Need help with the second floor plan for my barn style Newbuild
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
We are hoping to build a light, airy, barn type house of approximately 2200 square feet. We are happy with the ground floor (see attached) which covers about 1200 square feet, but are struggling with the first floor. We have about 1000 square feet to accommodate three double bedrooms and a good size family bathroom (minimum 12' x 9'). Ideally the master bedroom would be a minimum of 17' long and 12' wide to allow a 5' walk-in wardrobe behind the kingsize bed and the two other bedrooms at least 13' wide to accommodate double bunks (sleep 4 visiting grandchildren in each room!). We don't want any en suites, preferring to use the space for larger rooms. Not sure where to site the stairs and landing. I have been playing with this, but difficult make the most of the space and light and still have an attractive, barn like exterior!! Any ideas welcome.
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Comments (19)Hi Kate. We have three children under 8 so are in a similar position to you. If it was my house I would..... In response to your first question, a 33ft x 14ft open plan room would not necessarily be too big, but it would leave you without a downstairs utility or WC. As tamp75 has commented, a hallway is good for isolating noise to upstairs bedrooms, and you need somewhere for coats, bags, shoes etc. With three storeys, having the kitchen open to the hall may create problems with building regulations (fire safety). I'm not an expert in this area but it should be considered. 2. I would definitely reposition the cloakroom. It looks like the drainage to your house will be on the right hand side of the plan, so I would not put the WC under the stairs. Something like Jonathan's second suggestion would work well. 3. I would create a utility room, but only a small one. Large enough to hold a washing machine and tumble drier (stacked to save space), sink and some storage. If you can get hold of a copy of George Clarke's Home Bible he has a whole chapter devoted to utility rooms - it is well worth a read. 4. I would reconfigure the property in a similar manner to Jonathan's second suggestion. The only minor changes would be to move shorten the hall slightly by bringing the entrance to the kitchen level with the stairs, and possibly reconfigure the area for utility/WC/cloaks. I recommend retaining the first floor living room as it stops the house feeling too 'top heavy' and could be a really good family space. 5. It's hard to answer this without knowing more about you. I think it might be possible to have a kitchen, seating area and dining area but I suspect that you might have to make some compromises. You have the potential to create two lounges elsewhere in the house, so I would compromise on the seating area. Given the scale of this project I would take my time to consider all of the options. I think it is definitely worth spending a few £100s on a concept planner as they could save you £1000s in the long run. Good luck....See MoreNeed Flooring help please for an open plan kitchen/dining/living space
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Comments (14)thanks folks, very sensible advices.. Sally: in an ideal world we would have lived in first before getting the work done but with a young child, work involving crazy hours etc it will be just a bit onerous to move out again or manage to live with all the construction work going on. I agree with all of you that perhaps utilising the existing space and concentrating on the flow is a better idea rather than throwing ridiculous money at it especially if this isn't going to be our forever house. We have for now put the idea of a study on top of utility on hold. one of the plans we have been thinking is the below floor plan, this would involve very minimal work so quite cost effective. the utility room has a skylight (its in a recess so not too much sunlight but still not too bad) as well as a window into the passageway so light shouldn't be too much of a problem. the flip side is that kitchen area will be only 11ft wide and we will take some space from the garage (original size is 18'x14' ). the benefits are better sitting area, entrance to sitting area without going through the messy kitchen parts and separate entrance to kitchen from hallway so not having to walk the whole way around to dining room for those formal dinners.. What are your thoughts would this work? thanks Abhi...See More- 11 years ago
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That's fair enough! If the kids are around during the day it definitely makes sense to have a playroom, very lucky grandchildren! I can't do without an en suite but obviously that's just personal to me. This was my 1st attempt at a plan (with en suite!) based on using the entire ground floor footprint to give you a luxury suite. The plan isn't drawn to scale but rounded measurements are on there which hopefully add up. It's based on the stairs being in the corner of the dining room. I suppose its difficult to plan upstairs until you're decided on the position of the stairs. I'm not sure planning is my forte but always
willing to give it a go!
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