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.

Part four of our comparison of three top-selling one-story home plans around 1,600 square feet in size, examines these designs through the Entertaining, lens, the third of the four “lenses” that home buyers tell us they use to evaluate a home’s livability.  Of course, different people have different entertaining preferences (formal/casual, indoor/outdoor, conversation-based/activity-based, etc.)  But whatever type you enjoy, they all center around places in the home we gather.

The Shelton Farm’s entertaining area is wonderfully open, bringing everyone together.  With room for a pull-out wastebasket next to the sink, its 7-foot island with snack bar is the most accommodating of these three home plans.  The family room’s ceiling increases from 9-foot to 10-foot high, and positioning the fireplace in the corner provides unobstructed views out the back.  With no walls or obstructions, this design’s dining area can temporarily expand into the Family room for big holiday meals.

At 80-inches wide, the Jensen Falls’ front entry is the roomiest of these three designs.  It also features a 10-foot high ceiling which extends through the kitchen, family and dining rooms, furthering this home’s feeling of spaciousness.  The Jensen Falls boasts the largest Family room of these three plans, and like the Shelton Farm, this layout features a corner fireplace alongside two tall windows. 

Jogging the dining room out the back provides room definition as well as space for a hinged door leading onto a 15’-8” x 12’-0” covered deck or patio – perfect for entertaining, grilling out, or taking in a remarkable sunset.  However, that door swing will impact your table and chair placement (unless you specify an “outswing” door.)  Both the Locklear and Shelton Farm utilize sliding doors onto the rear patio or deck.

Thoughtful touches are evidenced in the Locklear’s front entry, where sunshine streams through a sidelite, a closet accommodates your guests’ coats, and a high ceiling is carried through the family room, where tall windows flank the fireplace.  Importantly, only the Locklear provides a guest (powder) bathroom.

A recessed display (between the coat closet and staircase) frames your favorite artwork or photos.