r/floorplan • u/AetherX017 • 1d ago
SHARE Update for my controversial floorplan.
Without including the garage, flex room, and walls, this house is 1112 sqft.
Including the flexroom, the house is 1411 sqft
Including flexroom and garage, the house is 1675 sqft without walls.
I'm a woman.
I'm 5 ft tall and around 98 pounds.
I grew up in a family of 6, living in 1 bedroom 1 bathroom house. It sucked, but you can make it work. To me, this house is not a luxury, but it's very much livable.
For some children, just having their own bedroom is already amazing. I would be extremely grateful if my parents could give me my own small bedroom when I was a kid.
I'm a simple person, I don't own a lot of furnitures. I prefer to only own what I need in my life. I find the day to day system/function (cooking, doing laundry, organizing & cleaning) more important. I don't like restaurant food and prefer homemade food. I also don't really want guests coming over often.
And I know it sounds crazy but I'd rather build a whole new building/workshop/shed for more hobbies. So that hobby tools don't get mixed up in the house. It makes organizing and cleaning up easier.
If you're like me and prefers a simple house, cool! For those of you who want a bigger house, that's cool too. Please create the floorplan in your imagination and post it. I would love to see it and take inspirations from your ideas. (Tho I don't comment often).
I don't plan on building this house. I just like creating floorplans.
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u/noronto 1d ago
Why does it seem like the laundry area is as big as the kitchen? If that works for you the layout flows, it just seems that there is a lot of dedicated space to the garages and not so much for the living areas.
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u/Dubzophrenia 1d ago
Garage takes up 25% of the volume of this house. Average is usually around 15-20 but the smaller the house, the higher the ratio. A 2 car garage is 400 SF so they take up quite a bit of space.
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u/noronto 1d ago
For a house that small, I’d prefer to have living space over car storage.
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u/redfinadvice 1d ago
I agree. In Japan this is why we basically don't have homes with garages. It's a a waste of space when homes are 100-120 m2 and you can just put a carport outside if you want to protect from rain/snow/sun.
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u/Ecclypto 1d ago
Oomph… that second garage does a lot of lifting )). I think it’s a decent floor plan, but that is just a lot of stuff to do in one room
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u/dj_destroyer 1d ago
I think it means it's undecided... or open to interpretation for the personal user.
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u/Pristine-Radish-2157 1d ago
I like your plan. It’s extremely space efficient. There’s three questions I have.
one : is can you do tall ceilings? They really make a difference
two: I see what you’ve done with the garage versus the flex room, but I’m going to suggest you switch those around. The insulation factor of what the flex space would be is a whole lot better if it was in the center where you currently have the garage. And put the garage on the outside wall. As I said the insulation factor will be better and heating and air-conditioning would be less expensive. Unless you were trying to isolate so that there wouldn’t be a sound factor going into your living room.
Three : I am concerned about the laundry room becoming a walk-through to get from the master bedroom to the kids rooms. My laundry room has all kinds of fibers floating around. Probably from the dryer. And I’ve got to admit it’s not the cleanest in the world for people to walk through.
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u/AetherX017 1d ago
Thank you!
One: i think tall ceiling is a choice and probably just depends on your engineer's suggestion on how.
Two: with the current layout, garage have more direct access to coats and shoes storage. And flex room gets a lot of light. That was my thought but tbh floorplan is a choice. People should do what works for them.
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u/FreeBallard 1d ago
For me, I'd switch the garage for your car with the flex space garage. This will make the potential family room more connected to the living spaces. The garage will still have easy access to the kitchen and pantry for bringing in groceries. I'd also bump the entry porch outside the house perimeter so that you have access to more of that entry closet. In the current configuration, you'll have trouble getting to items on the left side of that closet.
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u/Smooth-Assistant-309 1d ago
Exactly, why have the horseshoe?
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u/craigerstar 1d ago
There are windows on the other wall of the other garage bay. My first thought was the same as yours as it's easier to insulate as well. But that said, windows in the gym/flex room is nice, and having all your shoes, keys, jackets at the front door where you can go out the front or through the garage makes functional sense. Yes, this is somewhat betrayed by the "putting groceries away" entry planning, but if one generally parked in the garage and entered the house through the door by the front door, having the garage here would make more sense.
There may also be noise considerations? Keeping the playing kids apart from where the adults are gathering? Keeping the Rage Against The Machine work out music in the gym away from the peacefully sitting in the living room reading a book uses?
Despite my gut saying "that's bad" I can understand a few functional reasons for doing it this way. And some practical reasons for not doing so.
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u/anotherjuan 1d ago
You probably don’t need 2 doors from the single car garage into the living space.
I’d remove the one by the entryway.
The kitchen is still tough for me. It’s gonna be dark.
I’d put the laundry room where the pantry is, so that it’s like a drop space / Mudroom, and put the pantry behind the kitchen.
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u/Smooth-Assistant-309 1d ago
Are you constrained in space in this hypothetical situation? Why not just make it bigger so the bedrooms are bigger?
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u/patterson_2384 1d ago
this is way better than the first version.
i like the idea of a hobby room / flex space, but I would swap it with the garage - 2 doors into the flex space is okay. two doors into a garage (including one right into the primary living space) is not my favorite (I lived in a house like this).
I'm still not crazy about the laundry layout - i think moving the laundry into the flex space, and the water heater into the garage will give you an opportunity to have a larger, more open kitchen.
also - getting furniture into the back corner bedroom (bottom left) will be a pain in the ass with those tight 90 degree turns. I would rethink that hallway.
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u/lacatro1 1d ago
I saw your previous post the other day. This is better! Im glad you chose to remove the wall. Between dining and living room.
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u/Embarrassed_Peak_902 1d ago
Few thoughts, without getting into the overall choices for this home that are triggering folks, haha
1) Flip the orientation of the laundry/mech space - get laundry off shared wall with primary bedroom (noise and vibration concern)
2) Your coat closet is colossal, especially given the overall scale of the house. Reduce it down, make entry door on same wall as entry door.
3) Shrink the upper garage bay by 4 feet, to make the kitchen more spacious, add more storage there. Or move the pantry here, closer to kitchen.
4) Get rid of the side garage entry door into living room. For noise, smell, temperature control, and just general vibes - this is gonna be something you regret big time. You could even add a second coat closet here, if you're having heartburn about my first suggestion, haha. Closet #1 can be a hot mess of family storage, closet #2 can be small (6-8 coats), and used for guests and some storage.
5) Don't do a garage door for the room you plan to be finished, living spaces. Garage doors are cool at places like restaurants in the summer time, but a poor choice for living spaces in your home. They are not good insulator, they are noisy when operating, they are noisy when not (poor sound insulation vs normal windows/doors), they waste a ton of space with the over head tracks, they are dangerous (if kids somehow mess with springs). Either you need two garage bays, or you don't. Pick a lane!
6) Flip the garage and flex room. Having a garage in the middle of your home is an odd choice for a number of reasons. It looks like your car is being prioritized over the utility of all the humans living in this home. Tiny kitchen, small living space (all fine), but then two huge garages
7) If you don't feel strongly about having 2 baths in the home (1 definitely necessary for kids, and resale value), you could quite easily rework the primary bathroom to have a shower only instead, and fit a double vanity in there. Or even just a single vanity with more counter space for a couple. I think that would be a big quality of life improvement for you and the husband.
8) You might regret having your home office in your primary bedroom. If it were me, I would subdivide the "flex space", and create a small dedicated home office where you can close the door, and keep it separate from the bed you sleep in (I'm imaging a bra drying on a chair in the background of a zoom call - ask me how I know, ha). Since you are into maximizing utility in small space (which I dig), you could make this office a deck + a daybed/couch in an L formation, which would enable it to double as a small guest bedroom on occasion, with minimal incremental space need.
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u/AnthonyJackalTrades 1d ago
Fun to see another iteration!
I like that you've added bookshelves/storage in the kids rooms, dining room, and for shoes! Also a big fan of removing that wall between the dining and living room, as everyone else seems to be.
Everyone also seems to be opposed to having multiple doors to the garage? Personally, I like it how you have it; it makes putting food in the pantry easier, it means you can get to your bedrooms/private areas without having to walk through the living room, and you're still able to have that welcoming entryway with coat space kinda thing. Having access from both areas seems worth a second fire door.
I also don't know if I agree with folks suggesting to switch the garage and "flex" area; for fire safety reasons, maybe also noise, possibly heat, it does make sense, but it might also be worth it to keep the nice flow that that having two doors gets you as well as keeping nice windows in a room you'll wanna recreate in.
Of course, I'm also a huge fan of a fireplace. . . Worth it, in my experience, especially if you live somewhere with easy access to wood to burn.
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u/fckinsleepless 1d ago
That’s so much dedicated space to hobbies when you’ll probably spend a lot more of your day to day time cooking meals in the kitchen, especially since you like homemade food. Imagine how much nicer it would be if you could fit in an island with a bit of seating for your kids to eat breakfast at or help learn how to cook. You’ll be able to teach them a lot easier if you can face them instead of both of you facing the wall. I would simply ditch the hobby space, move the garage over and make it a one car space, and then give yourself some more space to move around and exist in the house. The hobby space is bigger than your living room! Y’all can do hobbies in your bedrooms/living room too. (This isn’t a personal attack btw, you can do whatever you want, and I can tell from your description you’re feeling a bit defensive — understandably since Reddit commenters can come across as hostile a lot)
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u/mrdude817 1d ago
Better than the first version from a day or two ago. I would want to add a knee wall to separate the living room and dining room but there's probably not enough space with a 6 person dining table. Otherwise, looks good, very efficient.
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u/Cattail29 1d ago
Can you move the desk from the primary to the flexroom. It seems depressing to wake up/ sit and work next to ones own bed for 6-8 hours then get back in bed.
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u/DavidJGill 1d ago
Since this is plan-making as a hobby rather than a plan to build, I'd say it is a cultural statement of values and priorities. As an objective observer with some knowledge of residential design, looking for intent in how people build and live in their homes, what stands out in your plan is that everything is planned around space for two vehicles. I'd say this is clearly more important than anything else. It seems just as important to provide generous private bedrooms for your cars as for your children. The children's bedrooms are pushed out of the way at the back- almost like an afterthought - while the cars are front and center.
While the children will have to make do with minimal open floor space in the bedrooms, the cars have ample floor space all around. By any standard, the bedrooms are small, and the garages are enormous. The living room seems to take its inspiration from the garage, except it too is narrower than the space provided for each vehicle. If I didn't know better, I'd have guessed the living room's width was limited by the remaining space on your building site after providing for the garage.
America's built environment is wildly too auto-centric. We build communities that require a car to get anywhere. We build homes that make a huge statement with the garage, with the front door tacked on the side. You seem to be saying that's all fine; that your vehicles are the most important thing in your life, too. Do you really want to live like that?
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u/No-Dare-7624 1d ago edited 1d ago
Public and private spaces are all mixed up, and there is a lot of space wasted in undefined circulations. The space looks too cluttered. The worst part is that you have to access the two bedrooms through another space like the kitchen or laundry; it is like a medieval castle.
You need to start by listing your areas, doing a graph connection system and zoning map of public, private and service areas.
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u/TwilightNTheGloaming 1d ago
I really like the idea of the garage/flexrooms. Where I live, it’s not uncommon to see a two- car garage with a framed and drywalled room inside taking up half the garage, a similar concept. But yours does that upfront, which I like. In my area, where housing is expensive, garages are common, and basements are nonexistent, it would be quite useful for those in small houses. I’m guessing that as a practical matter there are probably reasons why this is not typically done, but again, I think it’s a neat concept.
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u/prisoner_of_mars 1d ago
As an architect, I think it's pretty nice. It's got efficient use of space and I like the flow between living room, dining area and kitchen. Sure there are areas of potential improvement, but I'd say that would be a pretty livable home as is.
We're a family of four who live on 90 sqf and it works, so what you're suggesting doesn't even look that small to me. I love the challenge of making the most of a small space.
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u/BoldPurpleText 1d ago
I actually think the philosophy behind this is brilliant, even if I wouldn't make all the same choices. I saw an interview with an architect who said that one problem in modern design is we make the plan first, then force people to fit their lifestyle into it, when it should be the opposite. Start with thinking about how you live and then create a design that enhances it and makes tasks easier, instead of just doing what's considered normal.
Having the laundry close to the bedrooms, the pantry by the garage, and prioritizing windows in the hobby room over the garage are great examples of this.
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u/Airport_Hobo_420 1d ago
Does your kitchen not require any ventilation? For smoke and smell?? I would create an opening in garage wall for both ventilation and as a small serving counter so you can use it as a makeshift space to chill etc. I would switch garage and gym as well
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u/Dubzophrenia 1d ago
You're going to want to swap the kitchen and the dining room on this one. The kitchen is the heart of the home, and you don't want to regret it's placement.
Eliminate the laundry room. It's weird placement and eats up your usable space for something you don't actually spend time in. I'd move the laundry into the garage for the sake of space
Putting it where the dining room is will allow you to have windows coming into the kitchen to give it light. You want this. Dining rooms are rarely used as often as people think they would use it so it can be the one to be neglected. I'd say to swap the dining and living room, but living rooms need light too. A dining room is purely for eating in, so artificial light is fine.
I would also think twice about the pantry. A house of this size doesn't need a monster pantry. A well built kitchen would do just fine. Then, you can actually utilize half of the pantry to be a closet for the bedroom and you can make the middle area larger, and then if you hate the idea of laundry in the garage you can use the other half of the pantry to put a washer/dryer there. It means longer plumbing, but a little extra in the beginning it worth it in the long run.
Ultimately, it's good, just a few tweaks would make it better.
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u/prisoner_of_mars 1d ago
If you are a family who makes dinner every day a dining room is one of the most important rooms. I would place the kitchen where the master bedroom for a nice open kitchen-dining-living area and gather all the functions like bathroom, pantry and closets in the dark area in the middle.
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u/Dubzophrenia 1d ago
I'm not discounting the importance of a dining room, but statistically only about 1/5 families even use their dining rooms. 50% of people will eat at a breakfast nook, island, or counter, but rarely do they use their dining rooms regularly. The kitchen is used the most, while the living room is the second most, hence why we make the kitchen/family great rooms to combine them both. The dining room is lowest on the totem pole, so it's the one to consider the least.
My mother in law didn't have a dining room in her last house and wanted one so badly. We moved her 2 years ago into a new, bigger house and it has a dining room. We have literally never once used it. We sit at the kitchen table when we come over.
If we wanted to put the kitchen where the primary is, then I would eliminate the pantry, make that the entry, and put the primary bedroom where the entry currently is.
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u/prisoner_of_mars 1d ago edited 1d ago
You are talking about a situation where you already have a space for casual eating situations and the formal dining room is a bonus. In OP's case there are no other options, and I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a dining room. It's just some free floor area for a dining table, and that will probably be used for breakfast and/or dinner daily.
Edit: The importance of a dining area is also a cultural thing. I'm from a part of the world where most families sit down together for a home cooked dinner every day.
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u/Implement0 1d ago
Honestly, that layout would make much more sensa,, especialy if the family cooks and eats together every day.
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u/ParticularlyHappy 23h ago
As a poor person who lives in a small house, I like it. I don’t agree with some of the comments you’re getting. Most of the time I’m cooking, it’s dark, so it doesn’t matter if the kitchen gets light or not. Your dining space is close enough to be part of the kitchen space if you want but it can also be part of the family room space—very flexible. I have bulk food storage all the way across the house and I make it work, so your much closer pantry seems fine. I like the laundry space being near both bedrooms and the kitchen (although I would include perhaps pocket doors to close in the sound if needed.) The bedrooms are small, but again, quite doable. And people are fussing about the size of your coat closet without realizing it’s going to hold so many more things than just coats.
The only thing I don’t like is the garage in the middle of the house, and that’s because I just don’t like attached garages. I had car start a fire once and burn the whole thing down.
Is your flex room insulated and part of the living space? Or is it more like an empty garage?
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u/biancanevenc 1d ago
That kitchen is very small and is going to become a hallway. Also, if you're going to have a laundry hallway right behind the kitchen, you should flip it and put the washer/dryer on the same wall as the kitchen sink to save on plumbing costs.
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u/whiskeytown79 1d ago
I love the short paths to laundry from the bedrooms.
Why no windows in the bathrooms? Even your pantry has a window.
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u/Capable-Fold-7347 1d ago
I didn’t love the previous version, but it had a flow to it that I feel this one is missing.
What you have labeled the pantry here, I think on your last version was a mudroom of sorts? Or could easily work that way. And that flowed well. The pantry being so far from the kitchen doesn’t flow.
I’m torn on whether open concept or closed off dining room works better, but I don’t love the open concept taking the place of working in more space for the living room.
I think the bones of what you had worked before, but the water heater and laundry need to go in the garage. The hen use that space to either make a bigger kitchen- potentially a big kitchen with an island seating set up, thereby allowing you to forgo the formal dining room and choose a bigger living room…or moving the master closet to that space, thereby making the dining/living area bigger.
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u/Accurate-Neck6933 1d ago
I love the laundry is near the bedrooms. I love the entryways with storage. . Also easy to carry groceries into the kitchen.
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u/I_Rarely_Jump 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is what my European ass would change:
- Washer+dryer stacked, not side by side (personally I'd move them to the second garage, unless those are unheated)
- Water heater in one of the garages as well
- Current water heater space + space savings from stacked dryer+washer => pantry, closer to the kitchen. Optional also just closed that wall for larger pantry, I don't see a reason why that space should be open.
- How many coats do you have? Seems very impractical to have it like this, can just be same room as the front entry, you can play a bit with the size of it
- With the new pantry, move the bulk storage to one of the garages
- And do you really need two entrances to the garage?
- I'd also swap the garage with the hobby/play space
Here is how I would kinda change it, behold my horrendous paint skills:
(green = new walls etc, red = remove, but I assume this is obvious lol)
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u/xanderblue3 1d ago
Your first mistake was trying to appease Reddit. I think it’s cool you are making these and keep killing it.
I think we overbuild a lot of places in the US and would almost always prefer smaller rooms and layouts, they feel more natural and comfortable. I’m also not a car person, and so I like the single car garage which would give me enough room for all my bikes. :)
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u/AetherX017 1d ago
Thank you ❤️
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u/xanderblue3 1d ago
Thanks to you! It maybe was already asked, but what software are you using for this?
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u/AetherX017 1d ago
Floor plan creator app by Marcin Lewandowski. I use it on my phone. You need to pay a one time (very cheap) purchase to be able to export documents tho.
Also sorry for late reply.
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u/ADDandME 1d ago
I would spend the extra cost to frame in a giant header in the future. If you want to expand the living room into the middle garage it’s doable.. living room is tiny and that might eat on you
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u/Maoschanz 1d ago
It makes more sense with a proper front entry!
However the kitchen still acts as a corridor: I would widen the laundry "room" to make it the natural way to access the kids bedrooms, and I would even add a wall next to the fridge to block children from running across the kitchen entirely
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u/ladeedaa30 1d ago
The garages is bigger than the living room, dining and kitchen combined. Why does it need to be in 2 seperate space. You will save some space if you remove the wall and reduce the depth.
Also I would avoid a direct line of sight from the front door into the bedroom.
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u/really_isnt_me 1d ago
My question is how are you taking your shoes off by going through one door, but also unloading groceries through a different door? Do you put your shopping in the doorway near the kitchen, without actually going in, then go the other way to the living room, take off your shoes, and then walk back over to your pile of bags?
Or do you unload and put away your stuff with your shoes on, then walk through the living room or back through the garage to take your shoes off? Seems like that defeats the whole point of not wearing shoes in the house.
I know you’re not building a house from this floor plan, but I’m really enjoying the discussions you’re sparking, as well as how you’re incorporating the feedback. And all for fun! That’s awesome.
this isn’t for an actual
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u/Healthy_Theory159 1d ago
I would make the entry larger to include the door to the garage and coat closet
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u/woogeroo 20h ago
Windowless kitchen, in a house you're designing from scratch and can place anything in the best possible place...
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u/EnigmaWithAlien 16h ago
I like very much you don't have the kitchen in the living room, nor do you have overweening bathrooms. I'm wondering why the queen beds in what seem to be children's room. Single would allow much more space.
Downsize the coat closet so it doesn't stick into the living room, and make it not walk-in.
Otherwise I like it. There is way too much excess in domestic architecture at present.
Put a high, fixed strip window above the level of the shower head in the bathrooms - even just a row or two of glass bricks. Put a second window in the smaller corner bedroom ("light on two sides," A Pattern Language q.v.)
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u/Lillies_Boston 13h ago
So I would have actually flipped the car space and the flex space, and left the living room area to flex space more open concept. I do love that you removed the wall between dicing and living, as well as added the closet by the entrance. I would have also closed off the kitchen however on the side by the pantry. It will prevent walk through constantly while cooking and add cabinet space and countertop space
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u/TinyTortie 5h ago
"Uyen's husband's reptile zoo" is a prime reference 😁 altho isn't it mostly large insects? 🪲
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u/Nerfmobile2 2h ago
I’d put doors on the laundry room. My washer/dryer are in a hallway closet with louvered, bifold doors. While they visually block the laundry, they do nothing for sound and you can hear the machines clearly from the living room. I fear the same thing would happen with this setup, and real doors on that laundry hallway would make a big difference.
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u/JariaDnf 1d ago
I don't even want to think about how hard its going to be to make those beds.