2800 sqft Bungalow, Minneapolis

Posted on: April 11th, 2009 | 18 Comments

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  • Rhonda

    I think the worst thing about this house is the master bedroom. When you first look at the plan it seems big and impressive but when you really look at it the angled wall is a big problem and there are so many doors. I think it would be hard to know where to put the bed.

  • Anne

    I think the orientation of the house is the worst thing. That can never be fixed.

  • Denise

    The centre of the house and the front entry are a huge waste of space.

  • Uno

    John,

    I agree with Anne and Denise. The orientation is going to make the center of the house really dark and uninviting as well as being a big waste of space.

  • Dale

    I think the single most objectionable aspect of this house is the absence of light which might be equated with the inward focus of the house.
    Perhaps it might be less objectionable to an owner with a large art collection who believes he needs all the wall space for art instead of being wasted on windows.

    I also think its too big for a bungalow.

  • Louis Pereira

    Aside from it being a totally disjointed floor plan, i would also agree that the orientation and how the ‘designer’ arranged the rooms relative to the site is the worst thing about this house.

    I went through a couple of exercises to reorient the house, to illustrate more suitable conditions…

    [img]090410b.jpg[/img][img]090410c.jpg[/img]

  • James Scott

    Obviously there are many problems, orientation to the sun, size of windows and the enormous amount of wasted space. I can only imagine how dungeon like the basement would be as well.

    The biggest problem I see is that of the distance between the driveway and the formal entrance. The two are on opposite sides of the house. What an enormous amount of energy would be used to get into the house just to be disappointed or feel uncomfortable in this space.

    My instincts tell me that this is a floor plan from a condominium that was desperate for a two car garage.

  • Caesar

    My vote for the worst thing is the partial octagon space near the entry. It doesn’t serve any purspose other than to give this poor house illusions of grandeur. At the same time it takes up a lot of space in the study and the walk in closet.

  • Tony

    Did anyone see how bad the laundry room is? It looks like the washer and dryer are separate from each other and you can’t even stand in front of the window! However, my vote for the worst thing is the same as Caesar – that weird Las Vegas style octagon room at the entry because it ruins about 70 percent of the rest of the plan.

  • Richard

    I don’t understand the location of the garage. It takes up backyard space and prevents any windows from the living space into the garden. And why would anyone want double doors out from the garage into the back porch? It doesn’t make any sense to me.

  • Daryll

    Talking about being Las Vegas pretentiousness, it isn’t just the octagon that Caesar and Tony talked about. The little doorways into both the master bedroom and the other bedroom area are really bad. The first takes up too much space in the master bedroom and the second reduces the usable area of the dining room. They both get my vote for the worst thing wrong with this house.

  • Louis Pereira

    Another thought i had was, why the heck you would need another (2nd) floor level – as if they haven’t wasted enough space already! Now they’re going to repeat this entire mess on the second floor?

  • Jim Argeropoulos

    For me the worst part of the home is that only one bedroom really has any privacy. Each of the others is only a door way or wall separating it from the primary living area. I once lived in such a home and it was difficult because once the kids were in bed, you had to be a mouse. One person up early to eat breakfast and you wake up the rest of the home.

  • Trish

    The worst thing about this house is the oddly shaped rooms, which result in a tremendous amount of wasted space.
    I think the double doors from the garage to the backyard is actually a good idea. If you have a gas grill or outdoor furniture you can easily store them in the garage in the off season.

  • James Scott

    Regarding the stairs, I had to double check myself, John Brown mentioned they led to a basement, check after the 6:25 mark on the video.

    To add to my earlier comments, there must be an incredible amount of energy that went into the building of this house. For one the foundation is very choppy and erratic. And with the open expanse I wonder what the orientation of the trusses are. I could see extra cost to create this open living space. Does this house have a vaulted ceiling?

    I also see features that were checked off of a shopping list, 3 bdrms, a study, master bath, change rooms, main floor laundry, kitchen island with seating, double sink vanities, walk-in pantry, built-in fireplace, etc. This to me is a house full of gadgets, or fully loaded.

    Is it possible that the owners travel south to avoid the cold Minneapolis winter and that this house is used only during the summer? That might explain why the bulk of the glazing and the deck are focused on the north side of the house. It’s as if sun light and warmth are not as important as the cool shade.

    I think there is more to this house and the occupants than we are made aware.

  • John Brown

    Thanks to everyone who commented. Based on your suggestions, my top three list of the worst things about this house are:

    3. The insensitivity of the orientation on the lot. The main living areas have very little access to natural light to begin with but the fact that the garden windows face north makes it even worse. As Louis illustrated in his drawings, things would be better if the house was on the other side of the street. As Anne points out, this house should not have been placed on this lot.

    2. The carelessness of the design’s approach to the small (but very important) details of daily use – like Tony’s observation about the awkward laundry room, and Jim’s comment about the lack of privacy for the bedrooms. This is an expensive house, and the owner should be able to expect something better for their money.

    1. The comments that resonated with me the most today were the ones by Caesar, Tony, and Daryll that dealt with the pretentiousness of the design. I think this is the worst thing about this house because it transcends any particular detail to encompass a mindset or atittude that runds throughout the whole house. It is an expression of the empty McMansion complex that has gripped suburban development for too long.

  • Brian

    I’m coming to this late because I’m reviewing the archives from the beginning. I read the article in the April 18, 2009 Globe and Mail. Regarding the stairs: They are labeled as UP, so I think they are to a bonus room above the garage. Given the current fashion, the roof is likely high pitched, 10/12 or 12/12, cottage roof. (Is that the correct term for a roof sloping up from four sides?)

    I agree was all the previous comments, this plan is a waste of space and money!

  • John Brown

    Brian,
    I am not sure what is upstairs in this house. It could be a bonus room over the garage or perhaps even a partial floor of bedrooms over the main house.

    You are correct about the definition of a cottage roof although it is not normally quite as steep as that. The minimum in a snow load climate is about 3/12 if it is asphalt shingled.