Part 3 – 1600 sqft 3 Bedroom Bungalow, Tennessee

Posted on: December 18th, 2009 | 8 Comments

1600 sqft 3 Bedroom Bungalow, Tennessee (Completed Concept Design)

  • John Brown

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    This is the completed concept design for the 1600 sqft 3 Bedroom Bungalow.

  • Doug Roberts

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    Here is the proposed plan that I posted a few minutes ago on yesterday’s blog before noticing that today’s blog was finally up and running. I approached this exercise on the basis that I was trying to improve a floorplan that was yet to be built, as opposed to suggesting renovations to an existing house.

    In my attempt to make this floorplan slower, I chose to take a slightly different approach than John and the others that posted on yesterday’s blog by relocating the back door to the west side of the house, instead of to the east side, so that it would not interrupt the kitchen/dining/living areas along the east side of the house. By relocating the master closet to the west wall of the master bedroom and making the second and third bedrooms and master bath a tiny bit smaller, I created space along the west side for a mudroom/laundry area. The entrance to the master bedroom is now off the mudroom hallway, instead of off the living room, to make the master bedroom more private and the living room easier to furnish. I turned the front living room into a formal dining room. I shifted the garage to the west, relocated the existing garage door to the east wall and added a second garage door on the west wall to allow direct access to the new side door. I replaced the living room and master bedroom windows with sliding doors to allow direct access from both rooms to the outdoor living area.

  • BradW

    Good analysis…It staggers me what is being built, particularly in the condo market, and share your conviction that informed thoughtful design can make a big difference at minimal cost.

    John, I want to thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the site this past year. The time has flown by. And now as we approach the holiday season, I sincerely wish you and your family all the best.

  • JimG

    My first reaction to where you have the laundry was that it was using up window space, blocking light from getting into the centre of the house. But I don’t know where else to put it though.

  • Terri

    I couldn’t get inspired to redo this one, so I’m impressed with everyone else’s effort to do so! It seems most everyone came to the conclusion that the back entry had to be shifted to become a side entry. That’s a huge improvement, but then the master bedroom is no longer a bit removed from the living room. So…the entry, kitchen and living are slower, but the master bedroom goes down a little…trade-offs, as always.

    I like how Doug’s renovation addresses both that awful door into the master bedroom plus that awkward bath/closet arrangement in the master ensuite. I thought that the dining room at the front would be nice, but I’d incorporate a long closet as John did, and remove the extra west wall coming from the kitchen (in Doug’s plan). Of course, as he says, it’s not a reno plan but a redesign from scratch.

    John, I’d like to echo Brad’s sentiments. I’ve been enriched by this site and the enthusiasm displayed here, starting with you–continuing to post while recovering from travel or illness! I hope you get some good r & r over the holiday season.

  • Cat

    I actually worked on trying to draw something up yesterday, but couldn’t come up with anything that wasn’t faster than the original. :(

    Doug, I LOVE your side entrance on the other side. I never would have thought of that, but I really think it works. And it fixes the problem with the laundry and the master bath/closet that I really hated. It looks like you give up a little space in the master bedroom for it, but optionally I guess you could have a little less closet there and a little more bedroom.

    I prefer John’s option with the kitchen in the front of the house and the more open dining room, but it does make a long way to travel with the groceries.

  • Murray

    If people are not aware – there are a number of re-worked plans from Thursday’s post. This may allow for more discussion.

    I will admit to getting caught up in the details of giving a good amount of space for circulation (my own home is quite cramped so I approach most designs with the bias of giving lots of space to move around in). In so doing, I don’t know that I made the house any slower than it was before, but there it goes.

    I moved the front entry to the side as well, to do double-duty, front and back, though there are patio doors off the living room. I found that if I kept the front entry as it was and added a hall closet, then that really impacted on the space available before you hit the east wall (either that or you enter directly into a principal room).

    I tried the dining room in the left-over space – too small for comfort in my opinion. I see Doug did that, but really there isn’t much more than 2 feet between the edge of the table and the walls, and when a person sits down circulation around the table is impossible (again, speaking from experience!). I think the living and dining rooms should be connected, too.

    I also tried the kitchen there – again,too small, as is John’s, in my opinion. The kitchen floor area between the counters is not much more than 4 feet. This would make it pretty awkward for more than one person to be working at the same time.

    Doug’s solution to the master suite is really good. A number of us thought that the master bedroom was an addition that linked the once-separate gargage to the house, and there is that awkward entrance from the end of the living room. Doug’s plan has made a really successful integration of the addition into the overall plan – now the room seems like it was always there – there is a logical entry into the suite which still connects to the rest of the house. The laundry solution is also well considered – even without the west-side entry. Yeah, Doug!

  • Grace

    SHAPE/SIZE

    ORGANIZATION

    FRONT/BACK ENTRY

    INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING

    KITCHEN

    DINING/STUDY

    BEDROOMS

    BATHROOMS

    GARAGE/LAUNDRY

    CONCLUSION: HOW FAST OR SLOW?

    Hope you are on the mend, John.