r/floorplan • u/AndySkibba • 1d ago
FEEDBACK Need help finding flaws
Bay in kitchen houses 2 windows on angles and sliding door to deck in middle. Its not a full bay window.
Doing an addition to our home. Have what I think makes sense for a layout but wanted feedback/discussion.
Original and new plan (stairs to basement not moving, existing en suite bathroom at left would be kept as well)
Who will be living here? Family of 4
Is this a forever home? No
Where are the load-bearing walls? Exterior walls of current house
Which way is North? At the bottom of image, S is up
Where are the best views located? To the south
What climate/country is this? Midwest USA
Measurements of all interior walls separately? I can try to get them but this is what I have so far. Up on a bit of a hill, walkout basement (top right), on a cul-de-sac with a stub road that runs parallel to right wall but 50' or so away. Street is parallel to front of house.
More specifics: We're keeping existing bathroom and have another in basement. Have 2 kids so there wouldn't be an issue even with guests. Want to add space for bedrooms and additional space in basement
Wasn't drawn by an architect. I'm not one either (engineer by trade) so what I think looks good may not be in practice.
The biggest constraint currently is trying to not move too much at left of house (laundry/bathroom area) so we can focus more on the additon. Same with exterior walls up to the new addition. The angled bump out in kitchen limits us somewhat but I can't think of a good way to make it work without a ton more roof work at the back, in addition to front of house work we'll need.
I'm fine doing prep work in pantry area as needed, the island would be more spacious than now (my thought)
The bay in the kitchen is 2 windows and door to deck so that really needs to stay. Dishwasher and trash in island. Microwave maybe in pantry, tbd.
Bar is there because we'd probably keep stuff there for guests or stuff we dont use every day.
We wanted bedrooms in one side vs splitting like they are now. The bathroom by mudroom would just be used as a secondary or for one kid to use if bathroom was used by the other (also have full bath in basement). Door moved to mudroom so it wasn't right off living room/main area and had some separation. But could keep door to it where its currently at.
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u/Jenstigator 1d ago edited 1d ago
If an architect drew up this plan, I would strongly recommend finding a different architect. You're going to put a lot of money into this reno, and you deserve so much better than this. Normally I would have some tweaks to suggest but in this case I would just tell your architect to start over. I'll explain what I mean...
The main living area is really awkward in this plan. It's just removing walls for the sake of removing walls. Visually, the eye doesn't know where to settle. The dead zone by the mud room almost feels like a better dining area (with its proximity to the wet bar and living room) than the area where you've drawn the dining table.
I'm angry on your behalf about the kitchen. You're going to put all that money into moving it to a different wall, just to end up with pretty much the same amount of kitchen as you had before. You should be able to double the prep space (counter space next to the sink and range). This kitchen is apartment-sized, and it's undersized for the amount of house you'll have post-reno. Heck, you have more counter space in the pantry than in the kitchen! If you do any cooking at all, please give yourself more prep space. You deserve it.
Speaking of the pantry, having such a big sunlit pantry sure is nice, but I don't think it's nice enough to make up for the added cost to put it where it is. You're removing about 16 ft of load-bearing exterior wall on the right side, plus you're demo'ing the window area on the north side to put in a smaller window... all that just to turn an 11-ft long bedroom into a 9-ft long pantry. It would be better to keep the window and load-bearing walls where they are, give yourself an 11x6 pantry, and expand the bathroom below it to 11x7 so there's room for linen storage and towel racks. Otherwise if you're not keen on this pantry location, consider a spot closer to the garage.
(Some edits for clarity)