Paul,
Thanks for the reference.

Remember everyone that it is not necessary to get too involved with the accessibility issues. As we are dealing with a preliminary concept design the two main issues to focus on are door width – 3′ min. and the 60″ circle for wheelchair maneovering.

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Replacing the half bath with a second full bathroom while making the living space and all bedrooms and bathrooms wheelchair accessible was very challenging. I found that I needed to take over the old hallway space to get enough room to fit everything in, so I moved the washer and dryer from the north side of the hot water heater to the south side to create a larger opening from the entry to the living space. I was not able to create as much closet space for the master bedroom as I would have liked, but I did the best I could. I avoided walk-in closets as they would be difficult to make wheelchair accessible without making them excessively large. As the client indicated that they wanted regular kitchen counters I went with an L-shaped kitchen with an island, which would likely need to be changed if and when full wheelchair access is needed.

Doug, I see your post was before mine but didn’t show up when I accessed…interesting solution you’ve got there. I just have one question: how did you find 3 ft of area between the laundry closet and that front northeast kitchen corner? According to my measure, it was less that 3 ft., which caused me considerable grief!

Hi Terri — John told us that we could not move the hot water heater, but he did not say anything about moving the washer and dryer. Accordingly, I kept the hot water heater in the same spot, but “flipped” the closet around so that the washer and dryer are now to the right (south) of the hot water heater, which added approximately 4 feet to the opening between the entry and the kitchen.

Some nice solutions for the long, dark, central hallway:
1. Doug eliminated it completely and freed up much needed space (downside – first view is into the bathroom, and main entry is through the kitchen).
2. Terri moved up the living room entry to mid-hall and inserted interior windows for more light.
3. Paul opened the hall to open shelving (?) and – my fav – removed the wall to the study for an unimpeded view the front door. The hallway appears longer, but the view is now outside rather than of a door in a blank wall.
All interesting ideas!

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Paul — I just refreshed my browser before posting this and see that I seem to be on a similar wavelength to you. After looking at your and Terry’s postings and Steve’s comments about my initial posting I decided to make a few revisions, including:
1) incorporating your sliding walls idea to open up the den, which I really like;
2) flipping my guest bathroom around so that guests don’t look straight into the bathroom when they come in the front door; and
3) like you, moving the kitchen into the middle of the living space using a 2-island concept.

I look forward to seeing what John comes up with tomorrow.

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Here’s my attempt at removing the central hall by moving the washer and dryer. Access to laundry can be from master bath or side hall.

Sorry…the previous anonymous submission is from me.

Very busy today and as such I was unable to get in on the discussion portion as much as I would have liked. Thank you very much to all for the comments.

Doug,
I liked the approach you took with the bedroom closets and the compact nature of your bathrooms while still maintaining accessibility. The result being larger bedroom spaces. Interesting, or maybe spooky, how two individuals working in “isolation” can arrive at a very similar concept. (i.e. center kitchen)

Terri,
I agree with respect to laundry/utility accesses in relation to “living” spaces. Never the best solution. I think this would be one of those “trade-off” decisions. I very much like the direct access from the master bath you’ve shown so I think it would be a tough choice. I like in your first submission how you managed to get both the living and dining adjacent to the southern windows. I found that in that area of the plan there seemed to be an abundance of space and so this could be an alternative.

Brad,
Relocating the laundry is a great idea. I wonder if having the access to the equipment from the WIC might be an option. The entry into the study is also another great alternative. I think it provides more wall space for shelving as you have shown and helps to further expand the feeling of openness into the living room.

One thing, that unfortunately due to time, I don’t think I pursued enough was the fact of the periodic 3rd resident (i.e. the grandchild) and their needs.
I too, am looking forward to see John’s take on this one.

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I liked the orignal program of guest bedroom in the front and primary bedroom in the back, but I also wondered if the full width of the southern park-view could be opened to living area. I think this works, plus it gives the primary bedroom much more space. And rather than diminish the central hall, I made it shorter and wider (5′) and gave it a vista to make it feel like a narrow room rather than a passageway.

In lieu of a separate study, this plan provides a sunny reading corner, storage and display space in the corridor, and a wall for books and a desk in the living room.

Lastly, all rooms except the guest bath accommodate the 5′ turning diameter for a wheelchair. In all cases I used pocket doors to get them out of the way. The guest bath is accessible from both the guest bedroom and kitchen.

John has already posted his design, so I’m off to take a peek. I post late but haven’t cheated. :)