Good and Bad designs for houses

[Pen]

If you have things about your house that work wonderfully that you would suggest, or that are terrible, and to be avoided, would you please share them?  Also if you have any actual plans for houses that "work" that you can link to or email or otherwise share that would be much appreciated.  Plans for houses that would work for 2 families, or to have a family and an inlaw area would be especially helpful.

 

The basic situation is that my mother needs to be able to live with us, but in a way that does not cause everyone huge distress.

 

Our current house is old and has a lot of "charm" -- but is seriously lacking in many things that make a house "work"--such as closets, entry area wide enough to use without stress... (It is 2' by 2' with a door one way, stairs opposite, and two doorways--one to bathroom and one to kitchen, both much used parts of the house-- to either side...sort of like a one way road, if anyone else is coming, someone needs to back up and wait.)    It was also built before electricity came to the area and lots of things common to post electric age don't work well for it--such as room for a refrigerator in the kitchen.  It has only one tiny, tiny bathroom, which when built, just to have indoor bath and plumbing was probably a big special deal, but now is, sort of meager and difficult, and a cause of undo acrimony if trying to share amongst teens trying to beautify themselves, and older people who move slowly, etc.

 

We are looking at needing to add on, or build something else, or ????     Something.

 

 

 

 

I also would appreciate info on how to deal with builders and others in related trades (architects? inspectors?) so as to make an add-on or new construction go smoothly.

[Tess in the Burbs]

there are lots of home plan websites you can look through and filter your desires to get ideas from.  Free.  You could search for inlaw suite to see how it's done.  

 

If we ever need a parent to live with us, it will need to be a separate space.  Like they need to leave their space to come knock on my door to get into mine.  No shared door between us.  

 

However, I know some families just get along well and mesh well and could live fine in a normal situation.  

[TechWife]

Washer, dryer and hot water heater on the ground floor. Insist on it - there are many houses that have sustained water damage when the washer or hot water heater malfunctions. While homeowners insurance does generally pay for the damage, it is a huge pain to have to live in a home while it is being dried out and when flooring and ceiling work is being done. It is very disruptive. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Eat in Kitchens that are really just a big pass through area, useless.

[happypamama]

I have both an old house with a strange layout and a husband who does old house restoration professionally. You have my sympathies on the house. There's a lot I like about it, but we've had to be creative in order to make it really useful, and we still have a bunch to do.

 

DH would probably tell you that it may be expensive. It'll depend on how much work needs to be done, whether there are changes needed to make it to current code, etc. I would try to look for someone who has experience in older homes, as sometimes they can have quirks and needs that newer ones don't have.

 

Feel free to PM me if you have questions that I can pass along to DH to help you get started too.

[Slache]

My grandmother's house was split in half long ways by a hallway making the bedrooms dead silent.

 

Bedroom bedroom master bedroom

----------hallway-------------

Library bathroom laundry (all open to hall)

-------support wall-----------

Sunroom living room kitchen

Edited September 16, 2016 by Slache

[FriedClams]

We're planning for our "forever" house. We are building it with no transitions so wheelchair access is easy if needed someday. We are also planning on wide doorways, one story, no transitions outside (steps, etc). A screen porch is mandatory, as is compartmentalized cooling/heating (for when the kids go to college). We also want rooms that can be shut off and not a huge open room for everything (we're planning on that to combat hearing issues). I want character and light, but I want it livable for us (and my bad hip!).

[Faithr]

First thing I would do is try to widen bathroom or add one on.   And make it handicap accessible.  You can get a wall mounted sink and make sure the toilet has enough room on either side so that you can put hand rails.  If you ever need these can order them (we did this with my aunt who lived with us a year while recuperating from a leg amputation.)  

 

I grew up in an old house.  My grandmother lived with us for years.  She got the downstairs bathroom (which my parents converted into full bathroom from a powder room/closet) and her own room with an outside door.  She could sit outside in the yard without having to walk through the rest of the house.  

 

If you wanted to keep your in law from having to go to the kitchen every time she wanted something you could also make room for a small fridge/microwave and counter to keep instant tea kettle or something like that.

[Guest]

I see a lot of premade home plans with wasted space and flow issues. Remember that some is site specific and what works on a level property with city sewer is going to look different than a steep hillside with septic. Or a 1/8 acre lot compared to a 1/2 acre or bigger lot.

 

I like to eliminate wasted space in floor plans through built in storage and keep rooms somewhat separate from one another, or off the main room. My ideal house has a great big entryway leading into a living room/great room, and in a C shape on the other three walls would be areas connected by partial doorway (pocket or French) to a music room, bathroom, dining room and kitchen, smaller den area for the kids, and a MIL suite on the main level.

 

MIL has to be completely handicapped accessible, have its own entry from outside, a full kitchen, laundry, and bath. We really would like it to be a full apartment of its own for guests visiting from out of town or eventual relatives moving in, where they can be somewhat independent if they want to be.

 

On top of that would be the kids bedroom wing over the dining room and kitchen, a great big wall of windows above the den/kids area, and a master suite, offices, and library open to the vaulted living room space in the middle. I am a fan of this sort of layout, especially with stairs on both sides. I don't even mind third story observatories or loft space, but it depends on building restrictions.

 

It really just depends. Most of the plots we are looking at are sloping or steep, or else have drainage issues. They have no height restrictions, just setbacks from the edges of the property, and tend to be 1-2.5 acres.

 

One thing my husband and I do love is that we have autoCAD here at home and can do 3-d walkthroughs of a house design to see if we missed anything or have any weird or wasted space. We like maximum functionality in the most streamlined footprint that works for us, so while we could get everything we wanted in 6000 square feet if we can make it work beautifully in 3000 instead I'm all for it - planning smarter means less to clean!

 

I also love the materials from this author in terms of smart building strategies and materials choices to minimize mess and time spent maintaining it:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-House-Do-Housework/dp/0937750336

 

 

I've seen all sorts of good layouts, but it depends on the family lifestyle and where they live. One thing I didn't include above is something we absolutely have to have, which is a massive mudroom connected to the garage complete with everything from a drinking fountain to a bathroom with a shower and floor drain because we deal with mud and snow and nastiness all but two or three months of the year, and then during those months we deal with sand :p. How that connects to the main home is VERY site specific, as is my need for a foyer and arctic entryway. In California or Florida my needs would be different. Another great book for planning a home is this one, more to make sure you aren't missing anything you need. You can pick a better layout when you're sure of what you do and don't require :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1401603521/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=98E235B1TXZAQZVCCQJB

Edited September 16, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Guest]

Oh! And we won't have budget to put it in right away but when we are building (here in the next two years or so!) we will be casting in an elevator shaft that will be closed off until we have the 20k or so to install the elevator. Though we will be building all doorways and corners with handicapped accessibility, as well as that main floor MIL suite, as we age we wanted to keep the ability to easily move around our space. We are expecting to care for elderly family too, and casting that space in while making an ICF house is simple, whereas making it as a retrofit is a lot more difficult.

 

We have friends with mobility issues as well and this just makes good sense to me.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[kroe1]

Our ideal house changes over the years just like our family does. My in laws have lived with us many years, but we only have one child left at home. When family visits, we need a lot of space. Here is my suggestion at your stage of life:

 

Cheap Man's Plan: Throw a tiny house or trailer in the backyard for your parents.

 

Rich Man's Plan: sell your house.

1. Every bedroom with an on suite bath.

2. All doors cut on the room corner to accommodate wheelchairs.

3. Lots of storage for bigger items like medical equipment rather than shelving needed by younger families with toys.

4. Outdoor garden accessible by wheelchair.

5. Large shower which has a seat.

6. Toilets with bars to lower oneself and keep older people upright.

 

Remember, your needs will change again when only you and your DH live there. You will want very small, then.

[Ottakee]

If you are going to build, I would suggest WIDE doorways all around and plan for at least one main floor bath and bedroom to be handicapped accessible.

 

Needs can vary so much based on the ages of your kids and size of your family. A family with young childrenight want bedrooms close, a family with older children might want the master more private, etc.

[Nan in Mass]

Friends took their historical house and on an outside wall of the kitchen they put a large door that led to a new addition for grandma. It was one large light room with a wheelchair accessible bathroom and a large storage closet in it. One end of the room was a sitting area with a large door to a patio and walkway to the driveway, and the bed was in the other end. With the door open, a bedridden elderly person could be part of what was going on in the kitchen or a mobile elder could make a meal. This arrangement offered each party their own living space, bathroom, and entrance, with the kitchen as common space. It appeared to work well.

 

Nan

[prairiewindmomma]

There are a ton of MIL suite home plans out on the 'net. I have a collection going. :)

 

As someone who has cared for a fully wheelchair bound person, absolutely plan for universal access.  Also, depending on how much care you might be taking on, plan for medical equipment in the bedroom. A hoyer lift, oxygen tank, and various other devices can take up a lot of space. My favorite bathroom set up was a wheel-in shower with a long detachable shower head hose.  Before my dd was fully wheelchair bound, we had a shower chair sitting there.  It's important to plan for such a thing in advance, as the angling of the drainage in the shower has to be carefully done.  Likewise, adding a higher height toilet with space to add surround bars is also helpful.

 

For the aging parent, I would be cautious about a full separate kitchen.  We've had to deal with small fires and floods as older family members have aged. A fridge, sink, microwave and induction burner may be the way to go. Those are all easily removable. 

 

Decide now how much you are willing to take on as people age in place.  

 

 

[Arcadia]

My friend's cousin has below link floor plan for 3 generations living. I used to tutor her niece and nephew. The only difference with linked floor plan is that they don't have a separate Den, but they have a bigger living room. They also didn't have the garages. Doors were wide enough for easy wheelchair access. What they love was the parents-in-laws have a separate entrance and kitchenette so the parents-in-laws can have their own comfy nook when they are entertaining at home. However the units are connected and they leave the connecting doors open unless either side wants some privacy.

http://www.lennar.com/nextgen

[bethben]

Living with a child in a wheelchair, you need to make sure it's handicapped accessible. SOO much easier! An aging parent may or may not need that access, but it's hard to redo if they wind up needing to be wheelchair bound.  I would have a separate room/ suite set up just for her.  Much like a hotel suite with mini kitchen - microwave, fridge, ect.  I would also have a living area and a separate bedroom area.  Make sure they are big enough for large pieces of equipment if needed.  The extra living area could be used by a caretaker if you need to hire one occasionally without having to disturb the rest of the family.  Trust me, having an extra woman who is right there helping you take care of your loved one is not restful.  

 

Also, have a separate heating/ cooling system.  Older people tend to be colder than everyone else and you don't want to have to pay to heat the whole house to the temperature to make her comfortable.

Edited September 17, 2016 by bethben

[TechWife]

Build in big enough doors NOW for wheelchair access. Make sure the entire house has living quarters on one floor, as you may end up with family members who don't do stairs. 

 

If you're going for accessible, a "roll-in" shower in one of the bathrooms is a must, preferably with a built in shower seat (they can be folded up against the wall, but permanently affixed seats are the safest). Bathrooms should be sized for wheelchair access - in most homes they aren't. Cabinetry should be built accordingly as well, so that a person using a wheelchair can pull all the way up to the sink. 

 

You could also consider having at least one low accessible countertop in the kitchen and have the sink be accessible as well. 

[Guest]

There are a ton of MIL suite home plans out on the 'net. I have a collection going. :)

 

As someone who has cared for a fully wheelchair bound person, absolutely plan for universal access. Also, depending on how much care you might be taking on, plan for medical equipment in the bedroom. A hoyer lift, oxygen tank, and various other devices can take up a lot of space. My favorite bathroom set up was a wheel-in shower with a long detachable shower head hose. Before my dd was fully wheelchair bound, we had a shower chair sitting there. It's important to plan for such a thing in advance, as the angling of the drainage in the shower has to be carefully done. Likewise, adding a higher height toilet with space to add surround bars is also helpful.

 

For the aging parent, I would be cautious about a full separate kitchen. We've had to deal with small fires and floods as older family members have aged. A fridge, sink, microwave and induction burner may be the way to go. Those are all easily removable.

 

Decide now how much you are willing to take on as people age in place.

That's a good thought about fires and floods - we wanted to have it set up as a legal apartment for guests whether inlaws come to live or not and were already planning for an induction cooktop, but it might be smart to pick appliances that could be easily removed if someone who wasn't safe with them was the long term occupant. I hadn't thought about that :) Edited September 17, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[TechWife]

 

If we ever need a parent to live with us, it will need to be a separate space.  Like they need to leave their space to come knock on my door to get into mine.  No shared door between us.  

 

 

I suggest you revisit this decision. You can lock a door that you have in common. When you have an elderly and/or an infirm person living with you, you need to be able to access their living quarters easily and quickly. There will be several times when they can't leave their living space and without that common door, you would have to walk outside in all weather and times of day/night to carry out basic tasks several times a day. In addition, it would be quite the safety issue - more like a person living alone than a person who is living with family. I think it's counterproductive to have a separate entrance with no door in common when the goal is to care for family. 

[Shellydon]

A two 'wings'.  A full bedroom with a sitting area and bathroom for grandmother, living area and kitchen in the  in the middle.  Parent's and kids bedrooms on opposite side.  Alternate of having a casita built with a full bathroom.

[prairiewindmomma]

One more thought: extra soundproofing around their space. Loud tvs going all day long (for those who won't wear the special tv headphones) can become grating.

[Guest]

Whatever layout you decide, design the flooring so there are no trip hazards. Its also handy if its easy to push a small cart or walker from the laundry back to the living area.

[Guest]

Don't put a full bathroom inside your kitchen....as in fridge, then bathroom then pantry.

Or rather, don't get a house renovated by a single man.

 

Sigh.

[heartlikealion]

Excess number of windows/large windows are a turn off to me. I know some people love big, beautiful, tall windows. I think, "ugh, window treatment nightmare and possibly drafty and/or difficult to clean." Plus, I hate it when I want to put furniture against a wall but a stupid window is in the way. I mean sure you can push furniture up against and block a window, but for certain things it drives me nuts.

 

Saw the mention of wheelchairs. Wide hallways in addition to doorways would be ideal if hallways are going to be affected. Could be for wheelchairs or walking down a hallway with furniture.

 

Steps. Don't like steps inside house or really right outside of house, either. I find them awkward and potentially dangerous. My grandmother had a house where you step down from the entry way to enter other areas.

 

We have one bathroom. Drives me nuts. I seriously don't get how people are fine with just one bathroom. For our family it's awful. So I vote for adding a second bathroom, even if it's a half bath. But I don't know if that's on your list.

 

For closets, if you can't add closets then maybe try a free standing one. That is what we've had to do. Old house and lack of storage.

[Sneezyone]

We're overseas and the construction techniques here are different but there are things I absolutely love...

 

- Wide doorways. The entire back half of the house is a wall of tall, industrial sliding glass doors and windows. They are very heavy but they are so darn strong. We have floor to ceiling blackout curtains all along those walls which can be closed or not to reduce light or place furniture.

- The front door is a two-panel door and has a third, smaller panel that can be opened up to move in big furniture.

- We have a second-floor patio/deck with a garden space off one of the bedrooms. I've been using the bedroom for our classroom and DS and I are planting veggies out there on the patio. We've taken to enjoying a spot of tea out there while watering the plants and starting our day.

- We have wood-look tiles in the kitchen, which I love, marble tile in the public spaces and hardwood in the bedrooms. I like the ease of cleaning but wish there was radiant heat underneath the stone.

- BUILT-IN-CLOSET SYSTEMS. OMG. When we do find our forever home this is something I will insist on. We can fit a king bed, seating/conversation area, and more because all the clothes fit in a 20'long, 8'high, 30" deep closet that runs along one wall. All the bedrooms in this house have these and my kids are actually able to keep their rooms clean! (or at least, the mess is out of sight)

- Tankless water heaters are attached to every bathroom in a lot of the homes here. You can turn the water heater on/off so as not to waste electricity. Hot water is available w/in 5 min of flipping the switch. 

 

 

From my prior home-buying experiences, I'd also insist on:

- Weatherization. Making sure all ductwork is sealed and insulation is spray-foamed.

 

 

If I were adapting or building a space for my mom, I would require:

- all one level, no steps

- wheelchair accessible bathrooms and a frameless stand-up shower

- A spray nozzle near the toilet in lieu of a bidet. When my grandmother was in her final stages there were many messes where such a thing would've been helpful.

- grab bars on both sides of the toilet

- open layout, no galley kitchens or narrow hallways

- a separate entrance for independence with intercom systems to keep her connected (connecting door OK but not in lieu of a private entrance).

- separate outdoor gardening/patio space (ideally with a small in-ground pool or hot tub)

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2016 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

That's a good thought about fires and floods - we wanted to have it set up as a legal apartment for guests whether inlaws come to live or not and were already planning for an induction cooktop, but it might be smart to pick appliances that could be easily removed if someone who wasn't safe with them was the long term occupant. I hadn't thought about that :)

 

Arctic Mama's post reminded me that Lennar Homes has a "Next Gen" floorplan that you might look at for ideas. It has a 1st-floor parent suite with a connecting door and separate entrance that can be equipped with and without a stove. They have plans where the younger family is living on two floors and some plans where the whole home is on one level.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Sneezyone

[Faithr]

One more thought: extra soundproofing around their space. Loud tvs going all day long (for those who won't wear the special tv headphones) can become grating.

I agree with this!  We just spent a week with Grandad who watches CNN ALL THE LIVELONG DAY up at TOP volume.  It is enough to drive one insane!  Grandad is a dear, dear man.  His TV watching habits are awful.

[DawnM]

Could you put a Granny Pod in your backyard?

 

https://www.davidwolfe.com/backyard-granny-pods-nursing-homes/

[ktgrok]

Those Lennar Next Gen houses are awesome!!! Really neat. Could also be used for a college student living at home, etc (assuming he paid me rent!). 

 

No stove in the kitchenette, but I bet one could be put in for a renter/college student, then taken out when older family was living there. Although my mom can make a full meal with her plug in rotisserie, griddle, crock pot, and microwave. She might not even want an oven, if she had access to mine. Plus a good microwave/convection oven. 

[Beth S]

We've seen families change extensively over the years.

Ones who built a full in law section to their dream home, but the parents all died quickly & it was never used.

Others who added on, and the parents deteriorated so quickly they had to be moved to a nursing home.

Two others are housing BOTH of their mothers, who do not get along.

I don't think my dh & I could manage the upkeep of our house in our retirement years.

Last night we joked with our neighbors that we could swap houses in a few years -- they'll need a bigger one, we love their smaller one.

 

I guess what I'm chiming in to say (the obvious) is that things change!

I really appreciate hearing everyone's BTDT experience.  It helps.

[Lady Florida.]

There's very little I miss about our old house, but an indoor laundry room is among the few. If we were buying or designing a new house, I'd make sure the washer and dryer can be in the house (in our current house they're in the garage).

[heartlikealion]

There's very little I miss about our old house, but an indoor laundry room is among the few. If we were buying or designing a new house, I'd make sure the washer and dryer can be in the house (in our current house they're in the garage).

 

I've lived in a few places with outdoor arrangements or inside carport for laundry. I hated that. Totally agree with you.

 

[KungFuPanda]

I think the most practical bang for your buck is to attach an efficiency apartment to your home. Make it accessible with a roll-in shower. Add a tiny efficiency kitchen and keep it open. This way, the space works foryour aging in-law, anyone with mobility issues, young married kids just starting out, rental income if necessary, or even a luxury master suite. Are those granny pod things on the market yet?

Edited September 17, 2016 by KungFuPanda

[Guest]

I haven't read all the posts, but here goes.  

 

I looked for houses where the public and the private areas were distinguished in some way--so you didn't have to walk through the general living areas to get to the bathroom, for example.  Or where you could sneak out in your jammies and get a glass of water without disrupting the big discussion going on in the living room.  

 

My mom told me something that made a big difference for her in her house:  having a relatively close proximity to the kitchen/eating area, bathrooms and bedroom.  You spend about 80% of your life in these areas and having to walk from one end of the house to the other is a waste of time and effort, which you notice more as you get older.  When we bought my FavoriteEverHouse, I told the real estate agent to find me this but on steroids compared to the size of the house I grew up in, and she did it.  That house had a laundry room adjacent as well--I'll never have that wonderful a laundry room again.  

 

It was a 4000sf house, but really we lived in about 800 sf of it.  The other parts came in handy because he love having people over.  It had a 400sf living room that could have fallen off the house and taken me weeks to notice it--until we had company.  THEN it was really nice because it was always clean and so I didn't worry so much about the rest of the house.  

 

That house also had a couple of bedrooms which shared a bathroom in the daylight basement part of the house, and so when we had overnight/extended term guests, it was private and we had a lot of space for ourselves.  And we did end up having a lot of extended guests--college students adrift in the summer, people who were recovering from surgery, good friends who came for the summer, and so on.  

 

The only thing that was a problem with this is when people were disabled, they had a long walk and up stairs to the kitchen.  My son got the boot to the guest area when my MIL had to live with us after breaking a hip.  HE liked it but I didn't because it was isolating for us...but it was what had to be done.  

 

One thing we ALSO noticed was that in my mom's house, you turned on the tap and if you wanted hot water, whammo, you had it in a second.  That's because all the plumbed areas were clustered in a small area and the water tank was right below them in the basement.  We ended up moving the water tank in our old house as the water took FOREVER to get to the sinks, which were in a core area.  Good design of the building, bad location for the water tank.  My current house has the water tank on the other side of the house from our bathroom and it takes a long time for the shower to heat up.  But in this case, we don't have another option.  

 

My son was born in a house where we had to walk all through the house to get from the bedrooms to the kitchen.  Bad design.  It was annoying when I was doing midnight bottle feedings...by the time I got to the kitchen, I was all awake and it took forever to get back to sleep.  Having the kitchen close to the bedrooms in our new house was a boon!!!

 

 

[J-rap]

I love having our main floor being like a big circle, though it doesn't address a MIL area.  When you walk in, you enter a big front hall, then continue the circle into the living room and then to the open dining room (the LR and DR are actually only separated by built-in bookcases on either side), then continue on to the kitchen (there's a back door off the kitchen which leads to a porch and extra eating area in the summer, plus a small bathroom off the kitchen), and into the front hall again.  The openings from room to room are all very wide and overall it has a real airy feel.  We do have pocket wooden sliding doors between the front hall and the living room, and a regular door between the kitchen and the front hall, though we usually keep everything open.  I have a feeling there was a swinging door once between the kitchen and the dining room, but it's not there anymore.  (It's a very old home, over 100 years old.)

 

My dh is handicapped and this arrangement works well for him.  However, he is able to negotiate the stairs and all the bedrooms are on the second floor.  I've seen some older homes that have this arrangement but have one extra room on the main floor, which can be turned into a den or extra bedroom.

[fairfarmhand]

one thing to consider, hallways and doors wide enough for an abulance crew to make a turn into a bedroom.

 

My fil was very ill at home, bedfast really. The ambulance had to come several times and the stretcher couldn't make the turn from the hallway into the bedroom.