Floorplan Dilemma
Hello there,
Could do with some help / feedback / suggestions please…
Designing a new build, and a few challenges we can’t seem to work out.
Main aim is to get a ‘light void’ inside the entrance of the house.
Ideally looking for 2m x 2m before then walking up the stairs or through corridor to the rear of the house.
Current design has upstairs bedrooms on the eastern side and stairs/corridor on the western side, which is desirable. This also places the staircase downstairs on the western side, which is desirable, allowing a ‘feature brick wall’ along the eastern length of the ground floor corridor.
With current stair placement, creates upstairs having the corridor on the western side of the stairs, leading to the need to walk around to the front to gain access to Bedroom 2. This eliminates the ability to have the front area as open space/ light void.
A corridor along the bedrooms would allow Bedroom 2 access from the northern side and stopping the corridor at that point, creating the open void.
The current layout also doesn’t allow a direct door access to upstairs central bathroom from a potential central corridor.
Trying to place stairs on the western side of upstairs central corridor seems to have 2 hurdles;
1. With current stair location, not enough room to have 1m corridor plus 3m wide rooms together on the eastern side and fit in with Res-Code set-back requirements (see below).
2. To push staircase further west would have it encroaching the ground floor bedroom. That said, I could be content with the ground floor bedroom being less than the current 3.5m width.
Property is only 10m wide. We are going boundary to boundary at the front with the garage on one side.
To meet res-code (and avoid applying for additional council approval), we need to cut in from each side by almost 2m on for the upstairs area, hence creating our dilemma for the location of a centrally located staircase .
Of note, existing driveway is on the RHS / eastern side of the block and a tree on the nature strip is on the western side, so moving the garage / driveway is not really an option.
To confirm, the rear of the house faces due North.
Hope that explains it fairly well.
Can anyone see a different layout working better?
Please share any thoughts…
Thanks, DTM
Comments (21)
8 years agoHi Louise. Thanks for your interest.
Plans re-posted below, hopefully clearer. Ceiling height looking at 2.7m downstairs, and perhaps 2.4(+) upstairs. Piano, correct. Room between laundry and dining is a walk in cellar - a necessary indulgence. Upstairs living is play room for child from Bedroom 2 / addition bedroom if family expands.
Again, would be interested in any thoughts...
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based on approximate dimensions i've reduced the extra hallway width upstairs, added the two storey void (or bigger upstairs bed 2 or small study) moved the stairs to the west and rearranged upstairs and down with a central rumpus room or potential extra bedroom and master suite across the rear...the stairs are still open underneath up to the downstairs bathroom door that is enclosed under the stairs to create more bathroom privacy and a generous nook for the piano...swopping the laundry provides a small porch for the garage and laundry with option for security screen on the outside of the porch ...the eastern alfresco will be cooler for afternoon outdoor entertaining (western alfresco creates circulation issues with the kitchen) although the existing dining and living areas could be swopped (btw don't forget the alfresco floor space extends up to the fence for more flexible furniture arrangements)
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThat is better use of the space, but I'am thinking that because kensington is in the wine industry he's trying to set up wine tasting with art gallery for specialist /private viewing, so the toilet needs to be separate for this.
Earlier today I did two of my rough sketch's, this makes the bathroom separate to the bedroom and I actually think the down stairs bedroom should be a lounge to be used for the wine gallery function. I would also want a wider grander entrance passage way to add to the gallery function. I have done a similar thing in a past life, would have been better to have seen the angled void in the plans. cheers
8 years agoI'm more interested in the wine area, coming from Marlborough, New Zealand, you would understand lol. Just had to add the pics
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oklouise