# Floor plans



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

This is a floor plan I really like. It will have a porch surrounding the house. The home is for my daughter and myself so we'd each have a master suite. The tub in the suite on the left is sunken.

(The plan is one I found and modified a bit.)

What floor plans are you dreaming over?


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/the-nordic-1406/

I really like your choice. It seems very similar to one on my short list.
I also like chalet syle homes , they would suit our land and I would like to have a mud room so I am thinking about the one above. ( I hope I posted it correctly)
I also love the private decks off the bedrooms.

http://www.southlandloghomes.com/floorplans/wateree-iii
Here is the one that is similar to yours. I like the seperation of the bedrooms and it has a mudroom of sorts.

http://www.architecturalhouseplans.com/home_plans/198/floorplan

This one is a "if I hit the lottery" dream. It is not huge but I love the fireplace and windowseat in the bedroom , the kitchen , the porch.......


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

That's nice! Sweet and simple.
Floor plans are heavy on my mind right now. Our house is a shell. 32x32 exterior wall on a concrete slab, bathroom is an addition. 

The ONLY interior walls makes a 12 x 12 bedroom in such a way that there is a 12x12 space on one side and an 8x12 space on the other.
DH and I have regular ... er... _discussions_:teehee: on whether to leave it as is, wall out the second 12x12 as a bedroom and have the 8x12 connect with the kitchen as a breakfast room kind of area or rip it all out and start from scratch.

Endless possibilities. We get sidewalk chalk and draw out floorplans on the slab. DH always leaves out closets :smack We need to decide soon. I've got a stack of sheetrock in here and as soon as I get some 2x4s I'm building!
Something!


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

That looks like only enough space for a stacked washer and dryer. If you are going to be doing any gardening, you'd probably appreciate a full size washer and dryer. In fact, a laundry room with a wash tub is a real nice luxury

Other than that, it is a very efficient use of space.


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## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

This is my worked-over design for our retirement/homestead. We hope to break ground in the next couple months. This house is about 1200 sq ft, and will have a full walk-out basement underneath. The design is intended to admit fresh air and light in our rural environment. Each major room has windows on 3 sides. The basement will be semi-finished, with a spare bedroom and bath eventually. The top of the picture faces a mountain view; on the other end of the house will be an attached one-car garage strictly for my wife's car. There will be a 28X48 barn for all of my stuff. This design is still a work-in-process, but I'm getting closer!


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Nice design MushCreek, I especially like the laundry so close to the closet!


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

oregon woodsmok said:


> That looks like only enough space for a stacked washer and dryer. If you are going to be doing any gardening, you'd probably appreciate a full size washer and dryer. In fact, a laundry room with a wash tub is a real nice luxury
> 
> Other than that, it is a very efficient use of space.


Yes, I think I'd rather have a coat closet in that space. Not sure where the w/d would fit unless the kitchen was wider and put it in there. Have to think on that.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Looking at the plan again, I think the w/d could go in the master 1 closet. I don't have that many clothes and it seems an efficient use of space to put the w/d there. It would still be in line with the rest of the plumbing run. I like how all the plumbing is along the same wall.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

On the other hand, some stack washer-dryers can handle a pretty good load. 
And honestly, the best set up I ever had the machine was small, but right outside the bathroom by the bedroom door. So you'd just drop your dirty clothes/sheets/towels in as you walked by, start it up every night and throw it in the dryer every morning. 
The small machine was perfect for 2 active people as 2 outfits and a towel or sheets from one bed made a load and it was an ultra energy efficient model. No reason or excuse for a pile of laundry. 

Think of things that help you keep your house cleaner. That machine and set-up helped me keep my house cleaner. 
A window over the kitchen sink makes it nicer for me to do dishes. I see that your sink is right by seating and looks out into the great room - perhaps that will do the same for you.
Walk-in closets encourage me to packrat - but bookshelves are awesome and help me keep things neat.
Little things like that.

Ask yourself questions like - where does the vacuum cleaner go? I don't see any closets in the main living area - does it have to go in your bedroom?
Where do muddy boots live while they're drying off? On the porch outside, or is the foyer big enough for a bench to put them under?


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I don't do carpet, so only have a small shop vac.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

Cyngbaeld said:


> I don't do carpet, so only have a small shop vac.


Me too.
Just tossing out some of the questions I ask myself as I try to come up with the best plan for my own place.
I've lived in places where I had to keep the vacuum in the bedroom, the canning pot on the laundry room shelf, etc. 

But since I have the opportunity to start from scratch I want to be certain to build in all that stuff. I listed all the things I've loved or hated about everywhere I've lived before and it is helping me a lot.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

Cyngbaeld, I like that plan a lot! No hallways = no wasted space! 

My only concern would be, where's the garage? Especially in relation to the kitchen ... it is really convenient to be able to enter the kitchen right from the garage! 

Also, there's no back door! I think I'd want a second egress in the event of an emergency. Maybe French or sliding doors off one or both of the bedrooms? 

I really like a layout that has a bathroom and a laundry room right inside the back door. It's awfully handy when you get all muddy in the garden! 

Just some thoughts FWIW.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Each bedroom has an exit door onto the porch.









Here are the further changes I made. Great room and kitchen are a little wider. Extended the cabinets on either side of the fireplace (probably have a woodstove instead), put a closet in the entry, w/d in big walk in closet.

I think a bench outside the front door on the porch and muddy boot storage.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

No garage. Might extend the porch for a place to unload if needed. I don't drive any more. Only go to the store if someone takes me. Not very often. I order a lot online or raise it myself. Feed store delivers and unloads for me at no additional charge. (That goes to the barn).


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

If you don't want the w/d in your closet, you could make the wall behind the powder room door horizontal and put a stackable behind the door. 

I would put the closet door in br#2 on the angled wall so that the doors wouldn't be competing with each other.

If it were me, I wouldn't box in the fridge. I'd move the stove to the fridge wall and put the fridge towards the end of the stove side. My reasoning is looking down the road, my folks had to replace their old boxed in fridge and had a heck of a time getting the old one out(settling) and finding a new one to fit in that space. Also, when I was looking at houses, I had to reject a lot of them as my side by side wouldn't fit without major modifications and I wasn't about to give up my ice and water dispenser.


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## homebody (Jan 24, 2005)

Pocket doors (sliding) on both bathrooms would take up no space. Don't know if they are expensive or not so may not be an option.


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## Morakai (Mar 1, 2011)

http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/plans/crow.htm

This is the house that I want to build, with verra few modifications.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

> Each bedroom has an exit door onto the porch.


Whoops! Somehow I missed that, LOL.

Oh, one other thing I'll mention: do you really think you'll use the garden tub enough to justify the cost/space? I work as a housecleaner; most of the houses I clean have them, but they are very seldom used (other than as a place to sort the dirty laundry!).


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## tiogacounty (Oct 27, 2005)

willow_girl said:


> Whoops! Somehow I missed that, LOL.
> 
> Oh, one other thing I'll mention: do you really think you'll use the garden tub enough to justify the cost/space? I work as a housecleaner; most of the houses I clean have them, but they are very seldom used (other than as a place to sort the dirty laundry!).


 Excellent point. They are a "must have" that quickly turns into a "what was I thinking" item. I had one owner point out how sweet is is to turn on the jets after a long period of disuse, and see the green rancid water flow out of the jets. It sits in the piping and pumps getting rancid for months, YUM. If it's a true "garden tub" without a heater, jets and pumps, it's a real waste, as it takes an 80 gallon water heater to provide enough heat to keep that much water usable. So you end up with a permanently over-sized water heat bill for a tub you never use.:shrug:


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

willow_girl said:


> Whoops! Somehow I missed that, LOL.
> 
> Oh, one other thing I'll mention: do you really think you'll use the garden tub enough to justify the cost/space? I work as a housecleaner; most of the houses I clean have them, but they are very seldom used (other than as a place to sort the dirty laundry!).


I wouldn't want a garden tub. I took it out of this house and put in a large shower. I would love a sunken soaking tub (Japanese style) that I could actually get out of!


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Morakai said:


> http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/plans/crow.htm
> 
> This is the house that I want to build, with verra few modifications.


That's a neat little house. Would you do it in earth bags?


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

homebody said:


> Pocket doors (sliding) on both bathrooms would take up no space. Don't know if they are expensive or not so may not be an option.


Could be an option. We had one on a house when I was a child. I thought it was pretty neat.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

MushCreek said:


> This is my worked-over design for our retirement/homestead. We hope to break ground in the next couple months. This house is about 1200 sq ft, and will have a full walk-out basement underneath. The design is intended to admit fresh air and light in our rural environment. Each major room has windows on 3 sides. The basement will be semi-finished, with a spare bedroom and bath eventually. The top of the picture faces a mountain view; on the other end of the house will be an attached one-car garage strictly for my wife's car. There will be a 28X48 barn for all of my stuff. This design is still a work-in-process, but I'm getting closer!


Why... That looks familiar... 

I thought you were leaning away from the "+" design though for ease of foundation forming and roofline...?


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Mush Creek, I love it. The only "think about" comment is that the garage is a long ways from the kitchen, to carry unloaded groceries.

If you can unload at the front porch and then move the car afterwards, that wouldn't be so much of a problem.


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## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

Yeah, I get that a lot. Despite having 7 acres, the topography is surprisingly limiting. The entire lot slopes downhill, towards the view. My wife insists (and I agree) that the kitchen needs to view the mountains. And the garage has to be on the uphill side, or require climbing a set of stairs if it were in the back. If we swap the kitchen and the living room, you have to go through the kitchen to get to the living room- not a good set-up either. Even the porch will require climbing a few steps if you access it from the front. I've measured how far we carry groceries in our existing house, and it is about the same. we've never noticed that it seemed very far.

Every house is a set of compromises; you give up one thing to gain another. I've tried a LOT of different designs, both my own, and others available to look at on-line. There aren't very many that take advantage of a rear view- I had to search 'waterfront homes', to find anything at all. As I said, the slope of the land, and even the location of the entrance are dictating some of the design.


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