When building your next home, you have the opportunity to change specific elements of your current home that you’ve found cumbersome and impractical. One particular opportunity that is present during the design phase is the ability to place certain rooms where they’ll be most convenient for you and your family. How you typically use and live in these rooms will dictate where they’re best placed within your home. Here are a few of the most important rooms, in terms of placement, and some insight into how to consider where they should be located in your home.
- Laundry room
The placement of your laundry room is arguably the most personal decision you’ll make in your home. Ask ten people where they’d most like their laundry room and you’re likely to get ten different answers. Generally, having the laundry room close to the bedrooms makes the most sense, but some prefer to have it close to the main entryway in order to immediately capture muddy clothes. Others are open to an upstairs laundry room, but some don’t want to be forced to walk up and down stairs just to do a load of laundry. This is where a careful analysis of how you use your current laundry room will come in handy and give you an idea of where it will work best in your next home.
- Master suite
It’s tempting to want your master bedroom to be close to the living room and kitchen so that all your most often used spaces are close by. When you do so, however, you put your peaceful bedroom in high traffic areas, which makes it much less peaceful. This is especially true if you have other members of your family living in your home who will be using those areas while you’re sleeping. Remember too that you also don’t want to be too close to the garage either. While, ultimately, these decisions are up to you, most people find that avoiding sharing a wall with a high traffic area makes for a more usable and enjoyable master suite.
- Kitchen
Again, consider how you most often use the kitchen. Of course it’s a place to prepare meals. For many, it’s also where most meals are eaten. You’ll also be bringing in groceries weekly to unload there. And, during parties, it’s the room where most guests congregate for some reason. With that in mind, where should the kitchen be located? In most cases, putting it close to a main entry point is preferable. This way, unloading groceries is simple, guests gain quick access to it and, while you’re cooking, it’s easy to keep track of who comes and goes. In many cases, it’s a good idea to put the kitchen close to the main living area too. Not just so snacking options are close by, but also because it diverts some of the traffic from the living room through the kitchen.
- Garage
The placement of your garage is slightly more limited than other rooms, but it still requires some thought. It’s likely to be on the front or side of your home and on the main level. Based on what we know about the placement of other rooms, we also know it’s likely to be near your kitchen. You probably don’t want it close to any bedrooms if possible, however. If your family is one that uses the garage as the main point of entry, it’s also a good idea to place the laundry room close by. Consider that, especially if you have small, active kids, there may be many dirty shoes and articles of clothing coming through the garage. You certainly don’t want those going directly into a living area or bedroom. Having them in the kitchen isn’t so bad, and of course being able to divert them directly into a laundry room or mud room is ideal.
At Perry Hood Properties, we have more than 30 years of experience building homes for families in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. After considering how your family uses your home, come see us for recommendations and suggestions on designs for your new home. Contact us today to start your home building process, or consult our listings of already constructed and available homes.