The Front Porch Swing

[perchie.girl]

For what its worth I am all for the extra expense in regard to design



If you take a look at the lay out there are only a few walls that angle. on either side they are perpendicular to each other The biggest expense would be foundation and roof. But a house of this square footage will have the same amount of foundation and roof. square footage wise.

I have seen some wowser layouts rounded walls multi angular "wings" But with regard to convenience to layout this one is by far the best. straight shot from the garage to either the laundry pantry or kitchen Or a straight shot in to the house propper. Master bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the other bedrooms.

I also like the fact that EACH bedroom has an exterior door. No climbing out of windows in emergencies.

The sight line from the kitchen is Awesome whether you have small children or Grown up company. but if you take that sight line out through the walls of glass I am certain they have framed in an awesome view... For me it would include my horses out in pasture so I could count noses occasionally.

If it were on my property It would have to be mirrored vertically and turned so that view would facing the south east. With all that veranda i would need it to be covered but that would be all the changes I would make.... for myself.

deb

 

[wyoDreamer]

Deb - thanks for the picture.

Maybe only the right end of the house looks angled, but every window is a window seat or bay window. Better to make the walls a straight line and put cabinets on each side of the window to frame in window seats, at least for my tastes. Every corner is an added cost - a corner is an angle too. It would be easy enough to keep that basic layout and smooth some of the exterior walls. For instance, move HIS walk-in closet out to match the exterior wall of HER walk-in closet - Bingo remove 4 corners. Make bedroom 3 a little bit bigger and make the windows for bedroom 2 flush with the rest of the wall - Bongo another 6 corners gone.

@dpenning I'm always glad to hear of people who get to follow their dreams. Good luck with the entire project.

 

[bruceha2000]

To each his or her own

Agree on the exit doors though I'm thinking it is going to be a squeeze to get a bed, desk and dresser in BR 2 & 3 with doors on 3 walls, especially with the box seat in BR 2. Every toilet requires going through at least 2 door openings if not physical doors. And the resident of BR2 better not need to use the toilet when the resident of BR3 is taking a bath/shower, long hike to the powder room toilet. Not real fond of the "swing into each other" exterior doors for the utility room and garage, no leaving the utility room door open for air. Does the front door really overlap the entrance to the coat closet and powder room by 25%?? Love the Butler's Pantry area.

But it isn't my house! And clearly it was designed to maximize the view from almost everywhere which would be hard to do with a more efficient use of the space. I'm still trying to imagine the roof lines over all those bump ins/outs and the kitchen, dining/ family room area with an angle in the "view side" family room wall.

ETA - I don't mean to dump on the project, it is just that my mind goes to efficiency and functionality. My "dream" home would have a central core with ALL rooms that contain plumbing surrounding it. All shutoffs in the core so if any ever leak, it isn't into the cabinet under the sink for example. Really short runs for plumbing, one straight pipe going out to the septic system. The house, as designed, is going to need at least 3 water heaters. No way you want to wait 2 or 3 minutes to get hot water at the bathroom sink to wash your hands or at the kitchen sink to wash a single plate. Run over a gallon down the drain and use 1/2 cup. Then the water in the pipe cools, wasting the energy needed to heat it in the first place. Point of use water heaters could be used but they need to be big ones to get the temp elevation from well water to shower temp. Short halls, halls to a single room are wasted space unless you are running an art gallery

Sorry, I'll stop critiquing now

 

[perchie.girl]

I also think house design is very dependant on climate... a place here could have a completely flat roof behind vertical walls with drains out of tiles...


I personally have drawn several floor plans for myself... but am drawn to Mid Century modern style made with current materials.


I like the idea of having all the walls that have glass facing the view... With Huge overhangs to shade them and patio/porch under the overhangs. With an entry that reads like an atrium.... OPEN air to the back yard turn one direction you step into a door that brings you into the Living/dining/great room. with Kitchen and entertaining spaces. full bath. Guest bedroom.

turn the other way you go into the master bed suite... private space, art studio,


All built modularly then brought in as blocks to rest on a pre-built foundation/deck

Shutters to close off bad weather for the entry.... But here they could be open 90percent of the year.

All sightlines to cover a view of my barn and horses and the main drive .... this would let me see about 90 percent of my land at a quick glance...

All low lwo pitch roofs rated for about a foot of snow... pretty common here. The wind blows with gusts up to 80 miles per hour here so land scape hardscape should be thought out carefully to mitigate the impact on the house and barn.

Oh and all the patio covers should be solar panels rather than actual roofs.

deb

 

[dpenning]

I had a nice long response with individual quotes to respond to everything and POOF, it is gone!

Anyway, Yes, the angles will add expense but this is the last house we will live in and we will be there, God willing, for many years to come. In a number of areas we have opted for design that we are getting from the architect.

BR 2 is the primary guest room, mostly just my mom stays there, we don't want it to be too comfortable. LOL! BR 3 is the dogs bedroom, there will be a sectional and some beds and crates, with a doggie door in the door going out to the dog yard. Mom won't have to share her bathroom. If need be we can also use the second story as a guest room. I fully expect there to be at least two water heaters. One of the builders we met with today is big into the instant on demand water heaters. My only experience is in the double wide and that one was not working well so the jury is out on that.

We have a 5 acre pond that is the focal point of the property, that is why we are long and low maximizing the view with large picture windows. We have spent the last two years renovating the pond and it just filled up this last week! We are thrilled. Your art gallery comment did make me laugh though, we have many more walls in our current home and do have quite a bit of artwork, there may be some for sale soon, mostly wildlife images.

The back of the house where all the views are faces east. Most of the windows are covered by the porch, all the outline is under roof. We will get morning sun on the patio overlooking the pond. Someone said something about the plumbing being a problem with such a long house going to a single septic system. This is a good question and I will ask about that.

Actually all these observations are fantastic and I thank you all. Some things we have made decisions on for one reason or another but in some cases it could be something we don't know we don't know. I really appreciate the input so don't stop critiquing.

We have had one builder suggest pier and beam because there is a slight slope depending on where we choose to build. We need to have the other builder out to the property, they suggest foundation with piers at every corner (ouch) and wherever else the engineers say they need to go. Pretty much under the whole foundation. Once we choose the site for the house they will come out and drill core samples for the engineering report. I've always lived in slab houses so we are going to walk through one of the homes that has pier and beam that was built last year.

If I missed someone's comments, sorry. Quoting is too much of a challenge for me. LOL

 

[perchie.girl]

I had a nice long response with individual quotes to respond to everything and POOF, it is gone!

Anyway, Yes, the angles will add expense but this is the last house we will live in and we will be there, God willing, for many years to come. In a number of areas we have opted for design that we are getting from the architect.

BR 2 is the primary guest room, mostly just my mom stays there, we don't want it to be too comfortable. LOL! BR 3 is the dogs bedroom, there will be a sectional and some beds and crates, with a doggie door in the door going out to the dog yard. Mom won't have to share her bathroom. If need be we can also use the second story as a guest room. I fully expect there to be at least two water heaters. One of the builders we met with today is big into the instant on demand water heaters. My only experience is in the double wide and that one was not working well so the jury is out on that.

We have a 5 acre pond that is the focal point of the property, that is why we are long and low maximizing the view with large picture windows. We have spent the last two years renovating the pond and it just filled up this last week! We are thrilled. Your art gallery comment did make me laugh though, we have many more walls in our current home and do have quite a bit of artwork, there may be some for sale soon, mostly wildlife images.

The back of the house where all the views are faces east. Most of the windows are covered by the porch, all the outline is under roof. We will get morning sun on the patio overlooking the pond. Someone said something about the plumbing being a problem with such a long house going to a single septic system. This is a good question and I will ask about that.

Actually all these observations are fantastic and I thank you all. Some things we have made decisions on for one reason or another but in some cases it could be something we don't know we don't know. I really appreciate the input so don't stop critiquing.

We have had one builder suggest pier and beam because there is a slight slope depending on where we choose to build. We need to have the other builder out to the property, they suggest foundation with piers at every corner (ouch) and wherever else the engineers say they need to go. Pretty much under the whole foundation. Once we choose the site for the house they will come out and drill core samples for the engineering report. I've always lived in slab houses so we are going to walk through one of the homes that has pier and beam that was built last year.

If I missed someone's comments, sorry. Quoting is too much of a challenge for me. LOL

Awesome.... I love pier and beam because it has less impact on the site... But I have NEVER lived in one. Closest I have is the house I have now which started out life as a Mobile home. Complete with steel piers the kind that set ontop of a block of cement and have jack screws to level the mobile home. Part of the house though is on slab... Standard construction for California.

how is your area climate wise?

deb

 

[dpenning]

North Texas, hot in summer, can get cold in the winter but it typically only lasts a week. The thing I don't like about the mobile home is hearing every footstep and feeling it move in strong wind. I doubt a house would feel the same as a trailer but it will be very interesting to walk through one or two. My moms home is pier and beam but it is 50 years old. I also will ask the architect about it.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@dpenning It's nice to know you are not being offended by our comments. Thank you for being so gracious.

Part of my opinion comes from where I live. All those angles would not be energy efficient for heating and cooling - hard to insulate corners like that. I also don't see what value of all those bump-out windows adds to the house. I would think it would make furniture layout difficult also. We have bay windows in every room downstairs and it has been interesting trying to figure out where to put the couches and chairs. Straightening out the exterior walls wouldn't interrupt or change any of the views.

My mom and dad got an on-demand water heater when they hooked up to natural gas and got rid of their propane tank. Not sure if they really like it or not. It doesn't seem to really save much water - they still need to run water at the kitchen sink until they get hot water. My sister and brother-in-law have one also and are not really happy with it.

Talking about water runs, our house is fairly efficient as far as layout goes - the kitchen, bathroom, utility room are all in the same area, probably about 15 feet apart for all hot water use. Guess where they installed the hot water heater - in the center of the basement. The pipe from the well actually comes into the house under the kitchen, then runs 30 feet across the basement to the water heater and then back across the basement to the sink/shower/utility room area. If the water heater was located between the kitchen sink and bathroom sink, the longest run would be 10 feet. I think we would save some money just by not having to run water for 30 feet to get hot water.

 

[Tomtommom]

To each his or her own

Agree on the exit doors though I'm thinking it is going to be a squeeze to get a bed, desk and dresser in BR 2 & 3 with doors on 3 walls, especially with the box seat in BR 2. Every toilet requires going through at least 2 door openings if not physical doors. And the resident of BR2 better not need to use the toilet when the resident of BR3 is taking a bath/shower, long hike to the powder room toilet. Not real fond of the "swing into each other" exterior doors for the utility room and garage, no leaving the utility room door open for air. Does the front door really overlap the entrance to the coat closet and powder room by 25%?? Love the Butler's Pantry area.

But it isn't my house! And clearly it was designed to maximize the view from almost everywhere which would be hard to do with a more efficient use of the space. I'm still trying to imagine the roof lines over all those bump ins/outs and the kitchen, dining/ family room area with an angle in the "view side" family room wall.

ETA - I don't mean to dump on the project, it is just that my mind goes to efficiency and functionality. My "dream" home would have a central core with ALL rooms that contain plumbing surrounding it. All shutoffs in the core so if any ever leak, it isn't into the cabinet under the sink for example. Really short runs for plumbing, one straight pipe going out to the septic system. The house, as designed, is going to need at least 3 water heaters. No way you want to wait 2 or 3 minutes to get hot water at the bathroom sink to wash your hands or at the kitchen sink to wash a single plate. Run over a gallon down the drain and use 1/2 cup. Then the water in the pipe cools, wasting the energy needed to heat it in the first place. Point of use water heaters could be used but they need to be big ones to get the temp elevation from well water to shower temp. Short halls, halls to a single room are wasted space unless you are running an art gallery

Sorry, I'll stop critiquing now

A friend of mine lived in this AMAZING little home. All rooms were in a circle around the main room, which was an open floor plan kitchen/dining/family room with a huge round fireplace in the center of it all. It was just so inviting for family times and heating would be a breeze, everyone receiving heat from the main room.

 

[Tomtommom]

A friend of mine lived in this AMAZING little home. All rooms were in a circle around the main room, which was an open floor plan kitchen/dining/family room with a huge round fireplace in the center of it all. It was just so inviting for family times and heating would be a breeze, everyone receiving heat from the main room.

I found a link to a Dutch website that has a few of them for sale in that neighborhood. I love the internet haha

http://www.funda.nl/koop/capelle-aan-den-ijssel/huis-48015806-rondedans-154/
http://www.funda.nl/koop/verkocht/capelle-aan-den-ijssel/huis-48044763-rondedans-168/