1900 sqft Bungalow, Georgia

Mr. Brown, I’d first like to thank you for these lecture series; I learned about them over the weekend and ended up completely ignoring my own coursework to watch the clips you’ve posted.

A quick comment, first off; is it possible the the north-most pantry is actually a closet? The depth of the shelf is the same as the bedroom closets but not the same as the other pantry, which seems a bit odd.

From my perspective, the worst part of this kitchen is the fake space to the east of the island. Having an open door in the middle of a major thoroughfare seems like a bad idea. Putting stools or chairs directly adjacent to that same thoroughfare creates a slalom course that could increase traffic through the working part of the kitchen. If that second pantry is really a pantry instead of a closet, a busy chef and a determined housecat could bring the house to a grinding halt.

I also really dislike the fact that getting vegetables to the sink requires passing close by the range – an armload of vegetables combined with protruding pan handles and the aforementioned feline generally leads to dropped veg, barked shins, and maybe scalded cat.

I wonder; was the larger front porch intended to act as an entry space? I’m not sure it would work, especially if the hall closet is in the kitchen, but a large porch frequently serves as a greeting space here in the South. If that was in the mind of the designer, it would make a second, interior entry space slightly redundant. I’d be interested to see the facade of this house – is it trying to act like plantation mansion in miniature?

Regardless, the kitchen is bad news. Thank you again for the opportunity to learn how to tell the difference between a good home and a bad.

Move the sink and dishwasher to the island to improve the work triangle in the kitchen. Add storage on the back side of the island. Add seating on the penisula. These budget conscious changes are like putting lipstick on a pig but they improve the traffic flow through the kitchen by moving the seating from the island to the penisula, minimize the work triangle in the kitchen and add valuable storage.

I’ll agree with Paul on the pesky gorilla. Since when do we love vehicles so much we feel the need to let them in our own home? Aren’t they built for the outdoors? But let’s talk kitchen. The island needs to be L-shaped and connected to the ceiling, defining the kitchen on the west side while creating a hallway on the south. The pantry could then be integrated into the island, and on the other side of the pantry wall this would open up room to do laundry. I feel that food should be seen by its eaters for the the first time when it is served on the table. This is a “fast food” kitchen: dinner is cooked and served in the same room, lending a sense of speed to the process. John’s fantastic analogy can be applied here, we need a slower kitchen by shutting it off more from the dining room. As in Paul’s apartment, there can be some open space within the barrier but I would suggest glass bricks, arranged artistically to evoke a sense of curiosity with regards to what’s for supper. In addition, the fridge should go where the sink is, and the sink must be in front of a window. We all like to see outside when doing the dishes. Great exercise John!

When dealing with narrow kitchens, the arrangement must work with the space rather than against it. Therefore, the configuration is what’s wrong with this particular kitchen. For this reason, the working triangle doesn’t function properly. Not only is the Sink too far from the Fridge, but the island also impedes the flow between the two components.

I would propose a Galley kitchen which creates a linear arrangement that better suits the space and provides a more efficient working triangle. In fact the option I’ve illustrated even affords two adjacent working zones allowing two people to cook simultaneously.

With the Pantry now closer to the Cooking zone, the former pantry space below can be dedicated for a Home Office or additional storage.

[img]wwwth9_090420a.JPG[/img]

I suggest putting the kitchen at the back of the house, away from the traffic. Make it a galley kitchen, with views to the backyard preserved. Put the sink under the window. Put the dining room in the middle of the house, and make it multipurpose – table pushed to the side, with chairs around 3 sides, to ease traffic flow on a daily basis. Make the pantry area a home office/homework zone, as Louis has suggested, and build a bookcase area beside it backing onto the washer dryer wall. Possibly the house can manage with a single car garage, or garage and a half for storage. That would permit in the first case, a centre hall plan, or in either case, a wider living room, proper hallway to the back and foyer to the front, and bigger kitchen if the kitchen remained in the centre instead of moving to the back.

What a travesty of use of space! Was it Mark twain who said “buy land, they ain’t making it any more”?
Is this a bungalow squeezed between existing houses/lots? Probably. With a narrow frontage onto the road…….and centered around the “two car concept”.
Well, it seems to me one might “tweak” the existing design and effect some minor improvements but I don’t think I’d ever buy the property! Unless, it were so fortunate that it was structuraly unsound and had to be demolished……then….
a)Two stories will preserve more of that scarce land. (Not monster building height, good work with site elevations and roof lines….let the building sit within the tree line not overtop it etc.)
b)One car garage, other car in another “communal garage” nearby. (Applicable IF an area development is ongoing.)
Now, we have possibilites to make use of South exposure (and yes, I am thinking of Canada, but even Georgia can benefit from Southern light and exposure). Perhaps now we can do some more exciting things “siting” the house…..thurning it a little on the site to make maximum use of sun, space and external appeal. Perhaps….just perhaps, we might be able to convince Mr. Developer (if it is area development) to consider units of two or three together. Not in a line, in some harmonious and attractive “grouping”……even more space saving and energy efficient too! (And building materials!!!) Think “mews”, “courtyards” etc.
Well. To come back to reality. Common N. American new housing. In many cases just like letting a bunch of kids loose with Lego! The “must have one of these, some of that” syndrome. Let’s look at this malaise. It is a malaise composed of “I’ve just seen that and I want one too”. Regardless of whether the item was seen in a massive stately home or in a singular dwelling overlooking a stunning view “one of a kind”, I want it too.
Porch. (And “patio”)….both have a roof line over limiting sun, and what do you really get? If the “porch” were enclosed as an effective entry, this space would not have those siiting in the living room freezing their…..simultaneously yelling to “put the wood in the hole” (close the door) in minus 20 weather (or when too hot outside). And for “patio”, what is the value of roof over?? Kitchen “island”….doubtless with granite top, imported from India or China….and complete with “bar stools”. A most uncomfortable way of sitting and eating. Best reserved for an evening at the local pub.What is the real purpose of this “island” that all houses MUST have? Would the kitchen table of yore have served just as well?
“Master bedroom”…..with all the trappings. Including bath and shower. Why? Why cannot we come uop with a multi purpose bath/shower and save space? Why is it so neccessary for one bedroom to enjoy exclusive use of this amenity and the other bedrooms to have to share? The “master bedroom bathroom” has been taken to ridiculous limits in most new housing which I have seen recently.
Laundry. What’s wrong with laundry drying outside, where sun and wind are natural drying and purifying agents. So, let’s have “laundry” close to outdoors. No? Do you mean it’s a good thing to generat electricity for heat then blow all that heat out to warm up the great White North? Or to have a mechanical devise which beats the heck out of your clothes (look at the lint production…thats clothing!). Ah….more opportunity for shopping….Now I see!
Closet space….must be built in. Ingenious way to use more 2 x 4′s or 2 x 6′s with attendant space waste. Keeps the forest industry busy. But what’s wrong with beautiful furniture? Chests?, Wardrobes?, and such which are not static but can be changed in both location and type as mood dictates.

I’m aware that I have not answered the “specifics” of this exercise. It could be said I’ve skirted the obvious issues….but to me the primaries have to be answered first and this house just could not do this! I’d never buy it!

Sincerely, NH

Heather W. – Placing the Kitchen next the Patio is plausible but not without changing one thing and that is the Master Bedroom size and the Bath. I’ve lobbed off about a 18″ in order for it to work. The Kitchen could be arranged a number of ways other than shown, but i do like the sequence of Living Room > Dining Room > Kitchen > Patio. I

[img]wwwth9_090420B.JPG[/img]

Louis – do you need an island? I would do a classic galley kitchen with one walkway in the middle which is generous enough in size to allow two people to work in it or others to pass through to the backyard. Then no space is needed from the bedroom, although that is a guess as the dimensions are not provided. I would drop the stools and use the dining room instead. As James said, it is steps away, and as Nigel said, bar stools are uncomfortable – and in my view, unsociable and not conducive to conversation and eye contact.

Brad – One way to look at it is how you greet guests to your home. My way of thinking is – Firstly you greet them at the door, then offer a seat in the Living Room perhaps with a glass of wine before dinner. If your Kitchen location is in the middle of the layout, the host can still tend to meal preparation while interacting with guests in the LR. Conversely, if the Kitchen is near the back, then it seems like a natural segue into the DR once dinner is prepared.

—————–

Heather – To answer your question, no, an island isn’t necessary though the distance between between counters in a ‘classic’ galley, in this case anyway, is slightly wider than i would like it. It comes down to personal preference. Personally i’d prefer a larger kitchen over a large master bedroom.

Great website – fun to test your skills! Louis Pereira’s plan looks interesting but the problem with it, as I see it, is you end up in the living and dining room looking straight into the kitchen, which I always feel is a mistake. I would like to see if it was possible to move the kitchen to the front of the house, then the dining room and then the living room at the back with a walk out to the yard.

It would be helpful to have a .dwg file or dimensions to see how things would really work. It might even be possible to create an entry and a closet, not sure….

Anyway, thanks for the web site, I look forward to more!

John – Are we to say that the OPENness of the kitchen is a bad thing in this case and isolating it is the answer? If so I would have to disagree. The closed kitchen is inflexible and better suited for the bachelor wanting to impress his dinner date with what he’s cooked up behind a veiled kitchen wall. You could also argue that the OPEN kitchen better promotes the ‘deeper and more intimate relationship with food’ rather begin ‘distanced or even estranged from what we eat’

Consider also the stay-at-home parent who wants to be able to supervise young children playing in the backyard or wanting some respite from kitchen tasks with views into the garden.

Personally our own Kitchen is open to the Dining Room, yet we adhere to the concept of ‘Slow Food’, so perhaps the ‘fast food’ gesture doesn’t necessarily apply in some cases. John, my wife makes the best Eggplant Lasagna (organic of course) and we’d be delighted to have you over for a memorable Slow Food experience, next time your in town!!

Gerard,
I don’t think we are over-blogged yet, although I might need to enlist a teaching assistant to help with the comments at some point in the future.

I really appreciate the enthusiasm of our viewers. Just like in a design office, the most interesting part of the process is usually the discussion that is generated around the drawings. I appreciate the comments from the professional designers who raise the bar and point the conversation in new directions.

However, the site is ultimately geared to non-professionals who are interested in design and in making better decisions about their home. In my long experience as a teacher, I have learned that it is important for each person to make their own connection with the design process. Their observation about a plan, no matter how many times some of us may have heard it, is unique for them, and therefore important to recognize and respond to.

I agree 100% john, but you have to admit that if this enthusiasm keeps increasing at this rate we might have too much fun here… just kidding. having a T.A. is a great idea, but for now i think we all really appreciate the amount of energy you are putting into this, props on getting in the newspapers you’re obviously the man with the masterplan!

I just have a comment on the closet next to the pantry. I would call this a broom closet. When I designed a house we built in 1975, I placed a closet for daily use outerwear next the the back door and a broom closet next to it and opposite the doorway to the kitchen. This closet held brooms, mops, vacuum cleaner and other cleaning materials and other “stuff” necessary for daily living.

If there’s still some life left in this discussion, I’m going to add a little more.

I remember being 11 years old and moving into a housing development where every house had a big, two car garage sticking out the front. Looking down the street, you’d see these big structures all lined up, and I agreed even back then that it was far from attractive. Nowadays, I see garages far more integrated into the house, but they’re still up front, and, well, I just don’t see any way around this.

I’ve lived with a separate garage in the backyard. The streetscape is nicer, but after the 30 seconds it takes to arrive home, I’m spending the rest of my time inside staring out the back at the garage. Additionally, I remember the time when I was standing in it waiting for a downpour to subside so I could carry my groceries to the house.

Right now, I have an integrated garage, and I love the convenience of having access to it at all times — without having to put on shoes or coat to get to it. To me, it is simply another room of the house. It is just unfortunate that it needs to be a certain size and shape, and that is something we simply have to live with.

I lived in Belgium for many years. The extreme density has forced people to park on the street. There simple isn’t any room in residential areas for garages. While resulting in a narrower traffic lane, this in turn slows down motor vehicles who do not enjoy the north american luxury of wide fast residential streets. The end result: a slower, more pleasant urban landscape for all.

Gerard,
You bring up an interesting point.

It is quite common in inner city communities, even in spread out Calgary, for people in rental buildings to have to park on the street. The resulting loss of convenience inhibits car ownership to some degree. A more difficult sell in user owned properties.