Would this floor plan appeal to you? (fireplace, furnace, windows)

[golfgal]

Very early planning stages of our next house and hopefully our LAST house. I am considering a house that would have a large master bedroom on the main level as well as a smaller bedroom that we would use as an office but could be a nursery or bedroom too. In the lower, finished level (basement 9' ceilings) having 3 bedrooms. One bedroom would be a smaller "master" with a walk through to a bathroom and then two other bedrooms that would have hallway access to that same bathroom.

My thinking is we want main floor living as we get older. Having 3 bedrooms in the lower level would give our children space when they come to visit with their eventual families (thinking Christmas and other larger family gatherings) but for resale having 3 bedrooms on one level is desirable.

On the main level, because of how we live and the furniture we have, we would have a smaller formal living room being the "focal" point as you walk in the main door, a formal dining room to the right of the entryway. Behind the wall of the living room would be the kitchen and an informal living space. There would be a fireplace in the formal living room but not one in the informal room--mainly because I don't want to try to decorate around a fireplace and tv--just goofy set up anyway you try.

So, would a house like that appeal to you? I am especially thinking of the appeal to families with smaller children. Basements here are common, everyone has one and bonus in the hot summer is they stay cool.

[Ohiogirl81]

The kitchen should be behind the dining room; you don't want to have to carry food and dirty dishes all over the house, do you?

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by golfgal

So, would a house like that appeal to you?

Not to me.
I don't like cellar bedrooms.

Basements are the norm where I am, but the space is usually used for offices, craft rooms, media rooms, etc... because of lack of light and egress.
Ours is office/media room/full bath/laundry/storage.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I am considering a house that would have a large master bedroom on the main level as well as a smaller bedroom that we would use as an office but could be a nursery or bedroom too.

This is becoming very common now, around here anyway.
In fact this is exactly how our house is setup.
We don't have basements here so our other bedrooms and game room are upstairs.
All other living spaces are on the first floor. Master, 2nd bedroom, kitchen, dining room, breakfast area, living room, study, utility room, 1/2 bath, and a full bath in the 2nd bedroom.

[Bakeneko]

I wouldn't like bedrooms in the basement. Sorry. But I worry alot about fire and getting out, esp if I had children and was sleeping on another floor. I wouldn't even consider a house laid out like that if we were shopping for a new home.

[CFoulke]

Why not just consider a ranch house with everything on the same floor and a lower level to finish as you wish - basement, laundry, extra rooms, etc. The house we just moved to recently has/had a finished bedroom in the basement which hubby has turned into the mancave. I find it claustrophobic in there and there is no way I would sleep down there - there are too many areas of egress into the basement what with the walkout basement and windows and it is noisy when the water softener recycles and the furnace/ac can be noisy as well. On a lighter note - you're already planning on your kids coming home to roost - what kind of a setup are they considering for when you come to visit them? Would you be upset if they put you in the basement???

[golfgal]

Here the lower levels have full size windows and basements are quite light and bright. All of the windows in basements are large enough to get in and out of in the event of a fire if it is a legal bedroom (which these would). It would most likely be a walk out basement with a door (patio or french usually) that walks right out into a yard. It is actually easier to escape a fire from a legal basement bedroom then it would be from the second story of a house.

Something along this line for a family room in a basement

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by CFoulke

Why not just consider a ranch house with everything on the same floor and a lower level to finish as you wish - basement, laundry, extra rooms, etc. The house we just moved to recently has/had a finished bedroom in the basement which hubby has turned into the mancave. I find it claustrophobic in there and there is no way I would sleep down there - there are too many areas of egress into the basement what with the walkout basement and windows and it is noisy when the water softener recycles and the furnace/ac can be noisy as well. On a lighter note - you're already planning on your kids coming home to roost - what kind of a setup are they considering for when you come to visit them? Would you be upset if they put you in the basement???

Our kids don't have a place of their own yet as they are still in school so no idea what they would have for us . I wouldn't have an issue with sleeping in a basement bedroom. Our oldest has his room in our basement now and the other two wouldn't think twice about staying in a bedroom in a basement like we plan. They are arguing over who gets our oldest's bedroom when he moves out.

As for putting everything on one floor, we would have everything WE want on one floor, the basement would be more for company. I am thinking down the road and not wanting to climb stairs, etc. to do laundry, etc. All of that would be on the main level.

[golfgal]

This is a pretty typical basement bedroom around here.

[puntin]

We looked at a house that was similar to what you are talking about. My daughter hated the idea of sleeping in the basement. That was definately one of the reasons we didn't buy it.