big reader is correct with fitting a bed in the master. The size is quite good the issue is the doors and the circulation pathways they have created. One option is to enter the Ens from the WIR or vice-versa as either way works quite well. I would also go back to a single door rather than the doubles.

Have the kitchen company make the kitchen benches longer for more bench space, the island to bench width looks fine though. That space on the left side of the kitchen near the entry will never be used for much.

I would of actually designed the living areas to be on the eastern and north eastern sides and have the master bed behind the garage. Privacy, location to other structures, road noise, etc. is always a consideration so without knowing the site in depth we can only speculate.

It is a simple layout which is also quite good! To many designers make things complicated and clunky and waste space will hallways, etc..

I think it looks pretty good.

The following are all non-professional comments:

- it might just be the scale of the cars in the plans, but the garage looks small. If possible, I would try to make it a bigger to enable more storage space.

- I don't think the double doors to the master bedroom work well. Not only do they take up valuable space, but I'm not sure how many people would ever have both doors open, especially since it would give any visitors a clear view of their "private" space. I would consider including a standard door or maybe a large sliding barn door or similar if you want the master bedroom to have a "grand" entrance.

- I would give serious considerations to privacy in the master bedroom, especially window size and placement. You may even wish to consider making the windows, in whole or in part, translucent.

- it looks like there is the potential for the shower door to collide with the hinged door in the ensuite. I would consider a sliding cavity door for the ensuite instead of a hinged door.

- I would include a window in the ensuite, maybe above the bench closer to the "toilet" so that it doesn't impact on the size of the mirror above the basin.

- I would consider a sliding cavity door or no door for the WIR to maximise storage space.

- I would extend the kitchen bench beside the fridge so that it aligns with the wall and include a small study nook or similar bench space where you can easily store your keys, wallet/purse, phone, etc when you come home. I would consider also extending the island bench to keep them aligned as there isn't much else that you can do with that space given the position of the entry and door from the garage. You could leave the underside of this extended area empty to allow for two stools or possibly include open shelving to display cook books, ornaments, etc.

- I would give some thought as to furniture placement in the living room. At the moment, it looks like there will be a bit of dead space between the island bench and the back of the sofa which will presumably face the TV on the only available wall. While room for circulation is great, this means that there appears to be minimal room for a dining space. A small round table may fit easily and, depending upon your location and climate, the intention may be for the occupants to dine outside on a regular basis (or at least when entertaining).

- I'm not sure the sliding cavity door between the dining room and small hallway with the powder, laundry and under-stair storage doors is necessary given all of the other doors. But, it might be useful for heating and cooling purposes.

- If the intention is to sell, I would consider making a few changes upstairs. First, I would turn the rumpus into a fourth bedroom with a BIR, perhaps with double or bi-fold doors so that it can be used as a second living space if required. Second, I would consider removing the "study" space and extending the bathroom space to make it a three-way bathroom (including space for a small linen cupboard). Third, I would include some windows in the stairwell area as there don't appear to be any at the moment. Fourth, I would change the position of the door and BIR in Bed 2 to ensure that the new "Bed 4" can be as large as possible.

Good luck!

Wow! thanks for all your advice, haephestus. It is definitely all the little details that make a house a home. I especially love the idea of a small nook next to the fridge :)

I know I won't live in it, but I'm a perfectionist and I just want to know the home I've planned is going to be pretty awesome for the family that buys it.

Skylights or roof windows could be nice in the stairwell/ study areas

Yes, windows or skylights in the stairwell are definitely something to consider so they don't look small and dark.

Thanks!

Hello sophie0lm

I am so glad that you understand that this house will be someone's home and you are invested in making it the best it can be. Whilst it is lines on a page, you have a precious window of opportunity to optimise every opportunity and your investment - so it's great to live in, doesn't cost a fortune to maintain or in energy bills, and sells well when the time comes.

So, hopefully my honest advice will be understood in this light - as I am passionate that homeowners get the best outcome for their homes, and the money they're spending on them.

This is my feedback on this floorplan:

• the lower floor plan appears to have been designed with little to no consideration for the solar orientation. Currently the garage occupies one of the best spots sun-wise, and the master and WIR. The living area will get some early morning sun in summer, and that's it. In Victoria, where winter sun is so crucial to making cold homes feel thermally comfortable, this home will struggle.
• the garage is tight for two cars. I would widen it to 5,800mm if possible. A supermarket carpark is around 2.5m - 2.7m - so think about two of these side by side, and how little room you have left to get around cars to the internal access into the house.
• I would highly recommend you ask your designer to put furniture on this floor plan. It will immediately highlight how difficult some of these spaces will be to furnish in a functional way. For example, the only wall to put a TV in the living space is the south wall. Which means that your sofa will sit with its back to the island bench. This isn't a problem - except that the dining room is quite tight, and I expect you'll (to get a 6 seater in) need to sit the dining table parallel to the south wall to fit it, and get around it to the stairs, and into the powder room and laundry. This will then impinge on where your sofa can go, and how you can get out to the deck.
• I recommend 3.5m wide for the wall you'll put a queen sized bed on, and have sufficient spaces for bedside tables and circulation around. So the bed will have to go where the window is in that master bed. This means that you'll see straight into the WIR from your pillow, which isn't ideal, and you'll compromise the functionality of this room by having double doors opening into it - because they'll land you straight into the side of the bed. It is always better, and feels more spacious to enter a bedroom at the foot of the bed. Using that northern wall to put the bed on also impacts how you can size that northern window to enable the bed to be located there.
• I would open the laundry door out, and consider using an aluminium framed glazed door (with obscure glass) so you can get some natural light in that room.
• Consider providing a 1m fridge recess to give maximum flexibility for future owners.
• I would agree with previous comments that another element to the west of the fridge recess would be good. At a bare minimum, a broom cupboard would be a great addition.
• The upstairs rumpus is oriented well for sun - it will be a great space thermally. I would, however consider moving the door to Bed 2 south, (and shortening the robe in Bed 2 to accommodate this) so you can put a wall across for the rumpus. This will enable you to sell this as a 4 bed home, or at least enable future owners to acoustically shut off the rumpus - which I expect will be a kids' playroom or TV space. You could put a double door, or a double cavity slider door into it, so when open it still feels connected to the landing space.

I'll stop my feedback there!

To be honest, I would actually request a redesign that looks at flipping the floor plan,and getting the living, dining and kitchen area to the north, or at least running along that eastern edge to the NE corner - because it will then at least get some morning sun. If you're putting this on the market, and doing morning inspections, it will then feel light-filled and inviting. Long term, this home will be expensive for the future owners (which may or may not concern you) as it will require significant heating and cooling to make it feel thermally comfortable.

I hope that helps - best wishes for bringing your plans to reality.

Regards

Amelia Lee

www.undercoverarchitect.com

amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

Thanks Amelia for your feedback. Great explanations too as to why it does not work. There is so much to consider when designing a home!

The block is very challenging as it is very small and slightly irregular (17m deep, 18m wide at the back and 22m wide at the front), with the easement on the east side. We couldn't put the garage anywhere else unfortunately...

Following everyone's advice, I have asked my draftee to move the master behind the garage wall so the living space can get more light in and the dining area can be better positioned.

+1 for the 1m fridge recess :)

Good idea to get the draftee to add in the furniture. This will definitely allow me to picture the space better.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I am back with new plans from our draftee! What do you think of this new layout?There are a few things I will get amended (including extending the upstairs area between the bed 2 and rumpus) but would love your opinion on this new layout.

Please remember that south-west of the property, there is a new double storey townhouse. so not much afternoon light on that side of the building downstairs.

Cheers,

Sophie

I like the new layout! nice work!

I wasn't sure if others would see my post so I started a new one here: https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/need-help-with-my-new-floor-plan-this-time-with-the-plans-attached-dsvw-vd~3410079

Looking forward to your feedback!

Looks pretty close to a winner I think. Everything seems to just fit and work well.

Thanks jbantick and denise!

Once again, all of the following are non-professional comments:

- I'm not sure that the downstairs study nook adds much. It looks quite small and I'd personally be reluctant to use it as a study nook, especially given noise from the living room and a better study upstairs. Maybe consider removing it and including a coat cupboard or built-in shelving for keys, mail, phones, etc? Or just opening up the living space and letting the purchaser choose how they use the space.

- I'm personally not a fan of my bedroom being visible from the living area or being positioned close to the kitchen and guest toilet. But, I'm not sure how those issues could be addressed with this plan.

- the walk between the fridge and pantry looks pretty long. That might turn some potential buyers off, but others may like the larger, secluded pantry.

- it looks like it would be difficult to turn the rumpus into a fourth bedroom. I think a fourth bedroom would be more appealing to buyers than a rumpus room, so perhaps consider that aspect further. You could potentially put the bathroom where bedroom 3 is and use the current rumpus/bathroom space to create two bedrooms.

- it might just be the plans, but it looks like the rumpus doesn't have any windows. Obviously windows would be good if they're not already included.

Good luck!

Thanks haephestus. All you points are valid indeed. I wasn't too sure about the downstairs study nook either. Opening it might be the way.

Hi @sophie0lm

Congrats on the developments in this plan. It's working much more successfully for the orientation of your site. It's great to see you've taken on feedback and pushed the design to improve it. A few observations:

1. I agree with comments about the study nook. I would make that a storage cupboard for umbrellas, shoes etc for leaving and departing at the front door.

2. The view both into the master bedroom and guest toilet from living areas is not ideal. I would suggest turning the toilet room 90 degrees clockwise (so it's long wall runs along the back of the stairs). You should be able then to have a more private entry to the toilet and master bedroom - and I would even suggest having the internal entry from the garage at that point as well, so that cleans up your entry hall.

3. I would consider pushing to improve the whole WIP / Laundry / Linen arrangement. The WIP is quite detached from the kitchen. There may be something in mirroring the whole kitchen - so the entry to the WIP is then where the fridge is, and it sits behind the kitchen, rather than off to the side. The linen will then sit where the WIP, and having a solid wall to the deck so you can not see into these service areas from your deck and living space.

4. I would also suggest putting a wall up along the back of the stairs upstairs so the rumpus can double as a fourth bedroom.

That's my quick appraisal - hope it helps,

Regards

Amelia
www.undercoverarchitect.com

amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

Thanks Amelia.

Your second point is exactly what I had in mind!

And your third point might be the solution I was looking for. One question though, where would you put the fridge?

Great idea regarding the wall upstairs. Thanks!

Hi @sophie0lm

The fridge should ideally be located on an outbound edge of the kitchen so it can be accessed from both internal and external living areas.

Regards

Amelia, UA

My concern is soundproofing for the guest toilet. Nothing worse than having guests and everyone trying to ignore the sounds coming from a nearby toilet. consider solid door for the toilet and additional sound proofing on the common wall to the meals area

Guest powder room is too exposed and in some states, by law, you have to have 2 doors between a toilet and food cooking/preparing areas.

Perhaps swap the linen cupboard and powder room with each other.

Hi Susie and me me. Thank you for your feedback. You are completely right, I didn't like where the toilets were either. I took into account some of the comments made earlier (Thanks @Amelia) to improve the whole layout.

It took me a long while, but I am now very happy with the plans I submitted to council recently. I hope council will like it too!!