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

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

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.

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.

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,

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.

Hope you’re having great time…

Brad