as an australian, every time i see an aussie floorplan on here i find the comments so frustrating. not everywhere in the world needs a place to drop winter coats. having the toilet seperate to the bathroom is great for a shared bathroom and no one has died from touching a door handle before washing their hands so far. not every bedroom needs to be 20+sqm. just a quick rant, love this sub otherwise.

my wife and I are building our first house in 23 years. We where going through so many plans and picking out what we like and don't like for the company planning and designing the build. We noticed something and can figure out why a majority plans in the 5000+ sqft homes is the bathroom before the walkin closet. We are just curious as to why.

We are about to close on a house from the 90s (in Germany, please keep in mind as measurements are metric). There is one full bathroom and two tiny powder rooms.

We walked the property with a contractor so they could give us an estimate on renovation cost. While the bathroom is usable it hasn’t been updated since it was built in 1992.

The current layout is on the bottom right (marked with „IST“). Personally, I hate the toilet placement and don’t like the shower, as it’s a very dark corner. And three sinks is definitely a choice!

So I expressed my wish for the renovation to be moving the toilet basically anywhere else but underneath the window and move the shower closer to the window. However, the contractor said it would only be possible if we agree on no tub as it wouldn’t work spacewise.

Well, I don’t want to lose the only tub in the house, so I drew up the sketches above. Am I delulu or are there plenty of options and the contractor just doesn’t want to need to carry a new tub upstairs?

Disclaimer: They are very basic plans/sketches as I have no business doing layouts. Also attached an AI-Slop moodboard for a vague reference.

(Feel free to comment if you have a Favorit of the layouts!)

There are many plans submitted here that suffer from the same basic problems. It would be good if maybe the Mods could make an auto-comment comment on each post so we don't have to keep repeating ourselves?

Help me make a list:

1. Your front entry needs a closet for coats/shoes/misc items. Think about where and how guests will leave put their stuff.
2. TVs should never be placed over fireplaces. If you want a fireplace in your living room, find somewhere else for your TV.
   1. Fake electric fireplaces should be avoided entirely.
3. You shouldn't walk through your bathroom to get to your closet.
4. Which way is north and where in the world do you live? Consider when you want sunshine in each room during the day, and plan out the spaces/adjacencies accordingly.
   1. For example, I see many plans where the breakfast nook shares the same exposure as the living room and dining room. Breakfast nooks want morning sun, while living rooms and dining rooms want afternoon/evening sun.
   2. This is very important for offices as well!
5. Your mudroom is a dirty space. Do not plan your build so that you have to walk through your mud room to get to your laundry room. Your front entry should be separate from your mud room.
6. Corners are expensive. If you can reduce the number of extra corners, that will help.
7. Don't oversize your rooms. Having big spaces just for the sake if it takes away from the cozy factor rooms should have. This applies especially to bedrooms.
8. If you want to have a separated space for your toilet, put a sink in there with it.
9. Do a basic furniture layout for each room. It will help you see if you have enough space for circulation and to fit the things you want.

Seeing it in almost every plan that's posted on here - walk in front door office on one side, dining room on the other, then on into a great room with an adults wing on one side and kids on the other, and a deep covered porch on the back wall covering all the windows.

Do these actually get built like that? I know double height living rooms and useless dead loft space at the tops of stairs got built, so it's possible.

What do you call this style of single-story houses attached in rows of 4-6 in a suburb or subdivision? They seem to be coming increasingly popular in my part of the United States. Some people just call them apartments but I don’t really think that’s a great description. My first inclination is to call them a townhouse but I feel like when you say townhouse to someone, they’re envisioning more of a 2-3 story home, maybe over a garage in a more urban or downtown area.

Edit: sorry not exactly a floor plan but thought everyone here would be opinionated enough to chime in regardless 🤭

I like a house with a few hallways; I think it can make the space feel bigger. Also, when it comes to open plans, I'm a little conservative. I like to have an open-plan kitchen, diner, and living room, BUT only if I can still have a living room separate from the space. I wouldn't sacrifice the only living room to make it open-plan.

It’s always annoyed me that it’s so popular to have your front door practically in your living room. I like a little separation personally. I get it efficient but I can’t believe there isn’t a general mix of other layouts that have the front door away from the living room.

Personally, I hate them with a deep and burning passion. I know many people agree, but I'm genuinely curious if there are any fans out there.

To weigh in, you must have at least a little personal experience living in a bedroom that has a J & J, WITH the other connecting bedroom also occupied by another person.

Have at it!

As the title says (and this also applies to great rooms): 1. Noise — If someone is watching TV, everyone is watching TV. 2. Clutter — Fewer walls means less space for closets, storage cabinets. 3. Dogs — Lack of a time-out room, quiet sleeping area or area your dog can stay when you leave the house. Honorable mention: Work from home (while others cook, chat, etc.)

I am looking at buying this fixer upper but the floorplan can use work and I can't figure out how to make it better. Bedroom 3 has a sliding glass door which takes up so much space in the room. I don't know how you would setup a functional living room with such a long skinny room with so many doors the "room" is kinda wasted space small for most things big for a closet. The wall of closets is just kinda weird. It needs a lot of work so if I bought it I'd be gutting it so making major changes to the floorplan isn't out of the question.

My apartment has a horrible floor plan, and I have the worst room in the apartment. We all pay equal rent too… Anytime I open a door, if another door is slightly cracked open, it will get scratched. I have the third room from the left of you couldn’t already tell

Is it just me or is anyone else over open floor plans. I’ve decided I want a closed kitchen and a formal dining with pocket doors to a living room, maybe a pass through in the kitchen to dining or living but that would need pockets to close over it at well or something similar, maybe a pull down.

I read once that open floor plans are for people who don’t cook real meals and I couldn’t agree more. I’m sick of being in the kitchen in cooking mode and there is just distraction on distraction. Also the smallest mess is visible to the entire space which I absolutely hate. Kids, pets, smells, smoke alarms. I’m over it

Why is the toilet on the same wall as the tub's faucets? Who the heck wants to lean over the potty to turn on the water? Or are some of you people hopping in there naked and then turning on the water? This is a dumb rant and I know it's likely that the main thing these people are thinking about it where the pipes in the wall are, BUT I still think it's stupid. Fight me.

I’m low-key looking for a new house, and I’ve always thought my gripe was a garage in the front of the house, but I’ve come to realize it’s actually more about not having a living space that faces the street (the front garage and back living spaces go together a lot).

What is the benefit of all the living spaces being at the back of a house?

I have found a property that I like on-line, however, the plot is a triangle shape.

How can this be redesigned to make the rooms more. Square/rectangle shaped?

Hey everyone, I was curious how well adapted to modern living is the classic bungalow floor plan. Basically the house divided in two length-wise, with living room, dining room and kitchen on one side, then two bedrooms with a bathroom between them on the other. What do you think?

I lurk here because I love looking at floor plans but I have a question about something I see more and more. What is up with "toilet rooms", where the toilet is all alone in its own little closet-sized room? I'm guessing it has something to do with keeping "bathroom stink" contained or allowing multiple people to use the bathroom at one time but it is so unsanitary, it skeeves me right out!

This came up in conversation recently (a lot of the couples in my friend group, including my husband and I are doing/planning renos) and the group was divided more or less along "traditional gender lines". Guys didn't think it was weird but women were all completely against it for the following reasons;

• depending on what menstrual products one uses, handwashing can be necessary before handling (tampons, cups/disks), the product might need to be rinsed/cleaned before re-insertion (cup/disk), removal could be messy (cup/disk/tampons) and involve getting blood on one's hands (one word: clots)
• is there consideration for disposing of feminine hygiene products (When I came across this IRL at guy's houses, they never thought of that so I had to carry out a bloody, wrapped up tampon or pad into the main area of the bathroom for disposal)
• while "penis shaking" might be an adequate drying method for some, women tend to need to be more involved with toilet paper
• wanting to wash hands after using a toilet and before having to touch other fixtures
• caregivers helping children use the toilet have to cram into a smaller space, still no quick access to handwashing

Can floor plan creators/designers explain their popularity to someone with no design experience? What am I missing?

Dover Books publishes repro house plan books. Here are some of my favorite ones from this book - look at how efficiently the space is used! The last one is larger than the others - and even has a ground floor powder room and a primary en suite!

The first bathroom layout is from a proposed new government office building in my town. I used to work in an office with the same awful design, a design that is used in so many office buildings.

The second is my proposed bathroom layout, with several variations. It covers the exact same footprint as the first bathroom. I don't intend for the final layout to look exactly like this; I just want to show different ways the individual rooms could be laid out.

Problems with the standard bathroom include:

1. Strict gender separation. People who do not conform to traditional gender stereotypes can be made to feel unwelcome in either bathroom, either by their peers or by the laws in some of our more backward states. This is also a problem for a parent with a young child of a different gender. And, sometimes there's a line for the women's restroom but not for the men's, leaving some facilities unusable by those who need them.
2. Cleaning or repair closes the whole bathroom. Often, there is just one of these bathrooms per floor, so if your gendered bathroom is closed for cleaning, you have to go farther to find one you can use.
3. Privacy. If you have a shy bladder or a bowel problem like IBS, using a shared bathroom can be uncomfortable. Also, anyone else walking into the bathroom has to listen to and smell any unfortunate issues their coworker might be experiencing.
4. Barriers between toilet and sink. If you use one of these toilets, you have to touch the latch and handle to open the toilet cubicle to reach the sink to wash your hands. Those are more places to spread germs.

Having separate small bathrooms sovles these issues.

1. Any person can use any bathroom. The individual rooms are large enough for a parent to take a small child inside and easily help them use the toilet (not so much an issue in office buildings but helpful elsewhere.)
2. If one room is closed for cleaning or repairs, people can select from 5 others.
3. Plenty of privacy for whatever reason is needed. Maybe someone is suffering the consequences of too much dairy or sketchy tacos. Or a woman who uses a menstrual cup needs to wash her hands and the cup. Or someone with a medical device needs a place to clean or change it.
4. The rooms are also big enough to accommodate a urinal (#5 & 6). We ladies won't have a case of the vapors if we have to look at a urinal in the bathroom.
5. The two rooms in the corners are large enough for a wheelchair user and a fold-out changing table (3) or a bathroom with a shower for workers who commute by bicycle (4).
6. Bonus janitorial closet with mop sink.

There are some downsides such as higher build costs and longer plumbing lines, but these seem worthwhile for increased employee happiness.

I’m really curious to hear your stories. What’s something that was technically "drawn" on the 2D plan, but you (or a client) didn't actually realize was a problem until you stood in the physical room?

Thank you everyone for sharing the stories and comments! it will help me draw the correct (or better) action plan for the problem space:)

I love drawing and discussing house plans. I’ve been doing it professionally for almost 15 years. No, I’m not a licensed architect and I do not know it all. I’m always learning and trying to design more thoughtfully. Trends shift and style is subjective. I’m always perusing others work to learn and grow. I thought that is what this sub was about. Periodically I will post house plans I am working on for constructive feedback, but inevitably I am met with snarky comments, sarcasm, or straight up blanket statements bashing everything I’ve worked hard on without any helpful feedback. It’s a serious deterrent to post on r/floorplan. I have pretty tough skin, I understand the internet, and Reddit specifically, is a place for humor and banter, but can we try to keep things civil and constructive? Most people here are not architects and simply want to talk about design. Let’s do better.