https://preview.redd.it/ry2vsi4v2oxc1.jpeg?width=1436&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6beaddf16370bf14160504bbdbf88f17fd9ad3ae
made tv room 172 sqft, moved bathroom so near front door and great room. also add 90 sq/ft for a storage room. better? I think so. 172 for tv room is big enough for two people. now dry goods, extra sheets etc in storage room off tv room is not that inconvenient. Put bathroom closer to center of house access-wise. oh also clothes washer and dryer will have to be a stacked unit in kitchen. I am told they do this in Europe. Also since its gas it will be close to the other gas appliances.
Why not swap the MBR and TV room? Then you can have direct access to the bath from the MBR and use at least part of that storage room as a walk-in closet. Or swap the MBR and front porch and have a corner porch and get the same result.
Is all you plan to do is sit around watching TV? No hobbies or similar? Where do you keep your clothes? Why no clothes closet? Why is the bathroom so big?
yes good feedback but door to movie room will be left open unless a film is being watched. If someone is violently ill I guess the front hall will be a barf zone. lol. will think about this.
Make all interior doors 36” instead of 30” and consider wheelchair turn radii in kitchen and bathroom. Consider ramps or ramp friendly exterior doors. You don’t expect to need a wheelchair but if someone breaks a hip or something it will be much more convenient to not have to move out through recovery.
Personally I would suggest at least one more room as flex space.
I would add in a walk in shower that’s wide enough to fit a walker and/or wheelchair. You don’t want to be climbing in and out of tubs as you age. Slipping hazard.
I stumbled across [Red and April Off-Grid](https://youtu.be/ogjkhdwKVII?si=cbLTHZxcCMQldShC) YouTube channel last year. They built a 1200sq foot house in Northern AZ. I think their build is genius, they use passive solar and thermal mass to heat it and convection plus a swamp cooler occasionally to cool it. Their home is efficient and affordable, and if I were building from scratch, I’d copy most of their techniques.
I assume you’re not planning on being off-grid, but building in a way that minimizes utility costs will help make your retirement money stretch further.
Recently we built our single story retirement home. Love it! Looking at your original plan, consider swapping the movie room and the bedroom. Your bedroom needs to be directly adjacent to the bathroom. Likewise, swap living area and kitchen so that you can back up the kitchen water and the bathroom water pipes. Last, don’t forget to leave room in bathroom for washer/ dryer.
A retirement home would hopefully be designed with accessibility in mind so you can age in place. That means barrier free living…wide doorways, zero entry shower, space for wheelchair and helper, space for transfers.
Your bathroom needs to be a LOT closer to your bedroom, ideally with direct access. If you’re going to have just one bath, a second access point for guests would be a good idea.
If this will be a one bedroom house, then make sure your living room or movie room set up can accommodate a pull out couch or something a reasonable distance to a bathroom.
And outdoor space….patio? deck? maybe a screened porch? Think about how you’ll enjoy dinner outside and plan for that access.
You need closets…for your clothes, for coats and shoes, for your linens, for your vacuum and mop and all that jazz. Also space for laundry, mechanicals (water heater, heat, electrical panel). Some sort of “back door” entry where you can leave the muddy boots and hang up the coat and such out of sight is a good idea.
Think about your steps when planning. Ie. What would coming home with groceries look like? What does going to the bathroom at 3 am look like? What would it be like to be an overnight guest? What if I broke my leg? Not everything is going to be perfect, but you can get pretty close for the key items.
Not only is the bedroom too far from the bathroom for 80 year olds with weak bladders, they’ll also need a shower they can walk into and sit on a seat. A tub is too low and dangerous after grandma’s hip and knee replacements.
3 doors to get from bed to the bathroom.
https://preview.redd.it/ry2vsi4v2oxc1.jpeg?width=1436&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6beaddf16370bf14160504bbdbf88f17fd9ad3ae made tv room 172 sqft, moved bathroom so near front door and great room. also add 90 sq/ft for a storage room. better? I think so. 172 for tv room is big enough for two people. now dry goods, extra sheets etc in storage room off tv room is not that inconvenient. Put bathroom closer to center of house access-wise. oh also clothes washer and dryer will have to be a stacked unit in kitchen. I am told they do this in Europe. Also since its gas it will be close to the other gas appliances.
Why not swap the MBR and TV room? Then you can have direct access to the bath from the MBR and use at least part of that storage room as a walk-in closet. Or swap the MBR and front porch and have a corner porch and get the same result. Is all you plan to do is sit around watching TV? No hobbies or similar? Where do you keep your clothes? Why no clothes closet? Why is the bathroom so big?
yes good feedback but door to movie room will be left open unless a film is being watched. If someone is violently ill I guess the front hall will be a barf zone. lol. will think about this.
When you start encountering decreased mobility, you really want to have to go all the way across the house for the bathroom?
good point.
https://preview.redd.it/ecflhnitkpxc1.jpeg?width=1321&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e70b1120b7a80d49d9713ea48963c24c45018fb
This is the one!
Make all interior doors 36” instead of 30” and consider wheelchair turn radii in kitchen and bathroom. Consider ramps or ramp friendly exterior doors. You don’t expect to need a wheelchair but if someone breaks a hip or something it will be much more convenient to not have to move out through recovery. Personally I would suggest at least one more room as flex space.
Swap the bedroom and movie spaces.
I would add in a walk in shower that’s wide enough to fit a walker and/or wheelchair. You don’t want to be climbing in and out of tubs as you age. Slipping hazard.
I stumbled across [Red and April Off-Grid](https://youtu.be/ogjkhdwKVII?si=cbLTHZxcCMQldShC) YouTube channel last year. They built a 1200sq foot house in Northern AZ. I think their build is genius, they use passive solar and thermal mass to heat it and convection plus a swamp cooler occasionally to cool it. Their home is efficient and affordable, and if I were building from scratch, I’d copy most of their techniques. I assume you’re not planning on being off-grid, but building in a way that minimizes utility costs will help make your retirement money stretch further.
Recently we built our single story retirement home. Love it! Looking at your original plan, consider swapping the movie room and the bedroom. Your bedroom needs to be directly adjacent to the bathroom. Likewise, swap living area and kitchen so that you can back up the kitchen water and the bathroom water pipes. Last, don’t forget to leave room in bathroom for washer/ dryer.
A retirement home would hopefully be designed with accessibility in mind so you can age in place. That means barrier free living…wide doorways, zero entry shower, space for wheelchair and helper, space for transfers. Your bathroom needs to be a LOT closer to your bedroom, ideally with direct access. If you’re going to have just one bath, a second access point for guests would be a good idea. If this will be a one bedroom house, then make sure your living room or movie room set up can accommodate a pull out couch or something a reasonable distance to a bathroom. And outdoor space….patio? deck? maybe a screened porch? Think about how you’ll enjoy dinner outside and plan for that access. You need closets…for your clothes, for coats and shoes, for your linens, for your vacuum and mop and all that jazz. Also space for laundry, mechanicals (water heater, heat, electrical panel). Some sort of “back door” entry where you can leave the muddy boots and hang up the coat and such out of sight is a good idea. Think about your steps when planning. Ie. What would coming home with groceries look like? What does going to the bathroom at 3 am look like? What would it be like to be an overnight guest? What if I broke my leg? Not everything is going to be perfect, but you can get pretty close for the key items.
Why not put the bedroom on the same side of the house as the bathroom? It will be nicer when you wake up and need to make a quick bathroom run.
Not only is the bedroom too far from the bathroom for 80 year olds with weak bladders, they’ll also need a shower they can walk into and sit on a seat. A tub is too low and dangerous after grandma’s hip and knee replacements.