Reaching Move-Up Buyers

The problem with plan According to the builder, Juniper Hill is currently selling at $425,000 in Charles Town, W.V. Although the plan currently has some weak spots, the price needs to increase when built in the next location, Loudoun County, Va., which m

December 31, 2005

This article first appeared in the PB January 2006 issue of Pro Builder.

The problem with plan

According to the builder, Juniper Hill is currently selling at $425,000 in Charles Town, W.V. Although the plan currently has some weak spots, the price needs to increase when built in the next location, Loudoun County, Va., which means the plans need to be adjusted to make this happen. Principal architect, Barry Glantz provided this builder with the changes needed to make this plan what it needs to be for the next neighborhood. The following five items were requested by the builder to have changed:

The front stairs are too close to the front door.
The family room is too open to the kitchen.
There is no den.
The closets in the Owner's bedroom are not large enough for the suite.
The hall bath is too small.

Solutions

Glantz came up with the following solutions:

To increase the amount of space in the front of the stairs, move the front door out 1 foot 6 inches. This adds 21 square feet to the space, while still allowing for an offset in the front elevation of the house.
To allow for more privacy and separation from the family room to the kitchen, make the bookshelves full height on the family room side. This also allows for additional upper cabinets in the kitchen.
To create space for a den, bump out a portion of the original living room wall to be even with the family room. This allows for the creation of a den in the remaining space. To create interest in the new living room, add 8 inches decorative columns on top of a 1 foot 6-inch high knee wall with an arched opening.
Add the closet space from bedroom #2 to the master suite closet. Then add a second closet between bedrooms #2 and #3 for bedroom #2, and move the linen closet from the hallway to the space between bedrooms #2 and #3. This reduces the overall size of the master bedroom by 2 feet but adds space to the master suite closet.
To increase the size of the hall bath, bump the hall wall out 1 foot, and relocate the hall linen closet (based on solution #4). This allows space for a 48-inch vanity instead of a 36-inch vanity.