Maximizing space in your home might mean moving a few things out.  The McNabb plan’s garage has a 10’-8’ by 6’-8” storage area at the back, perfect for long term storage, freeing up space inside your home.  Furthermore, that space can corral mowers, bicycles, camping gear and trash cans, eliminating cluttered parking and pathways in your garage.

Another way of looking at garage storage space, the Cherry Gables plan showcases a full-depth, tandem 3-car garage which could be for a third vehicle or small boat. Or, as with the unfinished second floor or basement areas addressed in our last blog post, finishing that tandem garage area off as living space – in this instance a main floor bedroom with full bathroom, or Sunroom – can maximize the space and livability of this home.

Coming in from the garage, benches topped with coat hooks/cubbies/lockers and a Drop Zone can maximize storage and organization in your home.

Covered decks and patios expand living space outdoors without the fear of plans being cancelled due to a rain shower.

For some plans, there may be opportunities to extend space beneath sloping rooflines. 

For example, in the Gainsville plan, the wall which is the right edge of Bedroom 4 and the unfinished storage area was is pushed as far to the right as possible, while still allowing for an 8-foot high ceiling in those spaces under the garage’s sloping rooflines.  Rotating the closet for Bedroom 4, and adding a closet for the unfinished storage under that sloping garage roof, maximized usable space and storage in those rooms. Ceiling height for those closets sloped downward from the standard 8-feet.

Suggesting a study loft opposite the second floor staircase in the Hepburn Terrace makes good use of that space, as does placing a linen closet atop one side of the U-shaped staircase.

In dens, formal Dining rooms, Flex rooms and bedrooms, double door swings take up less space than equivalent-size single doors. For the Norcross plan shown, a pair of 18-inch wide double doors lead into the bedroom where a single 36-inch wide door’s swing would have felt like it was “limiting.”

Flex Areas. The new realities of remote learning and working from home, ushered in by COVID-19, further heightened appreciation for flex areas in the home. In Design Basics’ Honey Springs home design, the 6-foot by 8-foot pocket office behind the garage provides workspace and privacy without taking up all the space of, say, Bedroom 3 at the front (48 square feet vs. 163 square feet). Additionally, surging interest in maximizing possible space under roof prompted designing a flexible second floor for this original one-story home, adding a relatively inexpensive 772 square feet. The uses for that space are endless!

Maximizing space on a second floor has also led to replacing two-story-high areas with finished space. Additional closets, study nooks, and sometimes laundry rooms, have taken the place of soaring entry foyers. And in lieu of 18-foot-high Great Rooms, today’s buyers prefer added bedrooms, family lounges, studios, and other flex spaces, as with the bedroom 4 suite shown here in the Mackenzie plan.

The Mackenzie, as originally designed with tall ceiling in the great room (left); and with added BR.4 suite (right).

When you think about the features which make a great laundry room – folding counter, storage, natural light, and sink – those same amenities would be ideal for other pursuits.  In the Aden plan, the washer and dryer are behind doors, presenting this flex space as a wonderful activity center, complete with work island on casters for easy re-positioning.  Would that be your scrapbooking center?  All of that storage would be ideal!  Kids’ art projects?  Hard-surface flooring and a sink in that space makes for quick and easy clean up!

Kitchens. Function and form – kitchens are asked to maximize space beautifully. Serious cooks look for abundant countertop prep space, and specifically, space on both sides of the cooktop and sink. Yet with the Sunflower Creek’s kitchen shown, it’s likely that the 12-foot deep by 6-foot wide pantry impresses the most. It would require 21 lineal feet of expensive cabinetry to match the storage efficiency of this pantry. And within the pantry, an Appliance Center conveniently keeps your most frequently used small appliances ready to use without cluttering your kitchen counters.

Dining. Formal dining rooms plus casual breakfast areas aren’t often desired among today’s home buyers, who instead show preference for single eating areas that will be used regularly, plus island snack bars. However, many families still enjoy the practical storage and beauty of dining room hutches. Hutch spaces/recesses, like the Welker’s, offer the perfect location for your hutch so that it doesn’t protrude into the eating area, nor will your hutch dictate furniture placement and traffic patterns around it.

Depending on the size of home and other layout considerations, built-in banquette seating such as the Hutton’s layout, may maximize this space, as no room need be provided for sliding chairs back where the bench seating is provided.

Increasingly popular are dining areas that flow uninterrupted into an adjoining entertaining space. Having 10 people for Thanksgiving dinner? As illustrated here with the Shelton plan, simply add the leaves to your dining table. So what if it extends into the Family Room for a couple hours? You’re maximizing the eating space and bringing everyone together. 

Beyond the actual size of your bedrooms, bathrooms and closets, what are some ways you can maximize space in these areas of your home through design?

Bedrooms. Doors swinging into a bedroom may interfere with how you want to arrange your space. One solution, as seen in the Bonham plan, pulls the door forward into the hallway leading to the bedroom. In contrast to windows in the center, placing windows in the corners offer more placement options for your bed and furniture. And at 16-feet deep, this bedroom is large enough for a sitting area. Bedroom sitting areas maximize space, compared with trying to carve out a separate private personal space elsewhere.

Bathrooms. Maximize usability in bathroom layouts such as the Blue Hill Timbers that have a sink immediately upon entry by utilizing a sliding/pocket door rather than a hinged door that swings into the bathroom. Two separate vanities provide individual countertop space for both of you, and makeup ledges above the sinks provide further space for items you want to leave out. A private toilet area makes this bathroom more conducive to simultaneous use. With 78% of adults surveyed reporting they never use the bathtub, no bathtub in your suite bathroom provides added space for a larger shower.

Toilets behind a door are wonderful for privacy, but usually lack storage space.  As seen in the Rourke plan, a storage recess/shelf appears in the wall next to the toilet for extra rolls of toilet paper and hygiene products .

Closets. A study of Design Basics’ home plans reveals new designs today dedicate about 20% more square footage to storage than comparable-size designs introduced just 10 years ago! For hanging on opposite sides, a closet needs to be about 7-feet wide (or deep.) When you can’t get that 7-feet, is a tall ceiling possible? The Slater plan shown has a 13-feet by 6-feet closet with a ceiling that’s 12-feet high. When at least 11-feet high, there’s room for three hanging rods and shelves, providing more clothes storage, plus room for a space-saving, in-wall, fold-down ironing board.

You’ll also notice a pocket door accesses the Slater’s closet, eliminating having a hinged door swinging into clothes hanging along the side.  When a sliding door isn’t possible, can the door swing back into the bathroom or bedroom rather than into the closet?  Yet another option is 1-foot deep shelving, such as found in the Angel Haven plan, for the door to swing against, rather than rather than clothes hanging which takes more space.

Look for next week’s blog post which looks at maximizing space in your kitchen, dining and entertaining areas.  Additionally, in a couple weeks we’ll be looking at product choices which help maximize space!

The final chapter in our comparison of three top-selling one-story home plans around 1,600 square feet in size examines these designs in terms of Flexible Living, the fourth “lens” that home buyers tell us they use to evaluate a home’s livability.  Flex spaces in a home are golden, in that they are designed for you to tailor to how you want your home to live.  In addition, they may serve multiple purposes simultaneously, or routinely shift from one purpose to another to keep up with your needs.

As originally designed, all three of these homes have a front bedroom which could be re-purposed as a home office.  If that’s your intent, consider that the Jensen Falls and Shelton Farm offer easy access for client and colleague visits (red dashed lines), plus convenient, adjacent bathrooms.  In the Locklear, guests need to walk through the family room and down the bedroom hallway to your office.  How would you feel about having visitors walking through your home?  How might it make them feel?

With its Pocket Office, (concept illustrated below) the Shelton Farm presents the most flexibility of these three designs.  Don’t need a pocket office or planning center?  Add a half-bath, storage closet, wine room, pet center, or a second walk-in pantry!  

Claiming the top Spot for Flexible Living is…The Shelton Farm.  That plan’s Pocket Office flex space gives it a significant advantage, as well as the design of its unobstructed dining area which can temporarily encroach into the Family room for big dinner parties.

Another version of the Locklear, plan 42315 (Locklear Cottage) re-purposes Br. 3 as a Flex Room immediately accessed from the entry.  The dashed lines suggest there could also be a door for direct access from the stoop.