Evaluating Floor Plans

Needs vs. Wants 1st thing to think of: 2nd thing to think of: Absolute needs: bedrooms, baths, storage closets, etc. 2nd thing to think of: Wants: fireplace, patio, room for workout equipment, etc.

3 Main Areas of a House Living area: includes living room, dining room, and family or recreation room. Also may include a study, den, library, music room, or hobby room, as well as entryways, patios and porches. Sleeping area: includes bedrooms, bathrooms, and dressing rooms. Service area: includes the kitchen, clothes-care center, utility room, basement, and garage.

In a good floor plan, the rooms in each area (living, sleeping, or service) should be grouped together to form a compact unit since they share similar functions.

Circulation Circulation: the route that people follow as the move from one place to another in the home. Not limited to hall space; it passes through a room. Generally 3 to 4 ft. of space should be allowed for circulation paths. Circulation frequency: refers to the number of times a route is repeated in any given period.

Types of Circulation 4 basic types of circulation: Family Work Service Guest

Family Circulation Most complex and difficult to identify because members of each household have different living habits that produce different circulation patterns. What might be a pattern for you may not be the same for your little brother.

General rules for family circulation: Bath is located close to bedrooms Indoor living area is readily accessible to an outdoor living area such as a patio or deck. Related rooms should be close to each other. High-frequency circulation routes are short and simple. Excessive hall space is avoided. Rooms are not cut in half by circulation routes.

Work Circulation Kitchen is the general hub of the work circulation pattern. Circulation should move easily from the refrigerator to the sink to the cooking units and to the eating areas. Kitchen should be located adjacent to the dining area. Kitchen should also be located near the service entrance for convenience in many tasks.

A good work-circulation pattern should provide easy access to the basement, garage, and storage areas throughout the home. The laundry room also needs to be conveniently located since many trips are made to this work area.

Service Circulation Service circulation refers to the movement of people in and out of the home as they make service calls, deliver goods read meters take out garbage, etc. In a good floor plan no one should have to walk through the kitchen to get to the basement, or walk through the dining room to bring groceries into the kitchen.

Guest Circulation Guest circulation involves movement from the entry to the coat closet and to the living room with access to the bathroom. Guests should be able to move from the entry to the living area without passing through other rooms.

Circulation Frequency Once circulation patterns are identifies, they should be evaluated to see how often a family member walks from one room to another, compared to a guest moving about the house. Realistically, all floors plans are compromises-no floor plan is perfect. The main goal when looking at buying a new place is to find out how compatible the floor plan set up is with the lifestyle of the household members.

Room Relationships The relationship of one room to another dictates how functional the space will be. The dining area should be located adjacent to the living room for convenience in entertaining. The dining area should also be located next to the kitchen for ease of serving food. The relationship between bedrooms and bathrooms also deserves attention because of convenience, accessibility, and privacy. If the house only has one bathroom, it should be conveniently located near the living room and bedrooms.