The Home Ownership Thread

[Piobaire]

Our kitchen is not what I'd call open concept. There is a large counter at one end that faces out, and the breakfast nook is at that end too, but there's three walls and the back opens to about a 12' long butler's pantry which leads to our formal dining space. Our formal dining space looks into our main public space and has a nice set of celestory windows in the long wall then a bank of three large windows that look into the backyard/patio with some nice views of the local scenery.

As far as bathrooms...main house has three bedrooms, each with a full bath, and we have a powder room. Guest house has a full bath so we have a total four full baths with a powder room.

 

[brokencycle]

Our kitchen is not what I'd call open concept. There is a large counter at one end that faces out, and the breakfast nook is at that end too, but there's three walls and the back opens to about a 12' long butler's pantry which leads to our formal dining space. Our formal dining space looks into our main public space and has a nice set of celestory windows in the long wall then a bank of three large windows that look into the backyard/patio with some nice views of the local scenery.

As far as bathrooms...main house has three bedrooms, each with a full bath, and we have a powder room. Guest house has a full bath so we have a total four full baths with a powder room.

How big is your house total ~5k sq ft?

 

[Piobaire]

Not quite, about 4.5k including guest house. There's little dead space in the floor plan, and except for the guest, just about every part of the house gets used everyday. I really like that about our floor plan and I like the majority of the square footage is in the "public spaces" and not taken up in five or six bedrooms. It's been four years now, and once the backyard is done in the next few months, we'll really feel it's approaching complete. We'll always have things to do, like I want to create a nice front courtyard with fountain and seating area (great views out front too), but we'll be at the point where we'll be happy enough with it.

 

[Medwed]

I like big kitchens with dining options, but as separate spaces with good ventilation, light and doors. I like when kitchen opens up to non living space like a lobby or corridor. I don't' like when kitchen opens up straight into sitting area or living room it looks cheap to me even in apartment. Bathrooms and toilets imho have to open up to corridors and not into rooms. That is why I prefer 19C architectural designs.
I noticed a space argument and I think US homes on average are still pretty big. For me the issue is of proper architectural design and rationale.
I realise local market dictates what is sellable, my points are more applicable to permanent home not temp. investment to be sold in 5-7 years.

 

[Medwed]



Not quite, about 4.5k including guest house. There's little dead space in the floor plan, and except for the guest, just about every part of the house gets used everyday. I really like that about our floor plan and I like the majority of the square footage is in the "public spaces" and not taken up in five or six bedrooms. It's been four years now, and once the backyard is done in the next few months, we'll really feel it's approaching complete. We'll always have things to do, like I want to create a nice front courtyard with fountain and seating area (great views out front too), but we'll be at the point where we'll be happy enough with it.

Fountain you say, hmmm I think you are ready for family crest: http://www.patrickdamiaens.be/

 

[Piobaire]



Fountain you say, hmmm I think you are ready for family crest: http://www.patrickdamiaens.be/

That's the best you've got?

 

[brokencycle]

I have a Hansgrohe faucet with a pull down head, but it doesn't lock into the body right. Whenever I turn water off, the head comes undocked. I contacted their support, and they said I needed to move the counterweight higher up. I moved it up as high as I could, and while it is better, it still does the same thing.

Any advice?

 

[jbarwick]

We have 2,700sq ft and it feels too big. We looked at a house with 3,600sq ft and it had like 3 or 4 entertaining spaces. Plus I have found the more space I have the more people think it needs to be filled with stuff....I don't want a lot of stuff just sitting around.

 

[Medwed]



I have a Hansgrohe faucet with a pull down head, but it doesn't lock into the body right.  Whenever I turn water off, the head comes undocked.  I contacted their support, and they said I needed to move the counterweight higher up.  I moved it up as high as I could, and while it is better, it still does the same thing.


Any advice?

You might have what they call a water-hammer. http://www.plumbingmart.com/water-hammer-information.html

 

[brokencycle]

You might have what they call a water-hammer. http://www.plumbingmart.com/water-hammer-information.html

Maybe, but there is never any echoing or bangs in the pipes otherwise. The only area where I have problem is on this faucet.

 

[Numbernine]

I have a Hansgrohe faucet with a pull down head, but it doesn't lock into the body right. Whenever I turn water off, the head comes undocked. I contacted their support, and they said I needed to move the counterweight higher up. I moved it up as high as I could, and while it is better, it still does the same thing.

Any advice?

Stick it in a self-addressed return envelope and send it to me .If it can be fixed i'll fix er' for you . Seriously though thats why I bought a valve with a pot filler and spray head separate. They are not for everyone as they are a little industrial looking but I love mine

 

[RedLantern]

I think the open-concept kitchen started to be valuable when women started working. Previously, when entertaining, much of the cooking could have been done ahead of time (or could have been done by the help). Now that most everyone works and few people have help, it is usually necessary that a good portion of the food will be prepared while the guests are in the house so if you like to entertain, your options are:

1) Have someone miss out on a good portion of the social time
2) Have everyone crowd into the kitchen (usually what happens)
3) Open concept kitchen

 

[emptym]

I have a Hansgrohe faucet with a pull down head, but it doesn't lock into the body right. Whenever I turn water off, the head comes undocked. I contacted their support, and they said I needed to move the counterweight higher up. I moved it up as high as I could, and while it is better, it still does the same thing.

Any advice?

That's supposed to be common, and magnetic docks are supposed to solve it. At least that's what a sales rep at the place where we got our bathroom fixtures said. For kitchen faucets, he suggested Rohl or California Faucets, because he said they have magnetic docks. Apparently Delta's do too. We went from planning to get a CF to a Rohl land now to a Delta (Trinsic pulldown).

 

[MrG]

Our kitchen is open to the living room. I generally like it, especially when I'm cooking something time consuming or that takes a while to cook but only needs occasional tending. It's also nice because I can put on the game and/or play music through the surround sound while I'm working in the kitchen.

That said, there's definitely significant "bleed" of smells when I'm cooking. Oddly enough, this isn't as big a problem in the living room as it is in the hallway that overlooks it, but it's definitely there.

The biggest problem, though, is the flooring. Right now, the kitchen matches the living room, which I hate, but I'm not sure there's an alternative because of the layout.

We have 2,700sq ft and it feels too big.  We looked at a house with 3,600sq ft and it had like 3 or 4 entertaining spaces.  Plus I have found the more space I have the more people think it needs to be filled with stuff....I don't want a lot of stuff just sitting around.

We're right around 2600, and it's close to perfect for our family of four. I don't love huge houses, and we deliberately chose our neighborhood knowing we paid a bit of a premium for the location and lot (we have a wooded acre with a creek in a subdivision), which meant giving up some space. The only real concern I have is that the non-master bedrooms are all relatively small (the master is huge). This isn't a concern in the near/medium term, but I wonder if the kids will need more space as they get older. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll be interested in adding square footage and losing the lot just so my kids can have bigger bedrooms. We'll see.

 

[Medwed]

Huge master bedrooms need to be explained to me.
Granted you need air circulation in the room , so it cannot be tiny. But anything over 20m2 or 215sq. feet is a waste of space imo. You only sleep there ,so most of your day master bedroom remains empty dead space. Why anyone needs giant masterbedrooms unless you sleep with many people at once and your bed is gigantic?