Victorian #2

What a home this would make!

Well, bolstered by the "success" of that first house design, I decided to tackle something a bit more challenging. The "neo-Victorian" styles that are so popular today have always intrigued me, so I thought I would do one. But of course, it couldn't be some "small" 2000 sq. ft. home. Nope. It had to be large; it had to be grand; it had to be worthy.

I worked a long time on this design, and it went through many, many changes. It became "#2" when I decided to change the layout of the stairs, and so therefore also most of the upstairs. I like this iteration much better.

The front, aerial view

the front, by night

Where to begin?

The front entrance is dominated by the large, high gable roof that shelters guests from the weather while they are ushered into 2-story entrance foyer. A formal parlor is immediately at their left, and they can come to warm themselves in front of a roaring fire.

If one doesn't choose the parlor, walk straight ahead past the curved main stairway (no I do not have a "thing" for curved stairs; it just worked out that way) to the living room, which has sliding glass doors that open onto the back covered porch.

The garage, which can easily hold 3 cars (it could be even larger, if needed), has a very private, separated apartment over top. This could be the abode of a teenager or young adult (though it is fairly small). Perhaps ... it could house a live-in housekeeper, or the mother in law.

However, let's get back to the main house. The master bedroom is in the round room in the front right, and features a private deck that may be entered from the front porch. The master bath is spacious (well, the house itself is over 6000 square feet) and includes both a spa tub and "shower room" with tiled walls and a seat.

The walkin closet isn't as large as some, but it does feature a laundry chute that leads to the basement laundry room. This chute is also available to the upstairs bedrooms.

In the back left of the main level is a guest suite, complete with very ample closet space and private bath with a corner "shower room". This could also server as a mother-in-law suite, if she doesn't want to walk upstairs.

The kitchen is large, spacious, and has a handy pantry complete with upright freezer. Walk down the 2 steps to the hallway that leads to the garage, and you can either walk straight ahead to a small shop/office, or turn right and go out onto the master deck. Go down stairs to the basement, or go upstairs to the apartment over the garage.

Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms and a large octagonal family/entertaining room complete with wet bar and fireplace. The smallish octagonal bedroom over the parlor is best suited to a child, as the closet space and bath aren't quite as ample as are the other 2 bedrooms.

The back bedroom, designed with the young adult in mind, has a private entrance onto the back upper deck, as does the family room. The brick back of the fireplace is exposed to this room. The front right bedroom has the "public" bath attached to it, so there are 2 doors into this bathroom. The laundry chute is accessed from this room's closet, and from the opposite side in a corner of the family room. At least the kids won't have to carry their clothes downstairs (and mom won't have to come upstairs for them, either!).

Here are some images of this design, presented for your approval.

This is a view from the left side of the house. The lower part of the octagon (in the foreground) is the formal parlor. Above it is the "small", child's bedroom. The octagon to the left of the parlor is the guest bedroom. Yes, there are doors on both sides of the garage. I envision a sort of "pull through" arrangement, though I have not shown what the driveway might look like.

This view is from in front of the garage. It's not very clear in this image, but the garage has a "bumped-out" wall on the front.

This view shows the windows in the large, second floor family/entertaining room, and the back porch and deck.

Around the corner a little more, and you can see how the garage is arranged.

I always start at the front door. This is looking toward the living room. There is a small coat closet under the stairs, which is visible in the next image. Those are the doors to the master suite, on the right. The sliding doors to the back porch are seen through the arched doorway.

Yep. That's a closet under the stairs. Had to put it somewhere.

The glass surrounding the front door. Primitive and naive, possibly, but I still think it looks OK.

This is a view looking from the living room toward the dining room and kitchen. I added a mantle with clock and candlesticks to help make the fireplace look better.

This is a great kitchen! Being a cook, myself, I would find much pleasure working in such an open space (yet with a small work triangle). The double doors lead into the pantry, with built-in floor-to-ceiling cabinets and an upright freezer. The bar in front could be adapted for bar seating (though this doesn't show this peninsula as an eat-in bar).

This is the master bath, looking back toward the doors to the entrance foyer. Yes, this master suite is entered through the master bath. But, the water closet (toilet and bidet in attendance) are through those doors on the left, shown open. The large spa tub and shower room are through the arched doorway on the right. I think this room is "public" enough. It would have to be, now, wouldn't it?

OK, well, the formal parlor area (on the left side of the house) might make a better master suite, and the formal parlor could be moved to the master bedroom location. Perhaps I'll explore that change, and come up with "Victorian #3", or something.

This view looks toward the upstairs hall and the wet bar. The ceilings in this family/entertaining room are 14 ft. I wanted the space to seem very large and open, hence the high ceilings and the large window area. The door to the laundry chute is just out of view to the left, sort of behind the built-in cabinets.

Back to the master suite: This is the tub/shower room. The shower, as you can see, actually is a room, with a tiled bench for those too tired to stand.

Yeah, I know this is the laundry room. But, where is it? It's in the basement, which floor plan isn't shown, here. That door on the far wall is to the laundry chute, which is accessible from both the master bedroom and the upstairs bedrooms. No way anyone wants to carry clothes from the upstairs bedrooms all the way down to the basement.

Standing inside the sliding doors between the back porch and the dining room, you might see this. Yeah, if you were about 7 ft. tall. The stairs in the distance lead down to the basement, and up to the apartment above the garage.

The kitchen, in all its glory! Note the desk, for the phone, the mail, and where the cook can organize recipes.

OK, this is yet another view of the kitchen. I like kitchens (I guess).

This is a rather dimly lit view of the parlor, and the fireplace has no mantle, either. I probably shouldn't have included this image, but ... here it is, anyway.

The dining room, as viewed from the kitchen (somewhere near the desk, I'd think).

This is the "shop office" just outside the garage, where the basement stairs are located. The doors along the wall on the left lead to the "private deck" outside the master bedroom. The door on the right leads to the back yard.

The upstairs back bedroom. Note the back of the chimney (there's a fireplace on the other side, in the family room). The door leads to the back deck.

And this is the back deck, standing at the top of the stairs, looking toward the sliding doors into the family room.

The bath associated with the back bedroom. I liked the combination of the walls, tile, and countertops.

The stairs and the hall, upstairs.

This is a good view of the family room, showing the high ceiling and the windows. There's plenty of room for parties, here, with overflow out onto the deck and down onto the porch. From there it's only a short trip to the kitchen.

Here's another, daytime view of the family room.

If you were a fly on the wall high up in the corner of the entry foyer, this is something you might see.

The parlor, complete with mantle, clock, and candlesticks. Dig the funky purple carpet in the study/office.

The very purple study/office. That's a closet whose door is visible.

The guest bedroom, showing how a bed might be positioned. The doors on the right lead to the porch, which is mighty convenient.

The hall and closets outside the guest bedroom. Note the built-in shelves along the wall. That's the guest bath, on the right.

The shower room of the guest bath, tucked into a wedge-shaped corner.

This is the hallway leading back to the apartment above the garage.

The bath and sitting room inside the apartment.

And finally, a view into the bedroom area, showing the skylights. The roofline is low, but there is room enough for a bed and a table or two.