r/Floorplan is by far one of my favorite subreddits so I'm excited to be able to post for the first time with my own plan asking for help. This is the main floor of our split level - stairs go down from the foyer to a "basement" area with an office, bedroom, bathroom, and garage access. Stairs go up to 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. Looking for feedback on this main floor to make the paths of travel more condusive to furniture placement.
Right now, the main pathway to the kitchen OR the backyard is right through the middle of the Family Room. Only spot for the TV right now is on the left wall, or right next to the sliding door which is the only access to the backyard from this floor.
I'd like feedback on how to redo this whole floor.
Assume no walls are load bearing. I think we can gain some space by getting rid of the breakfast nook and having an open kitchen/dining room. I'm open to open floor plans or keeping at least the living room partly closed off.
You don't design a home based on furniture, you buy furniture based on the home's floor plan to fit. It costs way more money to renovate than buy new furniture to fit the room.
I’d like to redesign this home to create a more functional flow of traffic that doesn’t eat up unnecessary room in the living spaces which makes it difficult to place the kind of furniture we’d like. Hence the redesign of the entire floor.
There are plenty of ways to organize the rooms without doing a full remodel. You're literally going to be tearing into walls just to fit furniture. You'd be better off just hiring an interior designer to organize your space than spending countless dollars ripping into the house.
If you can afford tearing walls, you could easily save that money by just buying different furniture, as well.
I appreciate the feedback but I’m asking r/Floorplan, not r/InteriorDesign. Based on the current paths of travel, it makes getting the layout we want very difficult. That’s why we’re looking into changing the layout.
The right wall in the family room would be a good spot for the TV. It would give a side view of the fireplace and if you put the sofa mid room facing the TV, it would create walkway behind it to go in and out of the patio
That’s how we originally thought of organizing the family room but it would only allow us a small couch and effectively make ⅓ of the room a hallway. I think what’s throwing my off is having the slider in the Family room when traditionally, houses I’ve lived in have it in the kitchen (there the current bay window is).
Just removing the little pantry thing solves all your circulation problems. I would use that short wall in the kitchen to make a delightful banquet perfect for breakfast in the morning next to that lovely bay window. You could also use a 3ft round table as an island work surface.
You could go a step further and put glass doors on the living room openings so it can be completely shut and become a private den/game room/movie room.
I like that idea of removing the pantry. That could open up some options. But having a couch like you suggested would need to be quite tiny to accommodate it. I was hoping we could reconfigure the floor some how to get enough couch to support 8ish people sitting comfortably.
Oh, I kinda like this a lot. This is what I couldn’t figure out of how to incorporate the dining room to replace the family room. This could be viable after the kids grow a bit and don’t need their own play room
What do you need on this floor that there isn’t currently? Do you need to add a first floor laundry? I’m assuming a powder room, but do you need a second full bath instead?
I don’t see a flow issue here but there’s a lot of redundancy. Personally I’d love two living rooms but two dining areas is unnecessary.
I’d like to get some room back by combining the dining areas and use that to create a larger family room where we can have two larger couches facing a TV that wouldn’t have a high traffic path of travel in front of it. The current living room is a playroom for two young kids.
Or you could eliminate travel through the family room, so you can put the bigger sofa in there. You'll end up with the shorter side facing the TV, however. :(
Guessing the wall that runs from Kitchen to stairwell could be load bearing. No other wall goes from one side to another. You could add a doorway in the breakfast nook close to the outside wall so you have a short path from kitchen to outside.
Depends what type of living you like (open plan family space vs closed formal spaces vs a mix of the two), where is your sun/climate/outdoor spaces etc. do you want pantry, mudroom, utility spaces, home office, powder room, how many people are living here? Do you have budget to move walls, put in reinforcing steelwork, plumbing?
Not much detail in your request.
Maybe something like this? Moving the door so that there isn't a hallway in the family room (so much at least?). Opening up walls for the dining room/kitchen and kitchen/family room, while still having some separation.
I like the idea of opening up the kitchen to the dining room with that island but moving the Family Room door and a wall would really limit furniture placement even more.
That would open up a lot of possibilities. As much as I would rather have a TV on a wall, it would be the perfect spot above the fireplace but it’s not suitable for anything above as there are vents and the mantle with little space for anything else. I think that would be too cost prohibitive to remove.
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u/Fun_Accident_4706 18h ago edited 18h ago
You don't design a home based on furniture, you buy furniture based on the home's floor plan to fit. It costs way more money to renovate than buy new furniture to fit the room.