SHAPE/SIZE 7 – too deep compared to width light cant get back to dining room or kitchen
ORGANIZATION 6 – rooms seem to be grouped well although bedrooms split as in last exercise – the dining room positioning will make it very cramped and difficult to work around as it really is a “wide corridor”
FRONT/BACK ENTRY 7 – opens into kitchen/dining – closet too small and too removed
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING 6 – door to bedroom 2 interrupts furniture placement making it difficult to access terrace – dining room too far from windows and blocked by doorway to master
KITCHEN 4 – small and efficient, but with good counter space – pantry seems a bit awkward to access
DINING/STUDY 9 – too narrow for even a long thin table, blocked from natural light and is really only a corridor to the master
BEDROOMS 9 – long and thin making furniture placement difficult and leaving lots of wasted space – master has no closet?
BATHROOMS 7 – both bathrooms have poor layout – master bath difficult for 2 people to work in with only 1 sink and the sink and counter in a corridor – bedroom 2 bathroom toilet visible from the bedroom
GARAGE/LAUNDRY 8 – split design means the hallway will be a mess on laundry day – no counter or work space available
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? 7.3 – pretty fast
BradW
SHAPE/SIZE – 9
ORGANIZATION – 8
FRONT/BACK ENTRY – 8
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING – 4
KITCHEN – 4
DINING/STUDY – 9
BEDROOMS – 8
BATHROOMS – 3
GARAGE/LAUNDRY – 9
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? FAST – 7
Not much right here. The living room and kitchen are acceptable. The laundry layout really needs to be consolidated into one closet to free up space for an entry closet. The kitchen is small but workable – the island could be changed to a peninsula offering more storage and counter space while still providing a place to sit. The dining room, well, there really isn’t a dining room. The supposed master bedroom has no closet and the second bedroom offers a view of the toilet. Both bathrooms are fine.
Murray
SHAPE/SIZE 7
Square shape and orientation makes the back of the unit dark. The principal rooms will get light, but it will also be light from the hot afternoon sun which isn’t so great for sleeping – thus AC necessary
ORGANIZATION 10
Really awful, bad circulation issues, going through the kitchen into the bedroom or winding your way around dining room furniture, wasted space near dining room and master bedroom/ensuite, dining and kitchen are dark, hot water tank is as far away as possible from the kitchen and bathrooms
FRONT/BACK ENTRY 6
OK, but closets for storage clothes, bags, etc. may be an issue
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING 6
OK, the living room is connected to the v. small terrace, but that’s about it
KITCHEN 7
Not much storage and the appliances could be arranged more efficiently, counter dining is not necessary in this small space, unless that was the only dining area
DINING/STUDY 7
Small and awkward location for circulation
BEDROOMS 8
As before, hot afternoon sun, no closet in the “master”, weird closet in the other bedroom, limited options for furniture placement
BATHROOMS 8
Crap – lots of wasted space
GARAGE/LAUNDRY 5
OK, and the plan indicates some hanging racks, both machines could be stacked in one closet leaving the other for more storage
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? The math says approx. 7, but that doesn’t really reflect how fast I think this unit is, so I am going to give it an 8.5
Terri
SHAPE/SIZE: 9 Too narrow and deep
ORGANIZATION: 9 No privacy for either bedroom, no dining room, bad entry, kitchen and baths
FRONT/BACK ENTRY:10 Looks as kitchen sink upon entering, nowhere for shoes, etc.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING:9 Terrace is way too small to use much
KITCHEN:9 Not enough cupboards and too close to entry
DINING/STUDY:10 This is not a dining room; it’s leftover space between the bedrooms and living room
BEDROOMS:9 One does not have a closet.
BATHROOMS:8 Too much counter in one, not enough in the other
GARAGE/LAUNDRY:7 Separate washer and dryer?
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? lightning speed
Jim X
SHAPE/SIZE 7: No morning light in bedrooms, afternoon light into living areas, although kitchen may receive little natural light.
ORGANIZATION 8: Organization is hopeless. (See bathrooms) The dining room table may end up in circulation corridor from entry to living room. Like the 12.03 house the living area is in the centre and private, bedroom areas on each side. (PEEVE: I don’t like the little bumps (the water heater bumps into bedroom-2 and washer/dryer room and closet(?) bump out into the kitchen/dining area. I think these details, although small, show someone did not take the time to create a clean uninterupted wall.)
FRONT/BACK ENTRY 6: No real foyer. Guest walk into the house and are standing in the kitchen. Closet a little too far away from entry.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING 4: Terrace may be a bit cramped.
KITCHEN 6: Lack of counter space and storage space. Depends on how interested you are in cooking. Party preparations could be scary.
DINING/STUDY 8: Dining room is in an awkward spot because it may interfere with circulation path from entry to living space. Because of the layout of the Master Bedroom and Ensuite the dining space is awkward.
BEDROOMS 6: Bedroom 2 the closet door could collide with bedroom door. Because both bedrooms are narrow circulation around the beds may be tight.
BATHROOMS 9: Ah the bathrooms. Master bath is a long hallway with a toilet at the end of it. Bath for bedroom 2 is a bit better layout, but again, the short hallway shows fast planning at work. Not enough time spent to solve these little problems.
GARAGE/LAUNDRY 6: No workspace. Stacking washer and dryer might be better.
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? 7
COMMENTS on rating system: I think using numbers from 1 to 10 give a false sense of precision. When assigning rating I could not really give a good reason for giving an 8 rather than a 7 for some rooms. I hesitate to give out a ten, for example, because that means to me the room could not be much worse. I think a simple Slow or Fast rating is best.
Elizabeth
I’m going to try a 5-point scale, from 1=slow to 5=fast.
SHAPE/SIZE: 2
Shape is almost square, so could be wider. Kitchen too far from window, but 3 main rooms have good light.
ORGANIZATION: 4
Living dining and kitchen are consolidated, and the bdrms have their own zones. It looks as though the house doesn’t have hallways but that’s because they’ve been hidden in the bedrms and ensuite.
FRONT/BACK ENTRY: 5
Scaled correctly but pops directly into kitchen. Closet is in a weird, distant location. Considering the space that does exist around the front entry (used for W/D), design is pretty poor.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING: 3
Oh the dreaded wishy-washy “3″. Terrace looks OK, but locating the waterheater indoors could provide more valuable light. Living rm also OK: bright enough, but that door to bdrm 2(which I think must be the master) is in a bad position.
KITCHEN: 2
A bit tiny, low on counter space, but somehow this comes up with checkmarks for almost every ROT. I agree with Brad that the island should be a peninsula, providing more counter space, and remove the ridiculous closet/pantry around the corner, facing the Master.
DINING/STUDY: 5
Where? I can’t figure out the scale well, but except for the label, it’s a challenge to see where the table would go, with circulation to living room, Master and entry closet. I guess a small round table could fit.
BEDROOMS: 4
Space for a bed in each but where to hang the clothes in the “Master”? Maybe it’s a Study? Bed in bdrm 2 look directly at toilet, entry is awkward and the hallway to the bathroom is a pretty big waste.
BATHROOMS: 4
That ensuite is quite something. Put on your hiking boots if you want to get to the toilet! This waste of space, coupled with no closet, is inexcusable. It does make for a long vanity though, which is good. Other bathroom is mostly OK.
GARAGE/LAUNDRY: 5
Need to be using stacked machines in one of these spaces to open up room for an entry closet.
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? Mathematically comes out to 3.7/5 or about 7.5. However, I’d give it an 8+ on a scale of 10.
I’ll try to figure out why I can check off several points in the ROT, but still feel a space is really lacking overall.
Thanks!
Doug Roberts
SHAPE/SIZE — Size is fine. Shape is generally square, which is okay for a condo with windows on only one wall, but not as good as the shallow rectangle shape of condo #1. Ranking — 6.
ORGANIZATION — Kitchen, dining and living areas are all together and open – bedrooms and bathrooms are on opposite sides for privacy – kitchen, bathrooms and entry are along the back wall, allowing the living room and bedrooms to have the windows. Ranking — 4.
FRONT/BACK ENTRY — Entry opens directly into kitchen – closet is too far away. Ranking — 7.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING — Living room is on the small side but has good light, is a good shape and should be reasonably easy to furnish – terrace is too small to be of much use. Ranking — 4.
KITCHEN — Kitchen is small and a long way from a window. Ranking — 6.
DINING/STUDY — Dining area is next to the kitchen, but is really nothing more than circulation space for traffic moving between the other rooms. No matter where you put the table it will simply be an obstacle that people have to walk around. Ranking — 9.
BEDROOMS — Both bedrooms are long and narrow and are take up more space than they should – master bedroom has no closet – second bedroom door opens directly into living room. Ranking — 8.
BATHROOMS — Both bathrooms are larger than they need to be – vanity in master ensuite is too long. Ranking — 7.
GARAGE/LAUNDRY — Splitting the washer and dryer between two closets on opposite sides of a hall is unusual, but not fundamentally bad. Could always put a stacked washer and dryer in one closet and use the other closet as a front hall closet or for other storage. However, either way on laundry day you will likely be greeted by a pile of dirty clothes on the floor when you come in the door. Ranking — 8.
CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW? — Overall I would give it a 7.5, so faster that condo #1.
BradW
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The idea is to improve the existing apartment with a small renovation. However, the master ensuite has been widen to make room for a closet in the bedroom. The walk in closet in the second bedroom has been removed allowing the door to be moved toward the kitchen. A new closet partitions the space blocking the view into the bathroom. The laundry has been consolidated into one closet freeing one closet for the entry. The kitchen island has been changed for a peninsula. No plumbing has been changed. The unit will require new flooring, paint, cabinets and a countertop.
I did not notice initially but there appears to be a step between the entry and the living/dining room.
I think the result is better although the dining area remains a problem.
John Brown
Sorry for the delay in commenting everyone.
There seems to be more unanimity around this second house. Jim X brings up a good point about whether a ten point rating system gives a false sense of precision. I can see the point, particularly if it is derived as an average from the individual evaluations. On the other hand, the fast-slow distinction may be too coarse. How do we “place” or compare multiple houses?
John Brown
Brad,
Your revised plan is much more effective. I particularly like what you did with the closet in the right hand side bedroom. The kitchen / entry conflict is a killer though isn’t it?
BradW
John,
There are just problems here that can’t be easily resolved. The entry is one and the dining location is another. If you could turn this place into a one bedroom it would be quite nice. For resale reasons, this is unlikely. With 1000 sq ft, you would think it would be easy to something better but only having one exterior wall makes things tough.
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