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Thanks for the advice everyone! We told our agent we are not going to proceed with the house. Even though we loved so many things about that house, we realized the 2-story family room would be wasted space. We really want a media room/bonus room. Also the concerns about noise traveling.
Our agent agrees with our logic. She also reminded us that a fancy outdoor space could be added onto a future house, but that it’s much more difficult to modify the bones of the house.
I realize it's a personal decision. But I've never had this feature and wanted to get feedback from those who have (especially parents).
I did in my old house. It really depends on the layout upstairs - ours was actually kind of a plus, because the “catwalk” area had the homework station and the rooms were set off to the side. The one thing that got annoying was everyone hollering up and down all the time.
I had a really good large ceiling fan installed and that helped the heating/cooling part. Changing lightbulbs though was a death defying feat on an 18’ ladder.
Changing lightbulbs though was a death defying feat on an 18’ ladder.
That's what made me change to a one-level house: having to coordinate the logistics what should be typical homeowner maintenance of two- and three-story homes.
Even a multistory house with standard ceiling heights is easier. The grandeur of some of these features is fun for a while, but not only do you need a huge ladder to do that stuff, you need a place to store the ladder, or the budget to hire someone to paint, clean, repair, etc, and taking all that into consideration just got old.
That's what made me change to a one-level house: having to coordinate the logistics what should be typical homeowner maintenance of two- and three-story homes.
Even a multistory house with standard ceiling heights is easier. The grandeur of some of these features is fun for a while, but not only do you need a huge ladder to do that stuff, you need a place to store the ladder, or the budget to hire someone to paint, clean, repair, etc, and taking all that into consideration just got old.
Yeah. Luckily that ladder fit on the wall of the garage and was a straight shot into the house.
Here's my old house and my old apartment, both having vaulted two story living rooms. It was soo nice to put a tall Christmas tree in there! Neither cost any more to heat and cool than my more standard houses.
I wish, though, that the OP had included a photo, because there is one style that is a hard pass NO for me, and that's what I refer to as a "bridge" over an open space, for example, from the master bedroom to other upper level bedrooms. It gives me the creeps just to walk over it. Admittedly, I live in earthquake country, but I would not want to be stuck on the second level in the case of structural failure.
And, now, after research, it appears the "catwalk" is the same as the "bridge."
That is an absolute deal-breaker for me, even if it was a steal of a deal.
I know what you mean about that design. My late husband and I saw that on a new home tour and both of us though it was just ridiculous. Even the catwalk that came down into the large family room was a no-go for us, although I did tell hubs that it would make me feel like Scarlet O'Hara coming down the staircase at Tara., lol.
we had a big catwalk type thing in the house we moved to when i was a kid. we were all 8+ years old at the time and nothing ever happened or almost happened safety wise. more recently (my dad still lives in this house) my niece was probably around 5 years old and i caught her climbing up the rails (they are horizontal). that could have ended badly if she wasnt spotted in time.
I love the two-floor great rooms. Usually this is desirable to homebuyers, which is why many new homes offer the great rooms. Perfect for entertaining and family gatherings.
But if you don't want a great room, then don't buy a home that features this. Probably 90% of homes don't have great rooms.
Changing lightbulbs only needs to be done every 6-7 years, using LEDs. You just hire someone with a ladder and it takes 15 minutes, max. Doesn't seem like a good reason to not buy a house. There are no other maintenance issues that I'm aware of, and I had a home with this look for about 10 years.
Also don't remember any noise issues, our heating bills weren't out-of-line and we had babies/toddlers, and they could never fit through the spindles in the catwalk. So no, I never worried. Stairs are much more dangerous for babies/toddlers.
We have a two story family room with a sloped ceiling. The loft and a hall surround the open space on the second floor. From a design standpoint, it looks complementary and opens up an otherwise "compartmentalized" traditional house. The family room was designed as the hub of the house, with other rooms with halls offshooting. I also like viewing the first floor from the loft space. At 3,700 sq ft square footage really isn't such a big deal and I'd prefer the open space to a room. There is also a skylight in the sloped ceiling bringing in additional natural light. A room there would cut that light off.
And yes sound travels but that's ok. Before the day of Alexa, yelling from the first to the second floor and vice versa was just as effective
As for lights, we use a light pole and since they're LEDs, light changing isn't frequent.
Property taxes though can be affected, at least in my district. They only walk the perimeter and calculate sq footage based on the home's footprint, not actual livable space.
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