Choosing a house floor plan

[tvguy]

I agree about the 'stairs' - age has a way of making you 'look' at them differently . We would 'never' have vaulted ceilings again - rather 10 ft. downstairs with coffered ceilings in living/dining/master areas (9ft. otherwise). And, no way would we 'ever' have 8ft. ceilings as a pp mentioned.

Yeah, my next door neighbors were both 63 when they moved. They had added on about 4 years ago a bedroom for his 90+ year old dad who moved in with them. The stairs were just too much for him, and I guess that got them thinking about it becoming an issue for them. And they put in a pool about 20 years ago, fun when their kids were home, but nothing but a headache now. They bought a one year old single story house that is about 2,500 square feet, versus the 2,200 they had, New one almost has no back yard, and a very shallow front yard, so very little yard work. I think he was sick of 35 years of yard work!
We have 8 foot ceilings. I guess 10 foot would be fine, but DW had 24 foot ceilings in her 650 square foot 1 bedroom apartment. Cost a lot to heat and cool all the dead space. I always thought it would have been better to have 8 foot ceilings and another bedroom in that space.
I know my son's 1,000 square foot condo in the living room the ceiling goes all the way to the top of the second floor, the master bedroom opens into it. Would be a perfect place for a 3rd bedroom if you put a floor and walls in.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I LOVE 2 story homes. We bought our current home, a 2 story, 10 years ago and the stairs have never bothered me.

We live in a 2-story house that we had built in 2003. DH & I were in our mid-30's back then and my ILs kept telling us not to build a house with stairs. I also love 2-story houses and the stairs have never bothered us. We also have a finished basement that we use a lot so we have those stairs too.

Good luck with the new house build!

 

[Turn the Page]

Had to look up drop zone, never heard that term. Learn something everyday. Only comment I have....based on a number of friends housing situations is, a 2 story house apparently gets old. That seems to be the most common reason anymore that my friends have moved, to get away from stairs and get a single story house.

I imagine it depends on the specific people but my ex in laws bought a house with a second story. All that was on the second story was a bedroom, a bathroom, and entrance to the attic. Everything else, including the master, was on the first floor. My ex MIL specifically bought that house for the bedroom upstairs to get the kids out of the way when they came to visit as she put it. Three years later she wanted to sell the house in favor of one without all the stairs. Which I never could figure out as the only time she had to climb the stairs was once a week to clean and that is why she bought that house in the first place.

I think moving is her hobby. She moves every few years. Some people collect stamps, ex MIL likes to move.

 

[tvguy]

I think moving is her hobby. She moves every few years. Some people collect stamps, ex MIL likes to move.

That certainly was the case with the people we bought our house from. They were a couple in their 60's, this was their 10th house in 40 years of marriage, every one of them within 5 miles from here. They would buy a new house, fix it to their liking over 4 years, then get bored with it and move. Their trademark was wrought iron bars on the windows (directly bolted with one way screws and no fire releases) , to match all their wrought iron furniture inside. I made a LOT of friends in the neighborhood when we bought this house in 1983. The day we took possession I had a guy installing a burglar alarm while I used a file and vice grips to remove the one way screws and wrought iron bars from the windows.

 

[zoemurr]

About the playroom.. when we moved in the kids were 2 and 4. It was in the formal living room. We finished the basement and set up an amazing space for them and moved all of there stuff down there. Art room, loft, stage, wall to wall carpet, you name it. What did they do? Went down stairs and got the toys, and dragged them upstairs so they could be with me. They very rarely played down there until we put the toys away and turned it into a teen space. They watch movies and play games with their friends. We have the hang out house because we have a bathroom down there and they like that they can do their own thing without having to see us apparently. So, I wouldn't worry about the loft as I'm not sure it will get a lot of use.

I grew up in a ranch house and always longed for a two story. We've had one for over 20 years and I've never regretted it. I imagine our next house after kids are gone will be smaller and one level.

Our house is 2600 sq feet and kids grow up FAST. I'm glad we've had it to raise them, but I can't imagine staying here much after DS goes to college in 3 years. I also think this is too much house for 4 people, much less 1000 square feet more for 3 people. We have a large kitchen and family room. The DR and LR are seldom used.

We also looked for ages for a house without an office on the main floor. Unless someone really works from home it seems like it just becomes a room to store more junk.

They can't put a drop zone in a 3,000 sq foot house? I have a huge kitchen and would have easily given up another 5 feet to have had my mud room be bigger if we had built this house.

Good luck! I can't imagine designing my entire house after just updating the kitchen. That was too many decisions for me!

 

[bellebud]

friends built a mudroom in their garage after the fact. Can you ask the builder if he can bump out the garage a few feet? then you could add a mudroom in there (cubbies/hooks, etc now, maybe closing it in later).

 

[wishing4PA]

The smaller house would be easier to have "Company ready", Especially with the downstairs office right there off the family room, I could just shove any clutter in there and shut the door!

DD is 4. Option one acutually has a beautiful setup with 2 of the upstairs bedrooms adjoined by a jack and jill bath, so we could use one as a playroom and one as a bedroom.

I think you have a wonderful dilemma! I may not be one to speak, as my family is living in just a cookie cutter starter home, but I get the impression that you would be happiest in house #1.

But trying to think creatively, aside from seeing if the builder can suggest any minor modifications, if you don't need to use the office as an office, how about turning it into an extension of your downstairs entertaining area? Maybe there's a way to use built-ins or a small sofa bed to give it a second part-time function such as sleeping extended family but primarily to function as a beautiful entertainment room. (If your overnight visitors aren't part of the 40 person parties.)

Since you love the overall look of the place, you could work out the details as long as you love the location and the house has enough space and a floorplan that's not too far off. (And you have your drop zone.)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We are going to have to go with a specific builder to get the neighborhood we want. While they allow some changes to floor plans, they usually specify what those options are on their floor plans on their website.

Ah ok I see.

I know on our plan some of the changes that didn't cost any money was moving the french doors into the master further out and then moving the common access door into the laundry room (accessable from our bathroom as well) and removing a built-in bookshelf where the door would be. We also put walls going to the basement instead of just railings and we took the round columns located in the dining room and made them tiny walls instead (I didn't like the round aspect).

We took a 1-way gas fireplace from against the wall in the great room and moved it to the middle of the room and made it a 2-way (see through) fireplace to create a separation between the kitchen and the great room (as pretty much all houses around me are open concept and they were too open for us); that moving of the fireplace did cost us $$ but we found out later that they undercharged us for how much extra work they had to do especially with the duct work since we also added crank out windows in the great room so they had to vent the fireplace up through the roof. Well anywho we put a wall that goes from that gas fireplace to the side of the house effectively making an actual room out of the great room which that part didn't cost us any extra to do.

Maybe small changes like adding a wall here and there (just as an example) they might be open to without it being directly listed on their website.

I could put cubbies and coat hooks in the garage just before the entry door and that would serve as a drop zone, but it wouldn't have the higher end built in look.

I wonder if you have a spot that is an alcove or if you could get the builder to make an alcove and then just buy the built-in yourself if you're keen on having that look? That part depends on the cost of course but plenty of places sell the built-in part.

This is what ours looks like. 1st pic is unfinished 2nd pic is finished (though dirty). To the left of it is the door to the garage and to the right of it is our coat closet.

The builder is the same builder as our current home, so I magine the energy efficiency is about the same. This house is 13 1/2 years old though, so maybe things have improved in the past few years.

It's quite possible things have changed could be that codes have been updated or the builder has come up with different ways of doing things. I do know that energy efficiency is more common than it used to be but who knows. You might talk that part over with the builder because it could help with your decision depending on if that if a big enough factor for utility costs.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

DH said he likes house B a bit better, because you get more square footage for you money. I called the builder and they clarified that the ceiling height is 9ft, so I feel better about that. I think if I choose and upgraded front door it would make the entry feel nicer. and I found a few very nice 2 person tubs that will fit in the space allotted in the master bathroom, so while the bathroom won't feel quite as luxurious as house A, it will still feel nice.

The more I think about it, the more I realize plan B has everything we need with very few changes, while plan A would require more changes, which means more $$.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

tion B also has a gorgeous bay window in the front formal living rooom, which is just begging for a beautiful Christmas tree. So I think that just sold me on the house.

Now I'm debating basement or no basement. And unfinished basement with rough in adds $30k to the house price, but I am afraid I would regret not doing it. I have missed having a basement, especially during tornadoes.

 

[wishing4PA]

You can't go back and add the basement later. Imho that would be money well spent!

 

[QueenIsabella]

A drop zone wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me, and I have 4 kids. If you can't do the built-in, as Mackenzie posted above (which looks lovely, BTW), several companies sell furniture that looks/functions in a similar fashion. We just put hooks and a skinny cabinet in our foyer, but we're pretty informal.

I would most definitely add the basement. I miss having a basement--I live on the coast now, no basements to be had. Luckily, our current home belonged to the builder of our subdivision, so it has closets beyond your wildest dreams, plus an attic. Still, basements really come in handy. And I second the idea of kids wanting to be near you, especially when they're young--not that it's a bad thing at all. But even now, my youngest is 10, and our house has a dance room--huge, mirrored wall, open space with just one table and a couple shelving units for games, plus a closet for costumes. It's a converted 2-car garage, to give you an idea on size. Will DS10 actually dance in there? NO! He'd rather dance in the kitchen when I'm trying to make dinner! And the dance room is maybe 5 feet off the kitchen (there's a little walkway with a half bath and the entrance to the now-garage).

I also think features like the bay window, really make the house feel like "yours", if you know what I mean.

I really can't/don't want to comment on the specifics of either plan, because I'm not the one who has to live there. You really have to go with what speaks to you. I know that's not much help. Our current house is quirky--huge, been added on to a few times, needs some updating, not to everyone's taste. It's mostly a ranch, but the entire second floor is the master suite. What works out well is, one of the downstairs bathrooms could also be a master (a little smaller, though, obviously)--it has 3 closets and a private bath. So, we could live on one floor, or someday live with one of our kids in this house, if the need arose.

 

[Disney Doll]

You seem to focus more on the impression the house gives to others (I think you called it then"wow factor") rather than the actual day to day functionality. You should probably go with option #1.

 

[HeatherC]

I would think about how much you would really use a "formal" living room too. If it is a room that's used twice a year and no one goes in it the rest of the time, to me it would be a wasted of space.

Other thing to consider depending on where you live....two story foyers are nice and grand, but very high ceilings also costs a lot more to heat in the winter.

When we moved into our house,it was a new development. Most of our neighbors went with a two story foyer. We added a 4th bedroom instead. From what they have told me over the years, it seems like our heating bill for the same size house is a lot less. We are in New England though...so cold winters.

 

[tvguy]

I would think about how much you would really use a "formal" living room too. If it is a room that's used twice a year and no one goes in it the rest of the time, to me it would be a wasted of space.

Other thing to consider depending on where you live....two story foyers are nice and grand, but very high ceilings also costs a lot more to heat in the winter.

When we moved into our house,it was a new development. Most of our neighbors went with a two story foyer. We added a 4th bedroom instead. From what they have told me over the years, it seems like our heating bill for the same size house is a lot less. We are in New England though...so cold winters.

No doubt, our Living Room is not used a lot, a lot more than our son's former bedroom, but not a lot. But when you need it, you need it. My daughter currently has a card table set up in the Living room, she is doing some art work for our Thanksgiving center pieces.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

You seem to focus more on the impression the house gives to others (I think you called it then"wow factor") rather than the actual day to day functionality. You should probably go with option #1.

I'm not worried about others with the "wow factor" as much as I am with my own impression of the house. Part of me thinks it would be really nice to come home to a beautiful master suite with large 2 person tub and steam shower, but part of me agrees with DH that its better to get more Sq. ft for the money.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I would think about how much you would really use a "formal" living room too. If it is a room that's used twice a year and no one goes in it the rest of the time, to me it would be a wasted of space.

Other thing to consider depending on where you live....two story foyers are nice and grand, but very high ceilings also costs a lot more to heat in the winter.

When we moved into our house,it was a new development. Most of our neighbors went with a two story foyer. We added a 4th bedroom instead. From what they have told me over the years, it seems like our heating bill for the same size house is a lot less. We are in New England though...so cold winters.

My plan for the formal living room is to place a nice comfy Chaise lounge in front of the bay window, and a good reading lamp beside it. It will serve as a formal living room for guests but will also be a relaxing place to curl up and read during our freezing winters. Its far enough away from the main living area that it would be very quiet in there.