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oladulce
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Help with dream home design- master bdrm, up or down?
We're working on the plans for our home in Baja Sur and would like some opinions. Should the master bedroom and bath be upstairs, or on the ground
level?
Here's the set-up and plans so far:
This will be our main residence in 2 years. It's just the 2 of us, no big extended family, and probably won't have a lot of visitors due to the remote
location (ok, we don't have many friends).
It's solar powered and no Air condit in the plans. It's on the Pacific and gets plenty of side-shore/off shore "breezes" off the desert for
ventilation. More of a problem is balancing open windows for ventilation with the ever-present dirt in the air.
Downstairs will be the kitchen, living room, utility/laundry room, a bathroom and a guest bedroom. There's a separate self-contained guest casita
already built, (as well as a large garage and solar utility room). Upstairs we'll have an office/computer room with a view deck accessible by
staircases inside and off the main patio below. If we're not outside, the main rooms we'll spend time in are the kitchen and upstairs office.
Wherever the "Master" is, it will include bedroom, spacious bath and walk-in closet area.
The property is on the oceanfront with wide open views and a spacious property so the proximity of neighbors (and privacy) is not a problem.
Having an ocean view from the master bedroom isn't a priority to us. (Any window on the 2nd story will have a nice view of something- sunset over the
desert, mesas across the bay etc, even if it's not on the ocean side ). Our main priority for the master bdrm is good ventilation for comfortable
sleeping, as well as a practical layout and easy to clean, and privacy from the main living area.
This is a dirty place! Trips to town are on dirt roads, either by ATV or dune buggy. Besides surfing, kayaking, fishing, etc, days are spent
gardening and working to maintain this self-contained home. You change clothes a lot throughout the day around here, whether working
or playing.
So the question is, will it be a pain to trudge up the stairs to change clothes multiple times per day? Any other down sides to a 2nd story bedroom?
We're 50 y.o. and assume that by the time we're old enough that stairs become difficult, we may no longer be surfing and won't be living out here in
the boonies anyway. Is this realistic?
I would appreciate your pros and cons for 2nd story bedrooms and experiences, and any other opinions you can offer. We feel very lucky to be on this
property and although we don't need a huge mansion, we'd like the home to be worthy of this dream location.
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fishbuck
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That's a good question! I'm wrestling with the same issue. I think ideally, everything is on the ground floor. Do you really need 2 stories?
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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bajajudy
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Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
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I would go with one floor especially since view isnt important. No matter how healthy you tell yourself going up and down the stairs will be, you
will find yourself saving up for a trip upstairs with a list of everything that you need from up there.
As for dirt......get used to it. With the winds we had 3 weeks ago, I would dust and one hour later need to do it again. My solution was to stop
dusting and stay inside with the windows closed. Some days that is all you can do. I keep telling myself that dust is better than mold and mildew.
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Al G
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Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
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Mood: Wondering what is next???
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9 out of 10 regret a master bedroom upstairs...most move down sooner or later...usually right after one or the other moves into their own bed.
Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
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oladulce
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Good responses- thank you.
Fishbuck- an elevated deck will provide amazing views so that's definite "must have" and it will be cool to have the computer /work-out room upstairs
too. Putting the bedroom up there too was an afterthought.
Judy- You're right! Now I remember why I talked myself out of this before. I pictured hauling dirty clothes downstairs to wash, and carrying folded
clothes back up stairs. We got hung up in the image of billowing curtans and soft light at sunset in an airy upstairs bedroom ...
I wonder if people who enjoy their master bedroom on the 2nd floor are those with full-time house keepers?
Al G- That's the kind of input I was looking for- if people would change their floorplan if they could. Thanks.
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Russ
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Oladulce: It really sounds like you considered most of the important stuff. Air flow being prime during the hot/humid time of the year. My first place
was two story with the bed room up top. I found you'll soon get use to the stairs with many trips up & down. Some times first thing in the morning
going down to put the coffee on my ankles hunt a bit but by the time I headed back up they were fine. Here are some of the things I found that were
important during construction of my second place. Have all copper lines run through a conduit like polypipe or plastic, where the gas (propane) lines
come out of the wall have them in a recessed box so the valve is protected and the appliance slides against the wall, the box needs to be large enough
to screw the gas line in form the appliance on and turn the valve on and off, put more electrical outlet plugs in than you think you'll need and have
some of those on exterior walls go through for outside plugs. for the 90º turns in the electrical use sweeps because sharp 90º turns will be hard to
pull wire threw or they will get kinked and be useless. I found the having the doors and window (french style allows more air in) open out helped keep
water from coming in during storms. There are pros and cons on that. I have a 1" drop to the patio for the same reason. Locate the hot water heater as
close to the shower and kitchen sink as possible. Run 2" contuit for your solar, radio antennas ( VHF & XM), TV & satellite services. Those
are some of the things I keep in mind when drawing my new dream home. Here is a shot of the start of my newest idea. I'm living in the guest house
now. Good luck!
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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oladulce
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| Quote: | Originally posted by morgaine7
From what you describe, I'd also put the main bedroom downstairs. Sounds like you'd end up using the guest room or laundry as a changing room. Kate
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I can picture that exactly Kate- we'd each have a pile in the laundry room where we'd go to change throughout the day because it was more convenient.
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El Jefe
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We put all our rooms on the first level and are glad we did. Our roof is a large open area with a ramada over part of it for shade. We put a half bath
up there so our drunk friends wouldn't pee off the roof. Also works well when we have "campers" on the roof.
Think about wind protection on the roof. It can get cool on the pacific side and you will enjoy the outdoors upstairs if you can get out of the wind
sometimes.
On hot nights we get a cool off-shore breeze that usually kicks in around 10PM. Probably the same happens at your place. We wish that we would have
placed a large window on the inland side of the bedroom to allow a good air flow through the room and out the ocean side sliding door. Instead, the
bathroom blocks that side. The wind blows parallel to the other wall with windows in the room. I'm thinking of making a scoop.......
Have fun with your project, and good luck.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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fishbuck
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| Quote: | Originally posted by oladulce
Good responses- thank you.
Fishbuck- an elevated deck will provide amazing views so that's definite "must have" and it will be cool to have the computer /work-out room upstairs
too. Putting the bedroom up there too was an afterthought.
Judy- You're right! Now I remember why I talked myself out of this before. I pictured hauling dirty clothes downstairs to wash, and carrying folded
clothes back up stairs. We got hung up in the image of billowing curtans and soft light at sunset in an airy upstairs bedroom ...
I wonder if people who enjoy their master bedroom on the 2nd floor are those with full-time house keepers?
Al G- That's the kind of input I was looking for- if people would change their floorplan if they could. Thanks. |
I know what you mean. I've been thinking of adding a second floor to my plan also!
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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oladulce
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Russ-
I love your island/eating area arrangement which looks like it will allow views for kitchen workers and diners, and you won't be tripping over the
barstools in the work area. Very nice. We're not dining table-people. The 2 of us eat most of our meals at the counter- height eating bar and I'd like
to be able to enjoy the view from this area rather than face in to the kitchen with our backs to the view like many bars are set up.
I'll have the electician/plumber (husband) read your other suggestions too.
He had to completely re-wire our guest casita after construction because it was so screwed up and it took him days just to figure out what the heck
they had done. One of the reasons we're going to wait to build the main house until after we retire is so we can be on-site during construction and
hopefully avoid un-doing and re-doing so many things. Any suggestions to make things easier are welcomed.
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Russ
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The on site during construction idea is really one of the best ideas you could pass on.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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oladulce
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El Jefe-
When we designed our guest casita, we made sure we had a window on the wall facing the predominant NW wind which would allow the breeze to blow across
the bed. Unfortunately we discovered that in the hottest part of summer, the wind often starts up out of the south and can stay that way throughout
the hottest part of the day before it swings around to the NW. That casita can get pretty stuffy and one tiny window on the south side would have made
a big difference. Luckily we can learn from this when we're placing windows in the main house.
Hopefully many of the new miscalculations we'll be making on the main house will be correctable!
Putting that potty on your roof deck is one of the smartest ideas I've heard . We did make a "surf shower" room for rinsing off and hanging wetsuits
to dry which is a room attached to the outside of the guest house (so it can share the water heater). If we were smart, we would have added a sink
and toilet for easy access to a potty when we're working outside and for any "camping guests" like you described. Oh well...
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: | Originally posted by oladulce
It's solar powered and no Air condit in the plans. It's on the Pacific and gets plenty of side-shore/off shore "breezes" off the desert for
ventilation. More of a problem is balancing open windows for ventilation with the ever-present dirt in the air.
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2-story houses in hot climates are usually not very comfortable on the top floor. trudging up and down stairs is a PITA, no matter the climate. i
recommend a single story home.
don't worry about dust and ventilation - let your maid worry about that.
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SDRonni
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Take it from someone w/a master suite upstairs......downstairs is the better decision!!!
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bajaguy
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Downstairs
My wife (bajablonde) and I both vote for the master bed and bath on the lower floor. See the attached floorplan of our Ensenada home.
PS: Broke my ankle once.......would never do stairs again!!!
http://www.bajacountryclub.com/floorplan.php?res=loreto&...
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oladulce
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When a mtgoat tells you that climbing stairs to get to a bedroom is a pain, it would be silly not to listen. A ground floor master
suite will be much more practical.
Thanks to all for your input.
I think we'll be keeping the upstairs computer room/weather forecasting center (esposo's hobby) and work-out space along with the view deck though.
I'd like to add a walk-in closet type room off the office to keep filing cabinets, and for storage of important papers, tax returns, cameras etc,
since this will be our main residence. Other ideas?
I'd love to hear any other suggestions: Things you wish you would have done on your house, or something you're happy you did?
Anything you'd design in to your dream Baja home?
[Edited on 12-10-2007 by oladulce]
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bajaguy
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2nd floor
We put a loft over the dining room......going to be the office/retreat, 2 bedrooms one bath upstairs. Floorplan works great.
http://www.bajacountryclub.com/floorplan.php?res=loreto&...
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oladulce
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Bajaguy- Is your loft separate from the bedrooms on the plan? Is the loft open to the rooms below? Is the loft access the same staircase?
We were considering eliminating one of the walls of the office so the room would open to the space below and allow a cathedral ceiling for a portion
of the living room. Still considering the pros and cons something like this.
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bajaguy
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Loft is directly over the dining room, access by the same staircase as the upstairs bedrooms/bath. It is seperate from the bedrooms and open to the
living room/entry on the first floor and also open on the second floor.
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greybaby
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The first house we built had the master on the second floor and I decided then and there I would never do that again. Even in my 20's it was a pain
to go up and down. I would be ready to go out the door and realize something I needed upstairs. Haven't wavered in this over the years as we have
bought and sold several homes. We have an upstairs bonus room now but I figure I don't have to go up there if I don't want to. Would definitely vote
for the master on the main level. Hope you have a great experience building. We did almost all of the work on our little house in Baja and it was
actually fun.
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