We designed our house ourselves, completely from scratch. We started by cutting out simple rectangles and squares for the rooms. Then we drew a big box and placed the shapes to best fit within the "big box." We pushed out walls here, brought them in there, and reshaped everything until we had it just so.
We sifted through thousands of plans online first, but none fit our family. We wanted the living, dining, and kitchen to be open. We also wanted the office to be open to the Living room and kitchen, but with the ability to close it off when guests are over. (Jim in the office, Jen in the kitchen, and the kids in the middle, all able to see and interact with one another.)
We also wanted a mudroom/pantry off the kitchen, and a tall and somewhat dramatic entry way without losing too much space to "open air."
Ideally we wanted the master suite to be on the main level, but it was much more economical if all three levels were the same shape, so up it went.
One of the kids bedrooms is larger than the other, and that was done so that eventually the girls (second girl still TBD) can bunk together.
I (Jen) am not a fan of the television in the living room. Consequently our living room is more cozy and will have a fireplace as its focal point. The television will go downstairs (far from the bedrooms) in the entertainment room. The lower level will be heated by a radiant floor heating system so no need to worry about chilly toes.
I'm sure there will be things we've missed and wished we had thought about, but this layout took us almost 4 months to design, and given our experience to date, it's just about perfect for us!
Second Story
2 comments:
Oh and I love the open living, dining, kitchen area, we would do the same, and not mess with the formal family room and formal dining either. Totally see it as a waste of space. In trying to keep a house for seven under 3000sq feet I think we'd have to! ;)
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