending that money on an expanded sun/living room at the rear which would include the study,WC and laundry, Keeping the original WC as a separate powder room (add a hand bowl), the ensuite could be slightly enlarged. Bedrooms 2 & 3 are shown with both single and QB's the QB bedroom is already slightly bigger than 2.
The family kitchen dining would keep both fireplaces and the addition of skylights could look great
- 4 years ago
I have replaced the windows either side of the fireplace with two glass doors to allow access to the alfresco space on the side of the house
Belinda thanked siriuskey - 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
oklouise