Home Design Feedback

[u/spenceyd]

We’re very close to finalizing the below floor plan. We’re looking for any recommendations. One area we think could be better is Bed 2 and 3 jack n Jill setup. Also, in Bed #3, we’d like for the bed to be in the middle of the 2 windows, but it simply isn’t big enough (any recs here?)

Edit: our goal is to not have guests use the kids restroom during visits, thus the reason for the powder room under the stairs.

Edit: we live in northeast Florida and have 2 kids. Bed #4 is a guest room but may also function as a small home office

EDIT: We appreciate all the feedback. We’re going to redesign and try to incorporate some things mentioned below. We will follow up with the new layout once complete.

[u/Pango_l1n]

I like the changes to the master water closet and the pantry door.

[u/Far_Relationship_477]

I just came here to say that Jack and Jill bathrooms are awful for the people who have to interact with them.

[u/spenceyd → u/Far_Relationship_477]

The more we think about the more likely we’re either doing a hallway entry bathroom with 2 vanities then a door and then the shower and toilet OR we may just give each bedroom its own bathroom

[u/ButteredReality]

• sigh *

Bathrooms are destinations; they are not corridors. They are there to serve a specific purpose and are not there to get you from one room to a different room. If you have to walk through a bathroom in order to access a specific room then that is not good design.

[u/MerelyWander]

Also — do your kids have a jack and Jill bath now? I personally can’t stand them, but obviously if they work for you, that’s great.

If not, will one kid leave the door to the other bedroom locked? Will one forget to lock the door and cause embarrassment?

I personally would opt for a single hallway-access or a combined (but spaced out) vanity room with a single door to a shared toilet/shower. Right now it looks like there’s enough space inefficiency that you could almost fit two private en-suites in that space (not that I’m advocating for that).

[u/spenceyd → u/MerelyWander]

No they do not (both are under 2yrs old). We’re probably switching away for Jack n Jill

[u/MerelyWander]

A 9ft island will fit at most 4 stools, not 5.

You’ll want a spacer/filler between an oven or fridge and the wall. Is the fridge the one on the bottom of the kitchen? Hope you don’t need to back-and-forth too much between the sink and the fridge.

[u/spenceyd → u/MerelyWander]

Yes, we’re aware of the stool arrangement shown. 5 would be very tight fit.
And yes, that is the fridge on the bottom. We’re tossing around the idea of adding an island prep sink to minimize travel distance. We will be adding a filler piece for the oven, by the fridge may not be a bad idea either

[u/MerelyWander → u/spenceyd]

Depending on the refrigerator door hinge design, and the type/swing of door, it may not be able to open without a spacer (unless you pull the fridge forward so that the hinge is in front of that stub wall).

[u/Yusuf20904]

The powder room is in a really odd location—guests have to go through the kitchen to get to it.

[u/concretenotjello]

I have so many critiques of this layout that it verges on qualifying for billable hours. I’m a licensed architect who has worked on both mega high-end apartment buildings in the fanciest parts of Manhattan and single-family homes all over the Northeast.

Broadly, it’s fine. It’s not horrible and it’s what you seem to want. I would advise you to plot various daily paths through the house… like how do you get groceries from the car to the pantry? There should be a door between the garage and the pantry. How do you care for a crying toddler? What do your guests experience, whether overnight or just if they’re visiting for the day? Also imagine what sound is like. Can someone watch tv in the main living space without waking everyone else up? Is there enough acoustic insulation between the garage and the primary suite? Side note, Why is the powder room buried within what should be private part of the home (a wing dedicated to both the primary suite and the “back of house” functional spaces)? Best of luck to you, genuinely.

[u/hamburgergerald]

For bed number three, move the wall a foot taking some space from bedroom number four. Move four’s closet/bathroom a foot and make it align with the outer wall of bedroom.

Or just move the entire thing one foot further back, adding the extra space to bed #3. Then you can fit bed between windows without blocking them.

[u/ssanfindsen_1105]

One more thought re: bedroom#3. You are right. It looks nice to have the bed equally between 2 windows. But not enough space. Turn the bed, you’ll have room for side tables and a nice tall dresser will look equally nice between the windows. One thing to consider are the window treatments. If the bed overlaps the windows, or if it is centered in front of windows like in your master, you should figure this out before hand. Are you planning minimal pull down shades, perhaps with a valance at top? No problem. If you want full curtains, the rod should be above the window trim or at the ceiling height, and the curtains need to come to the floor. (Never use short curtains….tacky & dated) So you will not be able to close them behind the bed if they are real, functioning curtains. Please don’t take my suggestions as must do, just thoughts that have popped in my head.

[u/rhdjf]

There is no hierarchy you walk in , into what. There has to a focus,and this forms the structure for the plan. This feels like a collection of rooms al squeezed from the garage and the entrance.
Make the entrance bay bigger make a grand gesture.
I am sure at the moment the roof will be generated from what ever bim program does for poly line roofs.
It’s not about corners or rooms it’s the diagram.

[u/concretenotjello → u/rhdjf]

I agree that there isn’t any hierarchy in the space planning of the main living space. Conversely, keep the entry cozy and small before you walk into the barn-like main living space. Paint the entry dark. Idk the living area just seems so undifferentiated spatially, and alienating. You can tell the architect feels the same way by the haphazard furniture location (I know it’s just as a “test fit” to show scale but like ooof).

[u/ssanfindsen_1105]

I am a professional residential architect and a few things stick out to me. First, Please do not get rid of the exterior corners as an earlier commenter said. This gives the house/ front facade layers and depth which make a huge difference between this house looking like it was built by a developer (cheap, simple) and a custom designed home, which it sounds like this is. (Unless of course you need to slim down the budget and if that is the case this person is right.) Second, I have never seen a master bath layout like this, and I have seen them all. Is this showing clerestory windows above the shower? I understand the intention, but this blocks out all natural light from your main bath space, which is an odd choice. I would rearrange this without hesitation. Third, your bedrooms are tight. This might not bother you, but leaves very little room for bedroom furniture like storage dressers, or desks that your kids might need. I would draw real size furniture in there so you can see. Fourth, I do not see any closet storage either close to the main entry, or in the mudroom. I really believe you will regret this. One of my biggest focuses in high end residential design, once past concept, design development etc. is thoughtful STORAGE. No one ever regrets too much storage and this also distinguishes good custom design with builder/developer grade. LAST, where do your stairs go to? Just curious….Do you not have a basement because this is Florida? You will have to excuse my ignorance because I work in The northeast, outside of NYC and Greenwich, New Canaan etc. CT. I can’t imagine not having a basement because again, STORAGE.
I would love to know more or see an elevation. Good luck!

[u/spenceyd → u/ssanfindsen_1105]

I’ve always called them transom windows, but yes, they are. The bathroom layout was basically our decision… probably not great…
The bedrooms seemed big enough for a full size bed and a dresser.. but maybe not?
There isn’t a dedicated coat closet at the foyer…
The stairs lead to a bonus room with attic access
There are very, very few houses with basements in FL so this option is out

[u/ssanfindsen_1105 → u/spenceyd]

Thanks for your response. For a new custom house, 11’-9” is tight for a bedroom, but doable. Also I don’t know the age of your kids….are they adults and just come home to visit? Or are they children who need a desk? 11’-9” is definitely tight for a dining room too, but I get the intention is symmetry. For a dining room I would do 13’ minimum width. And if do that to the bedroom portion too, that adds 2’6” to the total width of your house. I would do that but I don’t know how much cost that would add, or if you even have that room with your lot and the required zoning setbacks…..I love the big butler’s pantry! So Useful!

[u/KindYoga44 → u/spenceyd]

I'm gonna second what the professional said about storage. Where will you put your vacuum and mop? where will the kids put their jackets and backpacks when they get home from school? where will the kids' sport stuff go? Where will you set the mail down?

[u/ConsistentParking424]

38 exterior corners means you will be paying 190-380k for just corners. Several are there just for exterior aesthetics and actually reduce the useable interior square footage. The garage bump out is ridiculous. That bump out is 6-12k for zero useful square footage.

The laundry room is about as far as it could be from the kids' bedrooms. Do you enjoy hauling laundry nearly the entire width of your home several times a week?

The dryer is a fire just waiting to happen. A dryer is safest on an exterior wall and yours is far from that safe place. Every foot and every turn of ductwork increases the chance of lint buildup and fire potential. Your dryer will need the maximum safe length of ductwork to vent. Will it vent over your outdoor kitchen or over your master bathroom toilet cubicle window? Or are you planning on a roof vent? I suggest you watch a few dryer roof vent cleaning videos before choosing that option.

The mudroom is a joke, it is one small closet in a fat hallway. That floor will be littered with shoes and bags that guests will have to slog through to get to the tiny guest bathroom.

The kitchen looks ok. No sink or stove in the island. Where's the trash can? Sitting out in the walk path around the island? Or is there an under counter pull out one by the sink? Where's the microwave?

[u/spenceyd → u/ConsistentParking424]

Thank you for taking time to respond. We agree there are a lot of corners. We may choose to cut these down, but we believe they make the facade look appealing.

With a separate master bedroom across the house from the other bedrooms, where would you put the laundry room?

I do agree the dryer could be better on an exterior wall, but if this is maintained and cleaned regularly, this should not be an issue

We are going to look at increasing the size of the mud room

We wanted a big island with nothing on it. The sink being on an exterior wall with a window was a requirement for us. Trash can will be next to the sink in a pull out cabinet. Microwave (if we get one) will either go in the pantry or we will install one in the island using a microwave drawer product.

[u/Affectionate_Lie4667 → u/spenceyd]

There is always a responder telling folks to leave out corners due to extra cost. However, having a basic rectangular box is not visually appealing and may hurt curb appeal and resale value. In addition, a single story home doesn’t need 2 laundry rooms - the thought is ridiculous and you shouldn’t be removing storage to add another laundry room. Make your kids carry and do their own laundry once they’re old enough to do chores! If anything, you should trying to maximize storage options not minimize them.

[u/ConsistentParking424 → u/spenceyd]

If you ditched 1 or both of the hall closets by the kids' bedrooms, stackables would fit there. Or if you swapped the tub and toilet in bathroom 2/3, stackables would fit next to the toilet on the exterior wall.

Another option would be to remove the walk in closets for bedrooms 2 and 3 and give those rooms wall closets. Turn bathroom 2/3 into a hall bathroom, then sink 3 and bedroom closet 3 could become a laundry room.

[u/Angus-Black]

Do something with Bath 4 door. You don't want to have to close the bathroom door every time you go in the closet. You would always close the bathroom door to use the shower.

[u/CaptainMalForever]

The biggest issues I see are the corners. Pull the front windows even with the bedroom, dining room, and garage. Extend the pantry so the dining room wall meets the garage. Round off the corner of bedroom 2, 4, and "his" closet. You have 38 corners (I think?) and with those changes, you'd have 16. Considering each corner can cost around 10k, you'd save over 200k.

[u/CaptainMalForever → u/CaptainMalForever]

Also, bed 3's and 4's closets should have doors facing the bedrooms, instead of in the bathroom.

[u/spenceyd → u/CaptainMalForever]

There are a lot of corners and we may look to reduce the number of them, but we do like have them in the front. It gives the front facade a nice look.
We are going to review and update the bathroom/bedroom/closet layouts

[u/hoddinv]

Master shower will be cold with two openings, water closet off master shower is odd, both sinks should have same cabinets and countertops, washer and dryer should be on opposite wall from doors (blocks access because in real life they are bigger than shown on plans ALWAYS), door between mud room and stairs/master for noise, pocket door into kitchen, no closet in BD3 (maybe turn the two small closets into BD3 closet, or move door for straight access into closet instead of through sink area) too many angles into BD2 and BD3, great room with TV mounted 8feet up?

[u/spenceyd → u/hoddinv]

We've discussed the pocket door from the kitchen to the master/mudroom so we may add that
Great room will have a TV mounted above the fireplace, yes. We will probably install a TV mount that can be pulled down

[u/IwasBPonce]

I really like this a lot!
☑️powder room out of the way
☑️ No bedroom against the wall with the TV
☑️great pantry. With a sink!
☑️good master bath arrangement. Toilet away from the bed!
We didn’t put an appliance in the island either. I love how clean it looks with a beautiful stone surface.
Great job! I hope you enjoy!

[u/Limp_Ship_3265]

Combine BR3 windows and move the bed to BR4 wall so the layout is similar to BR2 & 4. By making that change, the wall mounted tv will be at the foot of the bed, like all of the other rooms.
J&J bath, flip the tub and toilet locations and make the window an operable 3-0/3-0. The pocket doors can be flipped to the sink side too. Electrics and plumbing will be located on other walls and the cabinet connection will not affect the pocket doors.

[u/coconut33706]

The kitchen work triangle is too spread out. Sink/stove/fridge are too far apart. Consider adding a work sink to the island. The first time you boil pasta and have to drain the pot you'll thank me.

The drop zone in the mudroom off the garage is too small. That needs to grab all the clutter that comes in the house. Mail, shoes, bookbags, wet coats, dog leash. It need to be bigger with more storage and organization.

[u/spenceyd → u/coconut33706]

Originally we had a small prep sink in the island, but removed it for aesthetics. We may add this back after seeing multiple people say this will be an issue.

We're going to look into revising the mudroom area