We received some sketches right before Thanksgiving and a second set right after. Now, a month later, we finally have a chance to discuss them. Our architect has graciously allowed us to share his sketches so you can see how the design has progressed. First we’ll go over the sketches and discuss our thoughts on them. The next post will talk about some issues that these sketches raised, and what we decided to do.
Both plans share some similarities that come from the constraints of the site. The garage is on the east side. The house is an approximately 30′ by 30′ square to the west of that. The garage overlaps the main floor, causing an indent of several feet on the east edge, starting at the north and going down about 25′. This effectively turns the main floor into a rectangle, with a little jut out at the south-east corner for the entry.
The upper floor takes up the full square; we will use part of the space over the garage for an upstairs deck. The lower floor can run the full north-south length, but only about 15′ or so deep (from the western edge) due to the hill on the east.
Plan 1: Stairs on North
Plan 1 is approximately an open floor plan interpretation of the traditional four square, although the stairs on the northern wall are separated from the entry in the south-east corner. The stairs leave a narrow space in the north-east corner; just large enough for a very small office and a powder room. The kitchen takes up the south-east corner; counter, pantry, cupboards, etc. run along the east wall; a north-south oriented island defines the edge of the kitchen.
On the south edge, cutting between the main kitchen area and the breakfast nook, a walkway leads from the entry in the south-east, along the south edge of the kitchen, then to the living room. The western edge opens the main living and dining space to the view. The dining room lies in the north-west corner and flows into the living room in the south-west corner.
On the lower floor, the stairs let out directly into the media room, which fills most of the space. The north-west corner, next to the stairs, has an office/guest that opens onto the media room. The south-east corner contains a full bathroom, again off of the media room.
The upper floor has a large gathering area in the center from the stairs to the south edge. To the west lie a pair of bedrooms; a play loft connects the bedrooms. The bathroom just to the east of the stairs services these bedrooms. The master suite takes up the eastern wall. The dressing room and closet space lie in the middle and provides access to the deck above the garage. North of this (the north-east corner) is the master bath, and the south-east corner is the sleeping alcove, which is just large enough to fit our bed and a couple of nightstands.
Plan 2: Stairs on West
Plan 2 moves the stairs to the west. They bump out so that the landings fall outside the main straight-line envelope of the house. In this sketch, the lower floor is not built out. The stairs go down to open space roughed out for future expansion.
The living room is still in the south-west corner of the main floor. The north-west corner contains a media/guest room. There is a full bath off of that room, located in the center of the north wall. The kitchen is just below the bath, oriented east-west, with the dining room as an open area between the kitchen island and the south walkway (which connects to the entry, same as in the first plan).
The upper floor is similar to before, but now the two bedrooms are split by the stairs instead of closets. The open family/play area has been converted to a smaller utility room with washer/dryer, sink, counter space, and storage. The master suite has been enlarged to fit a small office into the north-east corner, off of the dressing room, since there is no space downstairs for it.
Comparison and Issues
At first, we found the stairs on the west a bit odd; the western edge seemed best for the main living area: it has the views, and it provides the best connection to a deck outside. But western stairs provide some interesting advantages.
With the stairs on the north, there is a relatively narrow slice of space to the east (since the garage cuts into the east-west space on the main floor), and that space can only open to the south. This basically requires it to open into the kitchen, which is not great. With the stairs on the west, there is room for comfortably-sized rooms to both the north and south, and access to the bathroom is not directly off any of the main living spaces.
This layout allows for a nice L-shaped kitchen, which gives us a nice amount of counter and cabinet space. Western stairs provide a nice focal point for the interior layout, and they make the space in the northwest corner more private. However, the dining room in plan 2 is a bit small, and we worried about it spilling into the walk-way from the entry.
In contrast, putting the stairs on the north provides a large open space along the western edge of the house. There is less distinction between the living and dining rooms. It would be much easier for them to visually merge into one space (this isn’t necessarily bad, but is different). The kitchen is more linear and, since the north end of the kitchen provides access to the north-east corner, has less space for counters and appliances. The office on the main level is too small for two people, and isn’t really necessary if there is a second office downstairs.
Both layouts had some issues with the media room since we hadn’t provided enough clarification. Neither was able to be closed off completely to block out noise, a key feature for us. In plan 2, the media room was not the right size.
Both sketches were interesting, and had some really good elements; but these are both larger houses than we had originally planned on…
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