GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A MASTER BATHROOM ADDITION - MELODIC LANDING PROJECT — Tami Faulkner Design (2024)

If you’ve been following along with my design journal for a while, you’ll know that I often talk about redlining plans, which refers to the process of going through floor plans, for the purpose of improving them. The process is similar to what a proofreader does with a written document, but in this case it’s about how the two-dimensionality of a floor plan will translate to actual built, three-dimensional space.

There’s a lot riding on the process. It takes someone who is experienced and skilled to be able to catch things that would otherwise be overlooked. The goal of the redlining process is to perfect the design plans while they are still on paper.

You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site. - Frank Lloyd Wright, renowned American architect

Of course today, final drawings are no longer done on the drafting board but at the computer with CAD software. Nonetheless, the point remains the same.

Fixing oversights or mistakes are far more expensive on the job sites than they are on paper - and that’s if they can even be changed. The objective with the redlining process is to try to preclude any potential challenges or oversights before they become a problem on the construction site.

The Melodic Landing Project is a nice example of the methods and benefits of going through a redlining process before the plans are finalized.

This charming 1938 Cape Cod is located in a beautiful treelined, historic neighborhood in Northern California. The clients worked closely with their contractor to design a floor plan for their whole house remodel and addition. Just as they were wrapping things up, the clients decided it would be best to have someone review their plans before moving forward.

Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside the clients in perfecting their plans. We’ve been going from one room to the next, modifying and editing as we go, flushing out challenges and coming up with solutions.

The first step in redlining is to identify what’s not working. Take a look at the numbers that I’ve included on the floor plan of the master bedroom and bath, and then the corresponding notes where I explain what the problems are.

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The closet was designed without a door. This is never a good idea unless the closet is designed as an upscale dressing room, and fitted with custom cabinetry. Otherwise the views from the bathroom area, looking into the closet would be an eyesore.

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As designed, the sink cabinet is crowded, creating less than ideal storage, and counter space.

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Even though the tall linen would provide practical storage, as drawn, from a design point of view, it would be lack-luster, and uninteresting.

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In and of itself, a private entrance into the toilet room could be an asset in a shared bathroom, but only if there is plenty of room to dedicate to it. Given the relatively small amount of space we have to work with, there are definitely better ways to utilize the space.

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As drawn, what we have here is upper and base cabinets, much like what you would see in a kitchen. In a bathroom design, it would look awkward and out of place.

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When designing high-task areas like kitchens and bathrooms, function drives form. However, I’m a believer that with careful planning you can achieve both function and form. For instance, notice how visually disconnected the sink wall is to the hallway leading to the shower. I call this perimeter designing, as opposed to a more holistic approach. It would be far more pleasing to have the paprallel walls relate to one another visually.

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Notice how the window isn’t centered on the wall between the toilet room and shower. These kinds of oversights end up being eyesores in the built space.

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In custom homes, it’s become standard for master showers to have two shower heads. Even though the shower design is large enough to accommodate two people, it only shows one shower head. This would be a missed opportunity to provide more function and practicality for dual users.

In reviewing the final floor plan, notice how each of the challenges above were addressed. The floor plan has been perfected and refined with both the use and functionality of the space, and the over-all presentation.

Working in tandem with floor plans are elevations. They are also scaled, two dimensional drawings but instead of providing a horizontal view point they show what’s happening in the vertical plane.

A floor plan shows the locations of walls, windows, doors, cabinets and plumbing fixtures, etc. but only as it relates to the floor. The plan doesn’t show any vertical heights or architectural details. It’s in the development of the elevations that the architecture and style of homes come alive.

The floor plan for the Melodic Landing master bedroom and bathroom clearly defines the space, it doesn’t however show what the space will actually look like. If the floor plan was passed on to the builder, cabinet maker and subcontractors, etc. without the elevations, there’s no telling how the floor plan would be interpreted.

Once a “final” floor plan is decided upon, we move on to designing the elevations; working in tandem with the floor plan and making small tweaks as we go. Often times in the development of the elevations, we find places with the floor plans that need to be modified - move this over by 2”, make this 1” deeper, shift this slightly, center this, line those up, move that, etc.

While we’re designing the elevations, we’re hyper-focused on proportion and scale, with the relationship between light fixtures, mirrors, cabinet design, window sizes and locations, etc.

For example, with the Melodic Landing Project, and the bedroom and bathroom design, much care and thought was given to the window sizes and placements and how they relate to the original house, especially given the historical nature of the project.

While reviewing the elevations, notice the windows in the toilet room and shower. From the interior views, they will look like two separate windows. In the exterior elevations, they will look like a pair of windows, and will be framed and trimmed as such.

Notice too the visual relationships from one wall to the next. Designing with this kind of detail helps to preclude regrets in the built space.

For simplification and respect to my clients, I typically don’t share dimensioned drawings in my design journal but you can rest assured that the final drawings are complete with dimensions and call-outs.

The goal is to provide all the information needed, and to eliminate any ambiguity on the job site. For example, the precise locations for electrical boxes and plumbing are based on exact fixture selections and then called out, and dimensioned accordingly.

Once the framing is done, the electricians are the next subcontractors in to do their work. Right away they will need to know where to locate electrical boxes. If the information isn’t provided, then they will place the boxes wherever they deem best. Unfortunately, that rarely turns out well.

To better illustrate my point notice the differences between the light box locations based on the light fixture selections in the following elevations.

Specific and carefully dimensioned elevations will take the guesswork away, eliminate surprises and help assure that the final results turn out as planned. Otherwise it will end up being you get what you get, sort of thing, and no one wants that in a custom home.

The same thing goes for plumbing. Even before the electricians are on the job, the plumbers will be there installing rough plumbing. Straight away, they will need to know where to locate the drains. Once the framing is done, the plumbers will come back to run the pipes and locate rough plumbing for faucets, shower head locations, etc. Again, the elevations will guide them as to exact locations.

• Unfortunately, most plans today are underdeveloped and don’t include detailed elevations which creates unwanted surprises, and compromise on the job site. To avoid those challenges, secure a skilled and practiced designer for the project while it’s in the ideation stage, and still on paper.

• Likely over the years, you’ve been in homes where you wonder why they didn’t center this, or that? Why they didn’t move that over a couple of inches so things line up? Why they didn’t make something a little wider or taller? Developed elevations would solve all of those problems on paper, and guide the subs with where exactly to locate things.

• During the design of the elevations, potential oversights from the floor plan can be caught early and corrected while everything is still on paper.

• A full set of design plans should include floor plans, elevations, and perspectives. Together, the drawings express and clarify the specifics and details that are unique to the project.

• The sooner you involve a skilled and experienced interior designer on your project, the better the end results will be. Interior designers who specialize in interior architecture have a unique skill set in blending form and function. They will see things that otherwise could be overlooked, and will offer solutions and ideas.

We haven’t yet gotten to the stage of the project where we’ve started selecting colors, finish materials, plumbing and lighting fixtures. Based on the clients' request, likely we’ll go with a similar vibe as to what’s shown in this preliminary design board from the Mount Valley Project guest suite design.

PROJECT INTRODUCTION
KITCHEN, BUTLER’S PANTRY, MUDROOM + DINING NOOK DESIGN
MASTER CLOSET DESIGN

To see the accompanying SPACE PLANNING TUTORIAL .03 - MELODIC LANDING MASTER BEDROOM + BATHROOM DESIGN, go to IGTV on my Instagram profile.

Would you like TF Design to review and provide redlining for your new build project?

Let’s work together to make your home the best it can be.

Wishing you health and happiness in 2021!

Tami