Designer Floorplans

[taylor111947]

I'm looking primarily at Designer homes, but I have a couple of questions about some of the designs and how they might be modified.

Has anyone added a sitting room to the Master Bedroom - ideally with a door to the lanaii?

I haven't noticed any coat closets - is this a Florida thing? Where do you put jackets and rain gear?

A lot of the models have the laundry room in the garage - does this really work well? On my first visit, I stayed with friends and it appeared that there was a hookup in the master bedroom closet - although their washer/dryer were in the garage. Has anyone done that?

If you add a security system - can it be extended to the lanaii? I understand it is possible to allow windows to open a certain amount before the alarm is triggered. Has anyone done that?

Has anyone added pocket sliders or bi-fold doors to their lanaii? If so, what about screens?

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Tom Hannon]

I know most Gardenia's do not have a coat closet but my Iris does. (As you walk in the front door) I never saw a laundry room in the garage. In an Iris the laundry room is off the kitchen and is large enough to put a desk, end table and still have plenty of room with the washer, dryer and slop sink. What I don't like about the Iris is, the lanai is off the kitchen and main living area. I believe the Gardenia has an enterence off the bedroom. (Not positive on that)

[jaspal]

I can answer a few of your questions. We moved here in November to a Lantana. We have pocket doors that allow the sliding doors to the lanai to totally open up--LOVE them. When they are open there are no screens.
We have a laundry room off the kitchen that leads to the garage. I don't recall seeing any designer that has a laundry room in the garage. The Fern has a coat closet in front. There are some others that also have them.
Good luck with your decision.
We all go thru this decision making before we decide.

Just enjoy the journey........

[Sherman931]

The Gardenia/Camellia have a sliding glass door to the lanai from the mstr bedroom.

[dadspet]

We have also been looking at upgrading and have found the designers in general lacking in:
1 Coat closet in foyer area - You would think with the last 2 winters here they would catch on one would be a nice feature for some and most designers aren't lacking for the space it seems like.
2.Separate closets in the Master bathroom like we have in our Ranch only larger.

[Russ_Boston]

The Gardenia/Camellia have a sliding glass door to the lanai from the mstr bedroom.

And Begonia (basically same design as Gardina/Camellia but with a golf cart garage that eats into the nook area of the kitchen.

I just checked - all current desinger models have inside laundry rooms/areas.

Some have 'coat' closets.

I think most additions can only be done after you take delivery. But I have seen several that have added on like you suggested.

Good luck!

[Russ_Boston]

Separate closets in the Master bathroom like we have in our Ranch only larger.

Not sure what you mean by separate closets. I know that the Gardina/Camellia/Begonia series have two distinct walk-in closets in the hall beteeen the master bedroom and the master bath.

Or do you mean something else?

[oceangirl]

I'm looking primarily at Designer homes, but I have a couple of questions about some of the designs and how they might be modified.

Has anyone added a sitting room to the Master Bedroom - ideally with a door to the lanaii?

I haven't noticed any coat closets - is this a Florida thing? Where do you put jackets and rain gear?

A lot of the models have the laundry room in the garage - does this really work well? On my first visit, I stayed with friends and it appeared that there was a hookup in the master bedroom closet - although their washer/dryer were in the garage. Has anyone done that?

If you add a security system - can it be extended to the lanaii? I understand it is possible to allow windows to open a certain amount before the alarm is triggered. Has anyone done that?

Has anyone added pocket sliders or bi-fold doors to their lanaii? If so, what about screens?

Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Decisions, Decisions- I'm having enough trouble deciding on the Lily/Gardina. At 4:00 this morning hubby and I were on the website looking at homes. Of course watching the ice come down.

Personally I am not to worried about a coat closet. I can hang a jacket in the b/r or put a nice hook out in the laundry area.

I think I will call my sales person (Brain Thrayer) to see if the Gardina will fit on our lot.

Jaspal you must have been reading my mind when you spoke about decisions. I started laughing. I thought I was the only one.

[skyguy79]

Personally I am not to worried about a coat closet. I can hang a jacket in the b/r or put a nice hook out in the laundry area.

I think I will call my sales person (Brain Thrayer) to see if the Gardina will fit on our lot.

We have a Gardina and there is approximately 4 or so feet between where the two doors open (opposite W&D) where you can install hooks. We found a nice unit with about 4 or 5 hooks at either Walmart or
Target that we're going to install there. If you install hooks there, just keep in mind the height you mount it. You don't want the hooks at a height where you could accidentally poke an eye on it.
http://vcoders.org/forum/images/smilies/0035.gif

[Mikitv]

The Bridgeport does have a coat closet, though it is small. My laundry room and sink are inside. You can do anything to the house after you've closed on it and as long as you have architectural approval. Most of the models are very similar with just a few tweaks to make them different. 2009 you couldn't get wood floors when purchasing a new home but the new models last year were showing wood. Pick out a model that meets you requirements and tweak it is probably the way to go.

[NJblue]

Pocket sliding doors to the lanai are a great idea. Unfortunately, when we built our Lantana they were not an option. They can be put in as an aftermarket option which we are about to do.

I don't quite understand the notion for a coat closet by the front door. Other than for use by guests who enter from the front door, I wouldn't want to put our coats there since all of our coming and going is from the garage. A series of hooks in the garage is all that we need for putting our coats on.

[graciegirl]

We have also been looking at upgrading and have found the designers in general lacking in:
1 Coat closet in foyer area - You would think with the last 2 winters here they would catch on one would be a nice feature for some and most designers aren't lacking for the space it seems like.
2.Separate closets in the Master bathroom like we have in our Ranch only larger.

The Gardenia/ Camellia have separate walk in closets in the master, as do other designers.

What you can add to your designer is limited by your lot size and the approval by the Architectural Review Board.

Our friends added a nice family room and an extension to the master bedroom to her Bougainvilla(Mandevilla???)...I think that is the name of their designer. It is the one with the big arched window in the back of the living room.

[Number 6]

The Mandevilla has a nice coat closet in the foyer, of course they don't make them any more. Wonder why.

[logdog]

Our Cyprus has a coat closet in the foyer, a nice sized indoor laundry room between the garage and kitchen and two master walk-in closets.

[Russ_Boston]

Our Cyprus has a coat closet in the foyer, a nice sized indoor laundry room between the garage and kitchen and two master walk-in closets.

Don't believe that model is available any longer.

[herbaru]

Don't believe that model is available any longer.
I think logdog had a spelling error, must have meant Cypress. I still see this listed as a model on the TV gallery of homes.

Russ, do you know if they are no longer building the Cypress?

[Russ_Boston]

I think logdog had a spelling error, must have meant Cypress. I still see this listed as a model on the TV gallery of homes.

Russ, do you know if they are no longer building the Cypress?

My bad, I was confusing it with the Grand Ficus they used to build. Yes the Cypress is still available to my knowledge.

[l2ridehd]

The Cypress is really a great layout. Very functional in every aspect. My rental home is a Cypress and I have rented it to 3 different couples who were building a new home. All 3 said they wished they had lived in this home before selecting the model they built. It has a front door closet, a large laundry room with space for a desk or storage, good size bedrooms, large guest bath, large master with two large closets and a super size eat in kitchen. Nice front porch so you can sit out in the front or back of the home. The only complaint about the Cypress I have heard a couple times is the living room is a little dark. Has to do with the way the lanai is positioned and that the living area is in the center of the home. I solved this by adding a solar tube to the living room. Now that is light and bright. Also, mine has a garage that is extended 6 feet longer and 2 feet wider. GREAT plus.