The flow of the house is off. The foyer is oversized and you have to cross the entire house before reaching a place to sit down.
The back door should open directly into the mud room; the doors on the mud room should be in the hall (pivot them 90°).
The narrow, deep closet near the office isn’t really efficient, and what is the inset for? Why not divide that space more equally?
I would put the door for the half bath outside of the sink; I don’t want to have to touch the doorknob everyone’s unwashed hands have touched, and I still want a moment of privacy while washing hands and checking the mirror before returning out of the bathroom.
The dining room is too big (and I’m a mom of a large family who likes a roomy dining room) and the adjacent seating area is too small, especially considering the couches pushed against the wall so you have to look around the fireplace to see each other.
Too many sinks, too many cooktops, too many islands. How many people cooking at the same time in there? And how many people have to clean it all after?
Foyer is oversized to match up with the deck in the back of the house. It will create a stunning focal point when you walk in from the front door. You will be able to see the entire backyard ,
Regarding the closits, you're right. Wasn't happy with it from the beginning...
Regarding the bathroom, you have a point..
Regarding the kitchen, it's a kosher kitchen. There will be an 18-foot window going across the entire kitchen, so there are no upper cabinets. That's why I do the 2 islands for more space
Will have a living room and family room.
The living room area is just when we host, so we wanted it small and cozy, just a few chairs...
Regarding the huge dining room.. have you ever hosted 16 ppl at once? Lol
Have I hosted 16? I have 11 children; just the ones still at home makes 10 people at the table daily, so yes, I have hosted 16.
I know why the foyer is oversized. I can see the sightline you want. The arrangement of the rooms means you have to cross the entire house, passing around corners and in between furniture, before reaching a couch. It’s a maze; it’s not welcoming.
Small and cozy space is fine, but at a minimum swap the door with the couch so the couch isn’t tucked into a corner.
>front door. You will be able to see the entire backyard ,
No you won't. You'll see whatever furniture is on the very closest part of the deck, and the tops of some trees.
>Regarding the huge dining room.. have you ever hosted 16 ppl at once?
I can tell you haven't, because generally the parents and kids will be in different rooms. If you are planning on hosting 30, which would mean you'll need that 12 seater table you will feel lost vlustered in the center of the room, because the proportions are off.
Is there just the one powder room downstairs? I'm thinking with all these large parties, you'd want another option. Also, if anyone has any family members who might get older/less mobile, a full, barrier-free bathroom might be a good idea downstairs. My house has a room they built in the kitchen that houses a wheelchair-accessible shower. The woman who lived here got older, slept downstairs, and her kids moved in to care for her. They needed a full bathroom on the first floor, there wasn't room for one, so they added a separate shower room, since there's already a powder room.
Maybe make a closet accessible in the study or office, so one could easily become a bedroom later (either for you, guests, or as a flexible option if you're planning to sell before anyone gets old!)
For a kosher kitchen I’d also do an additional fridge and or chest freezer in the pantry. Make life a little easier to keep things separate when you have massive gatherings, and for pesach. You can make an entire fridge kosher for Passover and cordon off the other one.
I’d also consider putting a full bath on this floor in addition to the power room. Maybe by the big office. You never know when you might be handicapped and when you have 16+ family gatherings 1 toilet on the main level might not cut it. Also depending on your customs if you do netilat yadayim you might want to consider plumbing a sink into the dining room.
Do you have a large family and/or do a lot of formal entertaining? The spaces on this floor are massive, and quite formal. The entry is huge, as is the dining room, and the circulation spaces are taking up a lot of space as well. And you have an office and a study? What's the purpose of having little closets everywhere? I'm just curious how this house will be used.
Love to host, and have 3 kids..... Study for myself, office for wife she's a therapist so wanted private office with entrence for her, regarding the closets, I collect sculptures and wanted to have some little places here and there to display it 😀
You will DEFINITELY want the door to the powder room on the other side of the sink. That’s where your wife’s clients are going to be using the restroom!
Sounds like this plan will work well for your family, then! I was just a little surprised at the size of some of the spaces... Your foyer is about the size of my living room 😀
Interesting word, “abundance.” I think the oversized spaces will feel empty instead of abundant. They can be large but need to balance with the rest of the spaces. That foyer, for example: the view through to the backyard will feel more majestic if there was less empty/dead space between the front door and the window. If there was a seating area and some low key art in that space, the view would be part of something meaningful.
Correct, it's a kosher kitchen. And that little one in the family room is covered up all year, and it's used as a passover kitchen (Seprete pots and pans)
https://preview.redd.it/3lnf5rd3wf0d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=527d10aa50da80531bd3b191719bd828e9f8ccf6
Reconfigured the mudroom by adding a closet on one side and removing the doors. Two closets now become a full bath.
Straightened the dining room wall to eliminate the unusable wall in the pantry. You can still put a wine cabinet on that wall.
I put a Kosher fridge in the pantry. Put a swinging or standard door to the pantry. A pocket door is not functional.
Extended the family room wall 2 ft so the fridge and freezer can be moved there. Ranges moved and sinks against window wall. Dishwashers (assuming 2) can go in between the two sinks. Where Fridge/freezer were could be tall cabinets or uppers and lowers with a counter. Having the sinks against the window make more sense so that you can have appropriate vent hoods for the ranges and why look at a wall washing dishes.
Increased island to be one massive space. You could put a prep sink or two on it also. It's large enough to prevent the mixing of foods.
There’s a lot to like here, but I’m wondering why you have two cooktops so far apart in the kitchen (as opposed to a single one with more burners). And what do you envision using the one in the butler’s pantry for?
Three cooktops! There’s also the “wetbar” around the corner that includes a full cooktop for some reason. I’m also wondering why the powder room sink is outside of the powder room — that’s gonna be one gross doorknob.
With a butler's pantry, it's normal (well, for wealthier people) to have a separate stove/oven/micro/fridge in there so that chefs can prepare food without being seen by people in the main parts of the house.
Okay, so I didn’t know anything about Kosher kitchens before today, but I know a thing or two about kitchen design. Both kitchen areas were non functional. You have this enormous space and you have stoves and sinks crammed together in corners. This is a major design flaw. Cooking would be very cramped.
Rather than have two islands oriented the way you have them, I gave you an island for each kitchen area and then a tertiary island that butts up to them for seating. It could be a different height than the prep islands to prevent cross contamination. I did a whole lot of other tweaking to make the spaces work better. This kitchen felt vacuous so I trimmed it a little on width but lengthened it a bit. The little L in the butler’s pantry is completely non functional and just gets in the way without adding usable space. I can go on a whole diatribe on why corners are bad, particularly when appliances or sinks are in them.
So by the time I got back here to post my rework, I saw your comment that most cooking would be done in the butler’s pantry. This makes me think this plan needs to be completely reworked and rethought.
https://preview.redd.it/4vjqqobeff0d1.jpeg?width=1668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8141fb22eab5a1f298bce642bc98b9d3e5c76ff8
The flow of the house is off. The foyer is oversized and you have to cross the entire house before reaching a place to sit down. The back door should open directly into the mud room; the doors on the mud room should be in the hall (pivot them 90°). The narrow, deep closet near the office isn’t really efficient, and what is the inset for? Why not divide that space more equally? I would put the door for the half bath outside of the sink; I don’t want to have to touch the doorknob everyone’s unwashed hands have touched, and I still want a moment of privacy while washing hands and checking the mirror before returning out of the bathroom. The dining room is too big (and I’m a mom of a large family who likes a roomy dining room) and the adjacent seating area is too small, especially considering the couches pushed against the wall so you have to look around the fireplace to see each other. Too many sinks, too many cooktops, too many islands. How many people cooking at the same time in there? And how many people have to clean it all after?
Foyer is oversized to match up with the deck in the back of the house. It will create a stunning focal point when you walk in from the front door. You will be able to see the entire backyard , Regarding the closits, you're right. Wasn't happy with it from the beginning... Regarding the bathroom, you have a point.. Regarding the kitchen, it's a kosher kitchen. There will be an 18-foot window going across the entire kitchen, so there are no upper cabinets. That's why I do the 2 islands for more space Will have a living room and family room. The living room area is just when we host, so we wanted it small and cozy, just a few chairs... Regarding the huge dining room.. have you ever hosted 16 ppl at once? Lol
Have I hosted 16? I have 11 children; just the ones still at home makes 10 people at the table daily, so yes, I have hosted 16. I know why the foyer is oversized. I can see the sightline you want. The arrangement of the rooms means you have to cross the entire house, passing around corners and in between furniture, before reaching a couch. It’s a maze; it’s not welcoming. Small and cozy space is fine, but at a minimum swap the door with the couch so the couch isn’t tucked into a corner.
Lol. I underestimated u 😆 ...I see what you mean with door. Will talk to designer..
>front door. You will be able to see the entire backyard , No you won't. You'll see whatever furniture is on the very closest part of the deck, and the tops of some trees. >Regarding the huge dining room.. have you ever hosted 16 ppl at once? I can tell you haven't, because generally the parents and kids will be in different rooms. If you are planning on hosting 30, which would mean you'll need that 12 seater table you will feel lost vlustered in the center of the room, because the proportions are off.
Is there just the one powder room downstairs? I'm thinking with all these large parties, you'd want another option. Also, if anyone has any family members who might get older/less mobile, a full, barrier-free bathroom might be a good idea downstairs. My house has a room they built in the kitchen that houses a wheelchair-accessible shower. The woman who lived here got older, slept downstairs, and her kids moved in to care for her. They needed a full bathroom on the first floor, there wasn't room for one, so they added a separate shower room, since there's already a powder room. Maybe make a closet accessible in the study or office, so one could easily become a bedroom later (either for you, guests, or as a flexible option if you're planning to sell before anyone gets old!)
Good idea.... for more restrooms, we will have another one right of the stairs in the basement.. thanks for your input
For a kosher kitchen I’d also do an additional fridge and or chest freezer in the pantry. Make life a little easier to keep things separate when you have massive gatherings, and for pesach. You can make an entire fridge kosher for Passover and cordon off the other one. I’d also consider putting a full bath on this floor in addition to the power room. Maybe by the big office. You never know when you might be handicapped and when you have 16+ family gatherings 1 toilet on the main level might not cut it. Also depending on your customs if you do netilat yadayim you might want to consider plumbing a sink into the dining room.
Thanks for the input 👍
Do you have a large family and/or do a lot of formal entertaining? The spaces on this floor are massive, and quite formal. The entry is huge, as is the dining room, and the circulation spaces are taking up a lot of space as well. And you have an office and a study? What's the purpose of having little closets everywhere? I'm just curious how this house will be used.
Love to host, and have 3 kids..... Study for myself, office for wife she's a therapist so wanted private office with entrence for her, regarding the closets, I collect sculptures and wanted to have some little places here and there to display it 😀
You will DEFINITELY want the door to the powder room on the other side of the sink. That’s where your wife’s clients are going to be using the restroom!
Sounds like this plan will work well for your family, then! I was just a little surprised at the size of some of the spaces... Your foyer is about the size of my living room 😀
Love the feel of abundance... meaning I actually created some oversized spaces to create that vibe ....
Interesting word, “abundance.” I think the oversized spaces will feel empty instead of abundant. They can be large but need to balance with the rest of the spaces. That foyer, for example: the view through to the backyard will feel more majestic if there was less empty/dead space between the front door and the window. If there was a seating area and some low key art in that space, the view would be part of something meaningful.
This is terrible, all the proportions are off, it looks like a child wearing their parents clothes.
Correct, it's a kosher kitchen. And that little one in the family room is covered up all year, and it's used as a passover kitchen (Seprete pots and pans)
Is this for the US? If it is, it’s super weird.
It is. Why?
Suggest working with a kitchen designer. That fridge/freezer are so far away. The kitchen can function better even being kosher.
https://preview.redd.it/3lnf5rd3wf0d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=527d10aa50da80531bd3b191719bd828e9f8ccf6 Reconfigured the mudroom by adding a closet on one side and removing the doors. Two closets now become a full bath. Straightened the dining room wall to eliminate the unusable wall in the pantry. You can still put a wine cabinet on that wall. I put a Kosher fridge in the pantry. Put a swinging or standard door to the pantry. A pocket door is not functional. Extended the family room wall 2 ft so the fridge and freezer can be moved there. Ranges moved and sinks against window wall. Dishwashers (assuming 2) can go in between the two sinks. Where Fridge/freezer were could be tall cabinets or uppers and lowers with a counter. Having the sinks against the window make more sense so that you can have appropriate vent hoods for the ranges and why look at a wall washing dishes. Increased island to be one massive space. You could put a prep sink or two on it also. It's large enough to prevent the mixing of foods.
Consider moving the door into the living room to the short dining room wall. That door opening into the room really impedes furniture placement.
Thanks
There’s a lot to like here, but I’m wondering why you have two cooktops so far apart in the kitchen (as opposed to a single one with more burners). And what do you envision using the one in the butler’s pantry for?
Three cooktops! There’s also the “wetbar” around the corner that includes a full cooktop for some reason. I’m also wondering why the powder room sink is outside of the powder room — that’s gonna be one gross doorknob.
I Like the look of a powder room sink separately.. just my personal taste.... you have a point with that door knob..
Kosher kitchen would be my guess.
Kosher kitchen...
With a butler's pantry, it's normal (well, for wealthier people) to have a separate stove/oven/micro/fridge in there so that chefs can prepare food without being seen by people in the main parts of the house.
Correct most of cooking is being done in the "slob kitchen" and I can always close off both side of it.. so no one can see the mess
Okay, so I didn’t know anything about Kosher kitchens before today, but I know a thing or two about kitchen design. Both kitchen areas were non functional. You have this enormous space and you have stoves and sinks crammed together in corners. This is a major design flaw. Cooking would be very cramped. Rather than have two islands oriented the way you have them, I gave you an island for each kitchen area and then a tertiary island that butts up to them for seating. It could be a different height than the prep islands to prevent cross contamination. I did a whole lot of other tweaking to make the spaces work better. This kitchen felt vacuous so I trimmed it a little on width but lengthened it a bit. The little L in the butler’s pantry is completely non functional and just gets in the way without adding usable space. I can go on a whole diatribe on why corners are bad, particularly when appliances or sinks are in them. So by the time I got back here to post my rework, I saw your comment that most cooking would be done in the butler’s pantry. This makes me think this plan needs to be completely reworked and rethought. https://preview.redd.it/4vjqqobeff0d1.jpeg?width=1668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8141fb22eab5a1f298bce642bc98b9d3e5c76ff8
Oh wow. I love what you did with islands!!