1400 sqft 2 bedroom condo, Texas

Posted on: June 15th, 2009 | 11 Comments

1400 sqft 2 Bedroom Condo, Texas (PDF)
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  • Grace

    Yikes! I feel the side walls closing in on me in that too-long-for-its-width living space. That’s the worst thing. Next is the walled-off kitchen which should slide down to the windowed nook so that the space where it is now can be de-walled and incorporated into the living area. The third thing is that silly half-bath. Enlarge the foyer by eliminating it and let your friends use one or the other of the full baths.

  • Louis Pereira

    Why does it seem as though, whoever got the Master Bedroom lost out on a coin toss?…

    I would venture to guess the central beefy wall separating the Living Room and Kitchen is structural, but that shouldn’t prevent you from opening things up a bit. It’s nice to have a half-bath for guests, but in this case i would dedicate this space for a larger entry and allow the Bedroom 2 washroom to be used for guests. BTW, that Bedroom 2 i believe has been vilified once before as the ‘bowling-alley’ bedroom (06.09 Room-by-Room). Another thing i find wrong is the kitchen isle -I count approx. 5′-6″ wide – that’s too wide isn’t?…

    3. Two eating areas unnecessary
    2. Tight Entry Space
    1. Too compartmentalised

  • Tim Jones

    The biggest thing wrong with this house is it is trying to be too much an the space that it has available. Having 2.5 bathrooms and 2 eating areas in a 1400 sq ft house is excessive and leaves less space for living.

    The eating nook is probably a more pleasant place to eat than the dining room as it will be lighter and have views, but having it at the back of the galley kitchen makes the kitchen a circulation zone.

    The closed off kitchen makes the individual feel small. This may have been done so that there could be enough cabinet space in the small area. A better solution would have been to position the kitchen where the current dining room is so there could be adequate cabinets on inside walls and still have it open to the living and dining areas, which would then both be by the windows.

  • James Scott

    I agree with Grace and Louis about the wasted spaces. If the extra guest bath, the showers, and the nook were all removed you could save about 150 to 200 sq.ft. of floor space.

    According to one web site in Houston $211,584 is the average price for a condo. Over 10% of what you’re paying for could be applied more effectively. In other words you’re paying over $21K for fluff that with 5.25% over 30 years that wasted space will cost you almost $45k.

    I realize because of US tax write-offs and other factors these numbers can be easily dismantled, but it should still make one think.

    On the other hand if the floor space can’t be removed, fine. At least make it more useful so the buyer can get better value from their hard earned dollars.

  • Elizabeth

    I agree with most that the biggest problem is the wall between the kitchen and living area. Removal could square up that area, at least. The floor plan does look like a series of bowling lanes. Would be nice to make it easier to carry a coffee to the balcony and catch that morning light.

    Also think that the guest bathroom is too much.

    That master bdrm closet is a monster! The 2nd bdrm closet is big enough to hang clothes on 3 sides, then the master’s is even bigger.

    re: John’s questions about the guest bathroom. I think this configuration works ok, just very functional. One could use a pocket door (that actually locks! they’re often kind of finicky), especially if it’s right at the front door (bad experience at a New Yr’s Eve party once). All in all, I think the bathroom is OK, but placement right at the front door is not.

  • Kevin

    I agree with Grace on the elimination of the guest bath. A 2 and a half bath apartment of this size seems excessive and I would question how much value it would give to the unit. Maybe a Realtor in the crowd could comment. Adding a door to one of the other washrooms could help but I would still keep the existing door and use it as a cheater door from the bedroom.

    It also appears to me that the wall in the wall in the middle is being used for structure or a plumbing stack and it seems fairly novice to locate that in the middle of an apartment plan. Also, considering that this is a 1400 square foot apartment (which is fairly massive compared to most) that the plan is not accomplishing much and is a bit of an underachiever. Compared to the Friday exercise with the 1420 square foot houses and I think it highlights this point.

    Also, on the bedrooms, I would see in an apartment that it would make sense to push the closets to the rear and have the washroom closer to the bedroom as this would allow some interior glazing for some natural light shared from the bedroom. I know I would look for something like this.

  • Volker

    How many people are living in this condo? Two? Three? How many bathrooms are needed for that? Perhaps it is nice to bush teeths together but actually this masterbedroom-bathroom is rather small – trying to fit everything in. I wonder if they had the chance for a bidet, they’d place it somewhere too.
    I remember the discussions about walk-in-closets before, but these seem to be really big and I can’t picture myself store my jackets, shirts and shorts together with all those boxes and redundant stuff you keep for some reasons. I’d look for some storage space for that at a seperate spot, perhaps at the entrance.
    The entrance is too small – it is not an entrance but a sluice.

    3. too many bathrooms (with bad layouts)
    2. too big bedroom closet – no additional storage space
    1. entrance too small and poorly layouted, wrong direction

  • Cat

    I like the powder room. I think I said on our segment on entries that I thought it was nice to have a powder room at the entry. And I think the bedrooms/baths/closets are ok. Having the closet between the bed and the bath might provide a little sound buffer.

    WWWTH is the living area. It feels more like a bowling alley to me. The monster wall between the kitchen and the living area seems to cause most of the problems. Two dining areas are probably unnecessary. And having the only access to the nook through the kitchen is a problem. And there’s that wasted space hallway area between the kitchen and the entry. I’d much rather use that space than give up the powder room. I like the idea of moving the kitchen back to the current dining area.

  • Terri

    1. Corridor kitchen (way too awkward),especially right in front of entry.
    2. Solid wall between living rm and kitchen.
    3. Awkward access to dining room which is redundant anyway.

  • Tony

    its actually not that bad of a plan all things considered. i really think that if the kitchen wall was removed and it was opened to the living and dining room, I think it is not bad. and then if the entry was redone without the powder room – I think this is so crazy to see the sink that as soon as you walk in the front door and not necessary given the other two bathrooms.

  • John Brown

    It is interesting that there is so much commonality in the comments for this exercise. Not something that typically happens in a WWWWTH.

    I thought that James’ quick financial analysis was important. Too often cookie cutter house plans try to supersize their way out of problems and it is important to remember that that costs money that, particularly in these uncertain times, is an unnecessary burden.

    The one thing I do like about this plan is the lack of 45 degree angles. With that said I agree with the comments about the striation of the plan into such narrow strips of space. The enclosed kitchen is really odd and makes one think of an old apartment building plan rather than a new condo.

    My summary of the three worst things would be:

    1. The awkward enclosed corridor kitchen.
    2. The awkward living and dining area.
    3. The too tight entry that looks right into the kitchen.