L or the izz-O?

[irvinehomeowner]

I was going to make a poll out of this but I think this merits more of a discussion rather than just raw stats.

So for the last 73 years, we've been looking at homes on Redfin and whenever I see one I like, I shoot the Redfin link over to the "boss" and a floorplan (if I can find it). It just dawned on me last week that my boss prefers O-shaped homes... and that most of the newer homes in Irvine are upside down L-shaped.

I apologize if you don't know what I'm talking to but it's basically the flow of the downstairs. In the newer homes (like the 2010 Collection),  you come in through the front door and more often than not you'll find a foyer, maybe a downstairs bedroom, stairs and then it opens up into the great room and a kitchen to your left or right. So basically an inverted L that surrounds the garage. In the older homes, you come into the front door, there is a living/dining area to your right or left you go opposite and you'll find the family room, maybe another bedroom and then it's connected to the kitchen/nook which also has a different way to get back to the dining/living room area... like a big O.

I would post floor plans to demonstrate what I mean using 3-car garage models like  Oak Creek L-shaped vs. Westpark II O-shaped but IR2's site is in templockdown and I don't want to link to another realtor's site so you'll have to find them yourselves.

EDIT: I figured it would be better if you see what I mean:

Inverted L-shape

izz-O shape

I understand that lot sizes nowadays make it harder to build the O-shaped ones and it's probably why they have gone to the great room concept but I think that's probably going to be one of the main criterias for us going forward.

Do any of you feel the same way?

[youtube]EHI1H5Vjz_k[/youtube]

 

[OCMommy]

Am I the only person who does not like the Great Room concept.  My current house, late 90's has a great room (kitchen, nook, family room combo), but I still have a living room and dining room.  I visited Carmel and thought it was a lot of space but one room?  Sonoma Plan 3 is bigger than my current house, but would not fit all my furniture.  I feel like I am living in the past and everyone is moving forward to a new conept! 

 

[usctrojancpa]

Am I the only person who does not like the Great Room concept.  My current house, late 90's has a great room (kitchen, nook, family room combo), but I still have a living room and dining room.  I visited Carmel and thought it was a lot of space but one room?  Sonoma Plan 3 is bigger than my current house, but would not fit all my furniture.  I feel like I am living in the past and everyone is moving forward to a new conept! 

No, you just prefer a more traditional layout.  The more traditional type of floor plans are found in older homes in Irvine...the best being located in Northwood Pointe and Westpark.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Tustin Ranch also has more "traditional" type plans which follows why it's the next most popular area after Irvine for all the TICBs (Talk Irvine Credit Buyers).

 

[OCMommy]

Agreed.  There are some beatiful 3 car garage homes in Tustin Ranch going in the 900's.

 

[sonoma]

I feel like the "O" floorplans have a lot of wasted space.  I grew up in one of those houses and I swear we only used half the first floor.  The dining room and living room were hardly walked on.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I feel like the "O" floorplans have a lot of wasted space.  I grew up in one of those houses and I swear we only used half the first floor.  The dining room and living room were hardly walked on.

How big was the house and how many people were in your family?

When we had a 2500ft izz-O floorplan... we used every living area... we ate in the nook, did school work, opened mail, worked in the dining room... chatted with friends in the living room, watched TV in the family room and the kids played in the downstairs 5th bedroom.

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

I feel like the "O" floorplans have a lot of wasted space.  I grew up in one of those houses and I swear we only used half the first floor.  The dining room and living room were hardly walked on.

How big was the house and how many people were in your family?

When we had a 2500ft izz-O floorplan... we used every living area... we ate in the nook, did school work, opened mail, worked in the dining room... chatted with friends in the living room, watched TV in the family room and the kids played in the downstairs 5th bedroom.

It just depends on how people use the space.

In our tiny current house of 1500 sq ft, the living room does not get used.  And we have 5 people in the house.  There's no living going on in our living room  ???

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Wow... a separate family room and living room in a 1500sft house? Talk about space efficiency.

And yes, it is about usage. When you have friends or relatives over... does the living room get used?

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

Wow... a separate family room and living room in a 1500sft house? Talk about space efficiency.

And yes, it is about usage. When you have friends or relatives over... does the living room get used?

Our kitchen and family room is one open space, so we tend to gather in kitchen and family room even though it gets a little crowded.  The living room gets used only when someone like realtor or contractor comes to discuss official business.

 

[sgip]

Our RSM area KB home had very high vaulted ceilings and a fireplace that bi-sected the family room and the dining room. We put a loft in one part of the home and removed the fireplace, opening up to a "great room" feeling. Best money ever spent and didn't eat up the back yard or do much to the original footprint of the home. It was simply a good house made better.

In some of the well built homes you can make of it what you want. With the construction trade in recession, I'm sure what was a $50k job in 2007 is now a $35k or less transaction today. If you find a neighborhood with a home you can live with, send a contractor over to see what any post closing changes could be done. That's about the only way you'll get what you're looking for other than a ground up custom home.

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

That's also what I like about the older izz-O floorplans... they usually have vaulted ceilings where you can add loft space or even an extra bedroom at a reasonable cost as long as the ceiling is high enough.

We can look for 3 or 4 bedroom homes knowing we have the ability to expand later. You can't even do that in the 2010 Collection.

 

[sonoma]

I feel like the "O" floorplans have a lot of wasted space.  I grew up in one of those houses and I swear we only used half the first floor.  The dining room and living room were hardly walked on.

How big was the house and how many people were in your family?

When we had a 2500ft izz-O floorplan... we used every living area... we ate in the nook, did school work, opened mail, worked in the dining room... chatted with friends in the living room, watched TV in the family room and the kids played in the downstairs 5th bedroom.

We had 6 people in the house.  Let's face it.  Unless you have friends coming over all the time, a living room is a big waste of space in this day in age for a 2500 sq ft house.  Also, all the old style homes have 8 foot ceilings.  Way too low for me. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

We had 6 people in the house.  Let's face it.  Unless you have friends coming over all the time, a living room is a big waste of space in this day in age for a 2500 sq ft house.  Also, all the old style homes have 8 foot ceilings.  Way too low for me. 

I can agree that the living room might be redundant space... but two dining areas seem ideal to me... one for everyday eating... the other for other stuff.

Not sure what old style homes you are referring to... many of these izz-O style homes built in the 90s had vaulted ceilings, even in the master.

 

[sonoma]

I lived in one built in the 80s. The ceilings in the bathrooms, secondary bedrooms, kitchen, and family room were 8 feet popcorn ceilings.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I lived in one built in the 80s. The ceilings in the bathrooms, secondary bedrooms, kitchen, and family room were 8 feet popcorn ceilings.

Ahh.... 80s <> 90s.

Although I wonder if popcorn ceilings will come back.

I remember back in the mid-90s helping a friend upgrading his house for a move-in and he was actually putting the popcorn finish on his ceiling. I asked him why because most people take them off and he said he liked it... heh.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

My only response to PatStar's pictures:

:-*

 

[usctrojancpa]

I lived in one built in the 80s. The ceilings in the bathrooms, secondary bedrooms, kitchen, and family room were 8 feet popcorn ceilings.

Ahh.... 80s <> 90s.

Although I wonder if popcorn ceilings will come back.

I remember back in the mid-90s helping a friend upgrading his house for a move-in and he was actually putting the popcorn finish on his ceiling. I asked him why because most people take them off and he said he liked it... heh.

mmmmmm popcorn.  I'm gonna have some when I go see Wall Street II tonight. 

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

I lived in one built in the 80s. The ceilings in the bathrooms, secondary bedrooms, kitchen, and family room were 8 feet popcorn ceilings.

Ahh.... 80s <> 90s.

Although I wonder if popcorn ceilings will come back.

I remember back in the mid-90s helping a friend upgrading his house for a move-in and he was actually putting the popcorn finish on his ceiling. I asked him why because most people take them off and he said he liked it... heh.

mmmmmm popcorn.  I'm gonna have some when I go see Wall Street II tonight.

When I remodeled my current house, we had popcorn ceiling removed.  The house was a lot quiter with popcorn ceiling.  So there is an advantage to popcorn ceiling.

 

[freedomcm]

popcorn:

I thought they stopped putting it in in the early 70s?

I just read that bedbugs can infect a popcorn ceiling.  They are having a big problem with that on the east coast (coming soon to a house near you!).  Imagine having to remove your ceiling to get rid of the pests.