HELP! What Changes would you make to this floor plan in central Texas?
We are in the early design phase and would like some feedback on our house plan. Parameters: 50 foot wide lot so it requires a 40 foot wide house (mandate). We can go as deep as we want. There is a rule preventing towering structures on small lots, so this is the reason for the upstairs side walls being narrower in some areas. 3000-3300 sq ft 4 bdrm / 3 or 3.5 bath Changes and ideas: Where to put the dining room and how to decorate it (open? glass doors? wine storage/china cabinets) - current location or swap kitchen and dining room, so you can look out to backyard while cooking Is the Great room too big.. How to decorate this (grand piano)? Where to put the TV and fireplace? Move Washer/Dryer to where the Master closet is, nearest the hallway (make a small laundry room). Enter laundry room from upstairs common area, (not from Master bdrm) and have a back door to enter laundry room thru master closet Sliding door out to patio, not man door Sliding door out to front balcony, not man door Add small windows to Bdrm WIC's to help with front elevation view If we create an en-suite for Guest Rm downstairs, where do we put the downstairs Powder Rm, without having it in the middle of everything AND without having bathrooms right next to each other? Is a Powder Rm even necessary? Thanks!
Comments (1)
# Floor Plan Analysis: Central Texas Residence
What works well: The vertical stacking of wet zones (bathrooms and laundry clustered around the central core) is smart plumbing design and will save significantly on construction costs—this efficient approach is ideal for a 40-foot-wide constraint.
Answer: Regarding your specific concerns: (1) Dining location: Swap the kitchen and dining room. This puts your primary cooking view toward the backyard, which is more valuable than looking into the living space, and allows the current dining area to become a proper kitchen with better workflow. (2) Laundry relocation: Your instinct is excellent—move W/D to a small dedicated room accessed from the upstairs hallway (not the master), which improves guest privacy and master suite functionality. (3) Powder room necessity: Skip the traditional powder room and instead create a half-bath en-suite for the downstairs guest bedroom; this eliminates the awkward positioning problem entirely while increasing guest comfort. (4) Door swaps: Both sliding door changes (patio and balcony) improve sightlines and elevation aesthetics. The Great Room works at its current size if you anchor it with a fireplace on the west wall and float furniture away from the window wall rather than centering on it.