Grantham or a Stoneybrook?

[ssmith]

OK all you CYVers. I would like to know... did you buy a Grantham/Cumberland/Birdie or a Stoneybrook/Anna Maria/Bogey floor plan type and why you bought the one you did. I know it is a matter of personal choice; but I do see advantages and disadvantages to both floor plans. Someone once mentioned that they hated the walls of the CYV and that it made them feel like in prison. Has anyone else felt that way? After reading Vinny's post ( he is happy in his Anna Maria but not too happy about the laundry in garage) it got me wondering which floor plan is liked the most. How do you handle the curved driveways? and the samll garage? For those in the Granthan type floor plan, have you found creative ways to arrange furniture around the Television? With the kitchen counter so close it seems a bit cramped or is it? Can't decide. Please be kind in your posts. Remember others have the other floorplan and probably LOVE it.

[Ohiogirl]

maybe you've narrowed it down to the 2 larger models, but I'll throw in my 2 cents worth anyway. Bought a Bonita/Foxglove because it was the cheapest 3 bedroom CYV and because of the inside laundry room. Didn't even look at the Cumberland/Grantham because it was over our price range. The next year when we visited (we won't be moving down until this fall) we went thru an open house for a Grantham/Cumberland and thought we would be moving again when we moved down.

Every floor plan (not just CYV) has pluses and minuses - and not just in TV. There is no perfect house - I know, I've had 22 of them!

Changed our minds again when we looked at a Grantham/Cumberland the 2nd or 3rd time. The laundry room is much smaller, and I think you walk thru the laundry room from the garage. I don't know about the rest of you, but I hang my lingerie up to dry in there and I think people tend to follow you into the house many times, like when you're coming back from golf to cookout or whatever.

other things we decided were not for us:

- location of lanai from the kitchen. We grill out a LOT and like the setup for the Bonita/Foxglove. That's just us, other people may hardly ever cook out.

- back to the laundry room. Ours has room to move the basic fridge that came with it in there - we plan to buy a french door stainless when we move down this fall. We need a separate beer/pop/extra freezer and fridge space for the way I grocery shop and cook plus we have lots of company. I know you could put a fridge in the garage but seems to me it would be more expensive running it in there, maybe a lot more expensive, plus you have to go out to a hot hot garage 6 mos of the year.

- garage set up. Not sure about the Anna Maria/Stoneybrook, but you can't fit 2 golf carts and a car in the Grantham/Cumberland. You can in the Bonita/Foxglove. The new Siesta being offered appears to me to be another version of the Bonita - they've made the laundry room smaller, I think, and moved it. Will have to see one before I decide if I like it better or not.

- big open kitchen - you don't miss out on anything

Things I don't like about the Bonita/Foxglove: size of master bedroom and bathroom - but, it's big enough for us and you don't live in those rooms.

I also wish the range was on the open side of the kitchen, but will have to live with it. Too expensive to move, but I suppose it could be done. I'll never know unless someone else does it :duck:

[salpal]

I agree with OhioGirl for the things she does not like about a Grantham, even though we chose one. And as stated, no house is perfect. The garage is a real pain, two golf carts are in garage, car is in driveway or parked at a snowbird's driveway. I do not like the curved driveway either. Those items are a headache.

I do like the floorplan. As far as tv placement in living room goes, we opted to mount a flat screen on the wall between the living room and guest bath. I have a sofa against the wall where lanai door is located and two comfy chairs facing the TV. Additionally I have a loveseat facing the sofa with it's back turned to kitchen. I opted to put only two bar stools to avoid any traffic hazzards. Our dining table seats six, so if it is more than 2 of us, we use the table.

We do not do lots of grilling, so the location of lanai is fine by us, and in many models, you still have to walk through a living area from the kitchen to access the lanai, so not an issue for me, but understandably for some. I love the high ceilings, kitchen and master bedroom setup. I love the inside laundry. I love the privacy walls, though I understand they are not for everyone.

When deciding on a model, one of the things we did not care for in one of the floorplans (cannot recall model name) is that there were two lanai doors on the corner. There was one in the dining area, and one in the living area and they practically met at the corners. I did not understand the logic of two entrances to lanai next to one another, and it cut down wall space. The model home placed a sofa in front of the lanai in living area, which seemed to defeat the point of a door. I imagine it was done to allow more light into the area. Now, if you own this model, I am sure it is great, please, no personal attacks, just a personal choice for me.

[ncr2482]

That was the dilemma we had when purchasing. I thought I liked the Grantham better until my Villages Sales Rep asked "how would you arrange your furniture?". It made me pause and realize it would be a challenge. We opted for the open kitchen Anna Maria (5 years ago you had a choice between an open kitchen or closed kitchen). We would have preferred a stucco model, but our priorities were 1. model, 2. location and then stucco over vinyl. We keep 1 car and 2 golf carts in the garage...tight but not unmanagable, since we use our carts much more than the car. The Anna Maria/Stoneybrook is the model with the large sliding glass door running the length of the lanai. Our Southern Lifestyles furniture Sales person helped with the furniture arrangement. We have a large sofa "floating" parallel to the large slider. It is great to have a big window to provide light, something to consider depending on the direction your home is oriented on your lot. Also you should consider the dimensions of the second and third bedrooms. The Stoneybrook has bigger rooms than the Grantham. (even bigger than some of the larger unstretched designer homes)Unless you have unlimited resources everything is a compromise...the only thing we wish we had would be a two car garage, but would we move for the garage never!

[ssmith]

Thanks for your responses...as I thought it was a matter of preference and there are plusses and minusses about all the floor plans. OHIOGIRL: the Bonita I will have to check it out. Also Salpal-good to hear about your creative use of space around the television in the Grantham. NCR-I didn't realize the Stoneybrook had larger rooms...Also glad to hear you are so satisfied that you would not move just to get a bigger garage. You've all given me much to think about.