What attributes makes an effective floor layout?

[saintgtril]

Hi all,

My story is I visited my uncle's house recently. The first thought that came to my mind is that his house appears to be smaller than mine (uncle's house = 99 sqm vs mine = 93 sqm) i.e. apparently his house has lesser livable space than mine. To be fair, the facilities at his project is way way way better than mine e.g. air-conditioned lift lobby, golf simulator room etc...

That sets me wondering, what attributes make an effective floor layout? I am not a fan of bay windows, planters and balcony. In fact, i hate them, but it seems most if not all condominiums come with (as big as possible) balcony.

Any opinions, thoughts, recommendations and advices on what attributes makes an effective floor layout. Thanks gurus and masters here!

[thomastansb]

Planters, balcony, BW are the worst. Useless, eyesore and plain stupid (thanks to MBT).
Next is corridors and they waste space more than you know.
The best will the room doors is alongside with the living room walls
Some toilets need to go thru some corridors. Those are space wastage as well.
Some hidden corridors like when you open your room door and there is a stupid corridor to "accommodate" the door
Lastly, open kitchen save some space since the space can be shared and no partition needed

[Spincity1]

common corridors may be necessary when all the rooms are clustered on one side of the apartment; Such design separates bedrooms from common area to provide privacy. It will not be too bad so long as it is not too long and narrow;

Rooms directly adjacent to the common area may be a negative if privacy is of high priority to the residents

[Kelonguni]

It's not the size that matters that's crucial but it's the layout.

I found that squarish living room plus dining area always feels cramped.

For the same area, it might be preferable to have longish design where dining area is one side and living area the other side.

Squarish bedrooms are perfect.

Hi all,

My story is I visited my uncle's house recently. The first thought that came to my mind is that his house appears to be smaller than mine (uncle's house = 99 sqm vs mine = 93 sqm) i.e. apparently his house has lesser livable space than mine. To be fair, the facilities at his project is way way way better than mine e.g. air-conditioned lift lobby, golf simulator room etc...

That sets me wondering, what attributes make an effective floor layout? I am not a fan of bay windows, planters and balcony. In fact, i hate them, but it seems most if not all condominiums come with (as big as possible) balcony.

Any opinions, thoughts, recommendations and advices on what attributes makes an effective floor layout. Thanks gurus and masters here!

[challenger]

Your uncle's unit, got a rc ledge. I think it is free for developer but he has to pay for it. Bay windows and planters does not help.

Your floor plan does not show the door space. Wait till you put in the furniture, then you can get a better comparison.

[Spincity1]

by just looking at the floor plans, I prefer the 99sqm one for:

1. a small foyer giving the sense of arrival/homecoming
2. a short and wide corridor separates the bedrooms from the common area, which provides some privacy
3. when entering into the unit, one will first see the living

however, the excessive BW, planter and AC ledge are major turnoffs

[proud owner]

i once viewed a unit 1259 sqft (117aqm) vs a 1100 sqft (102sqm)

difference of 15sqm as opposed to your case of 6sqm

the 1100 sqft unit felt so much bigger and spacious ...compared to the 1259 sqft

cos the 1100 sqft unit has NO balcony, no BW , no planter .... while the 1259 sqft unit has all of them

[teddybear]

And not forgetting the private lift lobby area which the developer sells to you (while in the past the developer can't sell to you while taking up their GFA as common lift lobby area).........

i once viewed a unit 1259 sqft (117aqm) vs a 1100 sqft (102sqm)

difference of 15sqm as opposed to your case of 6sqm

the 1100 sqft unit felt so much bigger and spacious ...compared to the 1259 sqft

cos the 1100 sqft unit has NO balcony, no BW , no planter .... while the 1259 sqft unit has all of them

[Kelonguni]

Typically all these add on spaces take about 10% of floor area. But I suspect also because of their existence, the length of certain areas are often not optimised (for example, a rectangular area that can be subdivided into two regions end up being one square).

Nonetheless, some of these areas do have a function in filtering noise and sometimes direct sunlight in living area.

[teddybear]

Much more than that!
Balcony already 10% that developer can sell yet is free to developer (not included in GFA)!
Then, you add in private lift lobby, big big air-con ledge, Bay windows, planter areas, these new condo units may have as much as 20% to even 30% of not usable areas compared to the old condo units!

Typically all these add on spaces take about 10% of floor area. But I suspect also because of their existence, the length of certain areas are often not optimised (for example, a rectangular area that can be subdivided into two regions end up being one square).

Nonetheless, some of these areas do have a function in filtering noise and sometimes direct sunlight in living area.

[proud owner]

Going forward, condos built between 2008-2016 .... UNLESS there is an increase in plot ratio, they have almost zero chance of enbloc, as they max-ed out their GFA.


Also, more and more developers are selling 99 LH projects on FH land... which stupid developers would attempt to enbloc a project whose land belongs to other developers ? to top up lease payable to another developer ?

[Kelonguni]

Much more than that!
Balcony already 10% that developer can sell yet is free to developer (not included in GFA)!
Then, you add in private lift lobby, big big air-con ledge, Bay windows, planter areas, these new condo units may have as much as 20% to even 30% of not usable areas compared to the old condo units!

Well then, go for one that doesn't have such large areas!

[saintgtril]

Your uncle's unit, got a rc ledge. I think it is free for developer but he has to pay for it. Bay windows and planters does not help.

Your floor plan does not show the door space. Wait till you put in the furniture, then you can get a better comparison.

by just looking at the floor plans, I prefer the 99sqm one for:

1. a small foyer giving the sense of arrival/homecoming
2. a short and wide corridor separates the bedrooms from the common area, which provides some privacy
3. when entering into the unit, one will first see the living

however, the excessive BW, planter and AC ledge are major turnoffs

Hi challenger, what do you mean by door space? I already move in and place my furniture.

Hi Spincity1, indeed, my uncle's plan has a foyer which also provide some form of privacy. Intruders cannot see the living and dining area from the common corridor, unlike my one. But i observe some guests "loitering" within uncle's house, whilst "avoiding" the foyer area. Most of the time, they will stay within the house i.e. living, dining and bedroom etc..

Hi all, i am not trying to imply my unit has a better or the best plan. As a newbie, I am just trying to understand what is a functional one i.e. small yet practical and optimized usable livable space. In fact, i am very open to comments on my plan should there be any.

For me, as what i shared, a big no no to bay windows, planters and even balcony.
I will prefer the common bedroom to accommodate a queen size bed.
To have foyer or not can be subjective? I don't know. But i do know dual key units always come with foyer.

I think a yard will be personal preference thing too. Subjective???

[Kelonguni]

Hi challenger, what do you mean by door space? I already move in and place my furniture.

Hi Spincity1, indeed, my uncle's plan has a foyer which also provide some form of privacy. Intruders cannot see the living and dining area from the common corridor, unlike my one. But i observe some guests "loitering" within uncle's house, whilst "avoiding" the foyer area. Most of the time, they will stay within the house i.e. living, dining and bedroom etc..

Hi all, i am not trying to imply my unit has a better or the best plan. As a newbie, I am just trying to understand what is a functional one i.e. small yet practical and optimized usable livable space. In fact, i am very open to comments on my plan should there be any.

For me, as what i shared, a big no no to bay windows, planters and even balcony.
I will prefer the common bedroom to accommodate a queen size bed.
To have foyer or not can be subjective? I don't know. But i do know dual key units always come with foyer.

I think a yard will be personal preference thing too. Subjective???

I like it that your living and dining areas are diagonally extended whilst for your uncle, the planter will make the dining table and sofa too close to each other and provide the feeling of less space than there is.

One way to mitigate (for your uncle) is to use transparent tables and chairs and lower sofas.

I have seen some very good use of bay windows. Planters and balcony harder to do so.

Yard is useful for families of 4 and above.

[vip]

Below from my blog post "Do you know what you are buying?" (https://propertysoul.com/2016/04/13/...ou-are-buying/)

Honey, I shrunk the psf

It remains a mystery how developers calculate the actual floor area of the units (some developers don’t even care to show the size next to the floor plans anyway). In my workshop, I tell participants that there are different terminologies: strata area versus GFA (Gross Floor Area), construction floor area versus sellable floor area, and built-in area versus open-air area.

Buyers often lament that flats built these days come with much smaller halls and rooms. Bedrooms that are used to have more than enough space for a king size bed can now place a single bed only. Living and dining rooms in older condominium projects all look very decent in size, compared with modern designs that have 2-in-1 living and dining hall but can’t even fit in a round-shaped dining table for six.

These are the things that buyers often miss when they are appreciating the nice showflat at the sales gallery. The showflat unit looks spacious. But when buyers finally collect the key, they are shocked to find that the size of their unit shrinks.

The experience is like buying the biggest size oranges at $4.25 for 3 from your neighborhood supermarket. You choose the highest price option thinking that each orange should be big enough to share with 2 to 3 in the family. But after you peel off the thick skin, the actual size of the orange flesh is not much bigger than the type of you can get at $3.25 for 10.

[vip]

Hi saintgtril, it is not the square foot but the 'quality of the square foot' that matters. I like to study floor plans and I also conduct workshops to share how to pick the best unit of the whole project based on the siteplan and floor plans which buyers won't hear from property agents.

Do you mind if I just pick 10 things to share my two cents with you here?

1. The 'usable area' of your place is much bigger than your uncle's flat. Your uncle is paying too much for 'unusable space' like the bay windows, planter, aircon ledge.

2. Your living and dinning halls are good. With a quick glance, you can easily tell where to put the sofa, TV and dining set.

3. I hope they can give more space to the living room rather than to the balcony.

4. Your master bedroom is a bit small - not much space left after you put a king size bed.

5. The kitchen is too small for a 3-bedder. Also it's better if the design can follow the logical sequence of store, wash, cut and cook.

6. The door of your bedroom 3 is facing the door of bathroom 2. You may consider closing one of the doors.

7. For your uncle's flat, the living and dining are combined into one hall. The sofa has no backing. It is also impossible to put a round-shape dining set (very important for traditional Chinese families).

8. Kitchen is good size though it would be better to have an L-shape for cooking and washing with space in between for preparing food. With washing and cooking in two rows it's easier to drop food or used dishes in between.

9. Corridor is shorter (compared with yours) which is more space efficient.

10. Both units have a bathroom right in the middle of the flat (i.e. the heart of the house) which is not very good for fengshui.

[Arcachon]

'usable area' is area you use.

3 room HDB can house 4 boy, parent and a grandparent, that is can 'usable area'

When you spend too much time in the House(apartment/pigeon hole) then you got less 'usable area'

We never feel the House(apartment/pigeon hole) too small, don't understand now HDB call small when they did so much outside the HDB.

[saintgtril]

I like it that your living and dining areas are diagonally extended whilst for your uncle, the planter will make the dining table and sofa too close to each other and provide the feeling of less space than there is.

One way to mitigate (for your uncle) is to use transparent tables and chairs and lower sofas.

I have seen some very good use of bay windows. Planters and balcony harder to do so.

Yard is useful for families of 4 and above.

Thanks Kelonguni. I swop the TV & power points to the opposite wall (living room) - so that i can watch TV programmes while i dine. I suspend the yard is meant to be part of my kitchen, just a term invented by the developers(?) to market the project as another added feature. You gain some, you lose some; as everyone can see, my kitchen is extremely small, i cannot even walk side by side along the kitchen with my spouse.

For my uncle'e case, the developer is "smart" enough to invent smart storage concept - as seen in the second and third pictures: http://www.cdlhome.com.sg/coco-palms...s#.Vz05Svl96M8. This is marketed as a feature. What's a joke. I will not want any of the bay windows if i have a choice.

Hi saintgtril, it is not the square foot but the 'quality of the square foot' that matters. I like to study floor plans and I also conduct workshops to share how to pick the best unit of the whole project based on the siteplan and floor plans which buyers won't hear from property agents.

Do you mind if I just pick 10 things to share my two cents with you here?

1. The 'usable area' of your place is much bigger than your uncle's flat. Your uncle is paying too much for 'unusable space' like the bay windows, planter, aircon ledge.

2. Your living and dinning halls are good. With a quick glance, you can easily tell where to put the sofa, TV and dining set.

3. I hope they can give more space to the living room rather than to the balcony.

4. Your master bedroom is a bit small - not much space left after you put a king size bed.

5. The kitchen is too small for a 3-bedder. Also it's better if the design can follow the logical sequence of store, wash, cut and cook.

6. The door of your bedroom 3 is facing the door of bathroom 2. You may consider closing one of the doors.

7. For your uncle's flat, the living and dining are combined into one hall. The sofa has no backing. It is also impossible to put a round-shape dining set (very important for traditional Chinese families).

8. Kitchen is good size though it would be better to have an L-shape for cooking and washing with space in between for preparing food. With washing and cooking in two rows it's easier to drop food or used dishes in between.

9. Corridor is shorter (compared with yours) which is more space efficient.

10. Both units have a bathroom right in the middle of the flat (i.e. the heart of the house) which is not very good for fengshui.

Hi, vip. Indeed for point (3), i wish i do not have a balcony, i am still trying to optimize its usage. I do not want it to be a space for airing my clothes.

For (4), this explains why i place a queen size bed, provision for baby cot (probably).

(6) - is it due to hygiene reason?

For (8), my uncle's kitchen is much bigger in usable area. For my uncle's unit, we can see that the food preparation's area is opposite of the cooking + washing dishes area. Mine is cooking and washing dishes areas are oppose of each other.

I just share the practical aspect of how my uncle and i live within the spaces according to our individual's living habits, floor plans, usable area etc...