Sunday, January 6, 2013

Colonial With a Twist - The Floor Plan

Now the fun really starts!  We've (sort of) finalized the plans for the house.  Our goals:
-  3 Bedrooms on second floor, including master suite with bathroom and walk in closet
-  1 Bedroom on first floor, that can be utilized as an office if the owner prefers
-  1st Floor Study
-  An open kitchen that provides the heart of the home
-  First floor laundry room
-  Easy access to the large backyard

Of course there were lots of challenges to get there.  We wanted to tie into the existing plumbing on the first floor, so that dictated placement of the second floor bathrooms.  And we already had a staircase in the house, that we wanted to reuse.  Here was our starting point:

So, after lots of drafts and modifications, here's what we came up with (don't pay too much attention to the kitchen layout, that's still up in the air!).



What do you think?  Will this provide a comfortable floor plan for today's modern living?


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11 comments:

  1. Nice plans. It's too bad you can figure a way to make the bathroom upstairs a jack/jill, that would be super for those 2 bedrooms. It would be nice to walk into the laundry (aka mud room) from the garage instead of the family room. Looking forward to the finish.

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  2. Sandy, if we were designing from scratch, I would love to have the laundry be the mud room. But we're locked in with some of the existing plumbing. The good news is that we get to add a nice kitchen pantry, which will be great feature!

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  3. It will be so great! I would have the two smaller bedrooms on one side of the space with the bath at the end of the hall and the master bedroom and bath on the opposite side . (The one with the master bathroom.)

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  4. I think Sandy was saying have the garage open into the study and make it a study/mudroom. Which was what I was going to say, too. I might also go with a bigger master closet and make the master square rather then have that offset side going into the bathroom/closet. Looks very nice.

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    1. Oh, now it see! That's a great idea, although I'm not sure you could squeeze a staircase in on that side of the garage and still be able to park a car! The garage is several steps lower than the house.

      I love the idea of a bigger closet, we're still playing with some of the details and that's a great tip! Thanks so much!

      Laurel

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  5. How fun to plan this out! I love following your blog. Just curious if you could move the stairs that go down to under the other staircase? To make a bigger kitchen?

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    1. I just took some photos to share on the stairway challenge.....I hope to get them posted tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to hear what you think when you can really see what we're working with. I'm with you - we need a bigger kitchen!

      Thanks for following the blog and commenting!!! I really appreciate it!

      Laurel

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    2. Whoops , I just saw some other commenters mentioned this long before I got to the party! Looking forward to the pictures...

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  6. I was going to post on how you should make the study a mudroom and move the garage man-door so that it opens into the study, but anonymous above beat me to it! You must have a mudroom as this is a home for a family. Trust me on this!

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  7. What a great blog! I'm late to this party but if you're still reading: I love my mudroom and wish my laundry room was not a part of it, so I think making the study a mudroom is a GREAT idea and perfect for Maine weather. How about this? Bear with me: move the study wall out to the right to be flush with the family room wall - then rotate the entry door from the garage 90 degrees so it now enters directly into the new mudroom (floor space you lose by moving the mudroom door will be more than made up by eliminating the door from garage into famly room). I know the mudroom looks huge but without a really functional basement this storage space will come in very handy - think hooks, bench, big tricked out closet on far end, etc.! I also vote for moving the stairs, think of the 4th bedroom as an office/guestroom and put in a french door so it doesn't say: hello, I'm a bedroom with a basement door inside! A little shade for privacy when company comes. Can't wait to see your progress - so much fun!!

    Mary in NJ

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    1. So glad you like our blog Mary! And thanks for the input. I've really appreciated all the suggestions regarding the mudroom, but given our current budget status, moving walls probably isn't in the cards at this point. It's certainly something the new owners could do in the future.
      And I have to confess, I've become strangely attached to that little room! It has a built in desk at the end of the room. And there's a nice pocket door that I can close, when the contractors are out there ripping things out and creating lots of noise. I love being able to hide in there and get some work done!

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