So .. I think it's quite a good layout. The Den is amazing with 2 walls of window and the Living/Dining area is pretty big ... add the Kitchen in there and you have a very large open concept room.
Good as it is .. it could be better. The Den looks like it will feel small. One of the dimensions for the second bedroom is only 8'5". The common closet for coats is pretty far from the entrance. Sigh.
So .. what can be done?
I stared at this floor plan for loooong time. Here's what I came up with:
- Remove the wall between the Den and the Living/Dining Room
- Move the HVAC unit somewhere else (apparently they can do that)
- Slide the washer/dryer up
- Move the closet under the washer/dryer.
- Move the bathroom to the left.
- Get rid of the closet in the second bedroom and add a walk-in closet behind the bathroom.
What's the catch? None! This is the Best Idea in the History of the World. At least Top Ten.
OK whatever .. is this actually possible? Will the builders let me do this? The answer is ... maybe.
So, maybe all condo projects do this, I'm not sure, but I thought it was nice that the folks at the42 asked me to come in and talk about any changes I wanted in the floor plan. I didn't ask them, they asked me. And when they asked, boy did I get excited.
OK fine, is this possible? They told me that removing the wall for the Den was a no-brainer and that moving the HVAC unit would work as well (this is actually an "Eco" issue, I'll talk about that some other day). As for the rest ... they agreed that it was a good idea .. they seemed to be mostly worried about how the changes would affect the plumbing ... but since the bathroom and washer/dryer weren't moving too far they say that there is a good chance it would be OK. One thing that worries me is whether there is enough room for a door into the bathroom since the washer/dryer will be right there? Another think to think about is whether I should keep the door from the bedroom into the bathroom, making a cheater en suite.
Next steps? They are going to run it by the build guys to make sure nothing looks too terrible ... after that it's going to go to the architect for a redraw. Sounds like that part will cost me some money, and they weren't quite sure how much just yet. If it is possible, they will give me a quote for the redraw before they proceed.
I'll post a comment once I hear back!
3 comments:
Hey Bri,
First off, I love your Blog. Great idea. Secondly, I think you have a really good idea about the changes you're considering for the floor plan. I do think though, you should definately keep the guest bedroom and bathroom separate. The walk-in closet in there makes more sense than the way they have it. Removing the wall between the den & living area would look great...you're right, you would have a really nice open, window view. Good ideas!
Just another thought, or possiblity to consider...what about leaving the wall between the den & living room and open up the master bdrm and den to the corner wall of windows?? Just a thought.
Ya, that's a good idea, thought of that too. Thinking I won't need that much space in the bedroom though .. will be nice to have a Den, even though it's super open. Probably I'll put a desk/computer in there.
Actually, the biggest reason for keeping it open is so that the entire wall across the living/dining/den will be one giant window ... sweet!
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