Living space size

niamhcw

Hello, I'm starting to build a new ~1400sq ft house in the next few months.

I've had the plans made and the pp approved but I need to get some reassurance that the living space is big enough.

As it's getting closer to the actual build I'm starting to get a bit nervous that this open living space is not big enough.

So the house is a 2 bed, 2 storey. The open living space includes the kitchen, dining area (with table and chairs) and a sitting room/ lounge area. This area measures 9473 x4780.

There is a separate entry way and a separate utility room. The house is for 2/3 ppl.

Gumbo

niamhcw wrote: »

Hello, I'm starting to build a new ~1400sq ft house in the next few months.

I've had the plans made and the pp approved but I need to get some reassurance that the living space is big enough.

As it's getting closer to the actual build I'm starting to get a bit nervous that this open living space is not big enough.

So the house is a 2 bed, 2 storey. The open living space includes the kitchen, dining area (with table and chairs) and a sitting room/ lounge area. This area measures 9473 x4780.

There is a separate entry way and a separate utility room. The house is for 2/3 people.

Can you post up a floor plan?
It would help with people to give you their opinion.

antiskeptic

niamhcw wrote: »

Hello, I'm starting to build a new ~1400sq ft house in the next few months.

I've had the plans made and the pp approved but I need to get some reassurance that the living space is big enough.

As it's getting closer to the actual build I'm starting to get a bit nervous that this open living space is not big enough.

So the house is a 2 bed, 2 storey. The open living space includes the kitchen, dining area (with table and chairs) and a sitting room/ lounge area. This area measures 9473 x4780.

There is a separate entry way and a separate utility room. The house is for 2/3 people.

I'm in an old two up/two down with a ca. 350 sq ft single storey extension to the rear. The same elements which add up to 490 sq ft in your case add up to about 570 sq ft in mine. The overall internal size is about 960 sq ft.

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The kitchen is galley-style between living and dining and had I chosen to mount wall storage units there it would have provided plenty of storage. Being tight space wise, I've opted for no wall storage units and a sense of spaciousness.

The dining area is just big enough to fit a table for 6 comfortably. The table was made for the space, being wider than usual and shorter than usual.

The living room is larger than most houses at ca. 6m x 4.5 with a couple of sq.m bitten from it for the entry hall.

The ceiling height is 6" higher than average in the old section and significantly higher than average in the new (sloping from perhaps 12 ft down to 8'6" left to right). The extra volume offered by high ceilings adds to a sense of roominess in what (except for the living room) are to my mind bare minimum areas.

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Were I to trim the 80 sq ft difference between my situation and yours it would have to come from the living room- reducing it down to something more typical for a small house. This, to my mind, would begin to make for cramped living overall - the kind of living where you feel you're having to wend your way around furniture, doorways and other people. This would certainly so, if I hadn't the advantage of extra ceiling height.

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That said, 1400 sq ft for a two bed should be plenty - that area being the kind of thing 4 bed semis centre around. As kceire says, plans would be helpful.

BryanF

niamhcw wrote: »

Hello, I'm starting to build a new ~1400sq ft house in the next few months.

I've had the plans made and the pp approved but I need to get some reassurance that the living space is big enough.

As it's getting closer to the actual build I'm starting to get a bit nervous that this open living space is not big enough.

So the house is a 2 bed, 2 storey. The open living space includes the kitchen, dining area (with table and chairs) and a sitting room/ lounge area. This area measures 9473 x4780.

There is a separate entry way and a separate utility room. The house is for 2/3 ppl.

Thats plenty, subject to how min the circulation space / how the layout is maximised

niamhcw

I've added a link to the floor plans onto my original post.

Having to shuffle around people and furniture is what I am afraid of- so I would really appreciate your input.

jonniebgood1

The space shown is plenty big enough for normal living.
The living area is well above the minimum recommended space size. I recall a document that recommended a living/ dining/ kitchen space area of 30m.sq. Your area for this space is 45m.sq. which is larger than minimum by 15 m.sq.

I think its called 'apartment standards' or something like that. Your layout comes down to personal preference but to me I think you should reduce kitchen area in favour of living space. You will not have to decide on that until you have the walls built and are physically in the space.

BryanF

id be trying to achieve level access to all entrances.
& im not sure about the turning risers at upper stages of stairs

is this a new build to current regs ?

i like the entrance doubled as utility assuming its well finished - not sure two doors from this space are necessary

i would have tried to get more glass in on the south

show us the upper floor

id probably redesign kitchen layout to suit dinning table

niamhcw

Bryan F: I hope so, It was granted pp in the autumn of last year!


The new build is replacing an old farm outhouse so the south facing windows are in keeping with what's currently there.

Jonniebgood1: I think perhaps it would be a good idea to make the kitchen area smaller and increase the living and dining room space

JackPerry

I saw the plans briefly last night, intended to look at them more closely today but the drawings are no longer available.
Can they be reposted, but not using Dropbox this time?

niamhcw

Here are the plans to the ground floor and first floor. I took them down to replace them as pdfs.

timhawker

Hi. Just had a quick look over your plans. Without seeing the site and knowing your brief this would be my advice:

- Open plan living space is fine size wise but there's a lot of wasted space in the utility/hall. I'm not sure where presses would go currently especially as its currently a circulation route.

- I would have a dog leg stairs ahead of you as you come in with a seperate utility and WC to the right both accessed separately off the hall. The kitchen/dining door would come down close to the front door.

- Upstairs the dog leg stairs would give you a central corridor. Move the hot press on the back wall with the other storage. The bathroom would be narrower but its already a good size. Give the old hot press space to either the bedroom or bathroom.

Obviously it would be easier to understand in sketch form but hope the above helps.

BryanF

While it is acceptable to post plans for comments (subject to the conditions outlined in the forum charter) it is strictly prohibited to seek or provide a building design or redesign openly in a thread. Written comments on previously posted plans are quite acceptable but posting of alternative plans or plans indicating the redesign of a previously posted plan will not be allowed.

JackPerry

Timhawker's ideas are the way I was thinking too.I'll expand as follows:

I would make the hallway width approx 1.8m wide which would reduce the size of the downstairs shower room. Extend the newly positioned wall to the back wall of the house. Place a door in the centre of this wall.This room is now a proper utility room with the shower room accessed through it.
Slide the entire stairs to the left so it starts at the new wall of the utility room. This leaves the entire back wall of the utility room free for appliances. The first step or two of the stairs would be "normal" steps facing the front door. Then a few winders and then straight up as the original plan, except there are now no winders at the top, making in safer. The last step will turn into the upstairs corridor, to achieve head height, as in the original plan. Reduce the bathroom size upstairs and you now have a much better plan without changing the window positions, so the planning permission still applies, as the changes are internal.

I would place a full height storage cupboard ( under the stairs in the kitchen) between the wall and the small window. This would hide the stairs and provide useful storage. I would not have the L shape storage unit at the dining area: I would remove the section parallel to the front wall.
You now have an attractive entrance hall with a separate properly functioning utility room, a better dining area, a safer stairs and a better layout upstairs. The living area remains unchanged, as this worked quite well with access to a south facing terraced area.
The original plans appear to have been drawn by someone with building knowledge but lacking in design knowledge. There are additional improvements that could make your house a lot more attractive but I'm limiting my suggestions to those that do not have any planning permission implications.

tfer

When my architect gave me a drawing of my new house, he said to go to the beach and mark out the plan on the sand.
I thought it was a brilliant but simple idea, by doing this we changed the plan to the house design we have now.
All you need is a measuring tape and a stick ( and sand )