Ceiling and Lighting plan Feedback

[Jeff McDavit]

Hi Tim/Stephanie, hope your weekends are going great. 

Tim, I shared the photos of the the covered porch and foyer entry ceiling with Christine and we both love them, home run, awesome character for our house! So we would like to add them to the "must haves" for our house.  Stephanie, here are the links/pics below:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/70908316/Tuscan-Smith-Residence-mediterranean-exterior

(open view of roof tiles, will do in covered porch area, ours rectangle, not circular)

Here is the Foyer Entry Ceiling Idea: (ours would be square)

Ceiling Plan Must Have:
Our must have really is just to spend more money in the dining room.  Example below, like the recessed look with canned lights on border, central chandalier, and some soothing uplights.

Ceiling Plan Wish List:
Not a must have but we really like the Smith residence beams, if not too expensive, we would like to do that in our family room.  Straight across is our style, not criss cross.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/70908126/Tuscan-Smith-Residence-mediterranean-entry

Lighting Plan:
Can remove all the ceiling fans, would like a general lighting fixture there instead to provide light for all the bedrooms and study.  We wanted the flexibility to rearrange beds and furniture.  We will have a decorative light fixture in the breakfast nook.  Can also remove the fan in master balcony.
Need additional 2 wall outlets in all the bedrooms and study.
Gallery to have wall lights instead of the cans.

Looking forward to your comments Stephanie.  As you can tell, Tim does everything with our budget in mind.  He gave us a bare bones lighting plan and ceiling plan which we are ok with (except as I mentioned the dining room) and he took all the can lights out of the bedrooms and study to get us underbudget on these items.  Thanks-- Jeff and Christine

P.s. We are in discussions with the town right now on our house and landscape design and I'm hoping by the end of this week we will gain town's pre-lim approval and then I would say we should go look for cabinets, I was thinking we can get an updated bid from Distinctive Cabinetry and then also try that place you mentioned, I think it was in Antioch?  Will keep you posted on our progress with the town.  

 

[Tim Haley]

I modified the kitchen per above + moved the phone to the peninsula.

For the Warming Drawer I typically have a microwave / 2nd oven / warming drawer (at the bottom) as a stacked system.

[Jeff McDavit]

Great points thank you Tim and Stephanie.  After visiting some cabinet places, christine and I are comfortable with the amount of cabinet space we will have with the flip so lets go ahead and do that and we can also increase the size of the larger window. 

Also, just a side note, we were checking out appliances online just to get a sense of size etc. and the 36" spot for the gas stove with range (cast hood above) will be perfect and also the 48" size fridge is perfect.  One thing we should think about is where to put the warming drawer.  We could potentially put with single oven and microwave or maybe in the cabinets next to the gas range. 

Thanks! --Jeff

[Stephanie Yeraka]

Hi TIm,

Thank you for the info on the current design. I would think flipping the sinks/windows and increasing the size of the larger window would give more visible space to the backyard? We are OK loosing some space with the uppers if it means larger window/more light in there. I think the wall to the right will feel really overpowering with so much wood/cabinet.

I think I still favor the flip and increasing the window on the right.

Thanks so much Tim!

[Tim Haley]

Hi Jeff,

I'll modify the phone and fans along with the kitchen once Stephanie has a chance to review my post above (separate issues but easier to change all at once).   As for the Occupancy Sensors - I actually don't like them personally...... but it is something we all (society in general) are going to have to get used to with the new Energy Codes (T24).  What I don't like about them is that they can go off if you are still in the space for too long (where the sensor can't pick you up).  That's why I often split the lighting so the main lighting is on the Occupancy Sensor but that you have other lights that manually have to be switched (so you aren't stuck in the dark).

[Tim Haley]

Hi Stephanie,

Sure we can modify the kitchen sink window.  I originally designed it similar to what you are suggesting but there were a couple of factors that caused us to change it to how we have it now.  The first one was increasing the amount of upper cabinets.  The second was the ease of Christine being able to view the kids playing in the backyard (not only in the East Direction but also to the North).   If you look at the rear elevation the windows in the master also reflect (not exactly) but the larger / smaller window sizes (which could affect structural shear.   All these are not deal breakers for a change by any means though (just wanted to point them out).   One other element only briefly reviewed in this is the ease of working with the peninsula (where the kids will more likely hang out).... however.... having the main sink in the center (flipping it with the prep sink) would also improve the general working triangle (which is more centered around the island / dining side of the kitchen would favor the flip.   Just let me know either way.

[Jeff McDavit]

Hi Tim,
thanks for your comments above, I do see the garage lights now and they look great.

As for the phone outlet we would like to have it on the peninsula.  For the electrical ceiling fans, we might want to do a combo because we just arent sure if the wall mount light fixtures would be enough light by itself?  I did notice the occupancy sensors in the bathrooms, cool touch! 

Thanks again-- Jeff 

[Stephanie Yeraka]

Hi Tim,

Jeff, Christine and I met yesterday at the first cabinet place. We were looking at the kitchen layout, is it possible to switch the prep and main sinks and windows? Smaller window closer to corner, larger window to the right on the long wall. Also, making the larger window bigger to let more light in and be able to see into the backyard better? I haven't opened the .dwg files yet to get dimensions but I'd say add 1/2 the window side the the current size.

Thanks!

Stephanie

[Tim Haley]

Hi Jeff - see reply to your questions below and glad you liked the overall layout.

1. Sure we can move the outlet but the reason why I had it on the other side is to keep it from plain sight (thought it would be too exposed on the peninsula - and phone are often cordless these days so really it is just a charger) - but we can move it - just let me know
2. I actually have large fluorescent 2'x4' fixtures in the Garage - let me know if you can see this on the legend and plan
3. I prefer the flexibility of having them separate (but again we can do whatever you want).  For instance - sometimes people will turn on the fan only for when they are in the shower to evacuate steam if they don't want to open a window in winter as an example (yes this still works from the toilet room if the door is open).

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Let me know on the above items.

[Jeff McDavit]

Tim Home run on the ceiling and lighting plans!  So amazing to see the house come to life and its like being a kid in a candy store to fill in these details!  Christine and I studied each room carefully and simply love it!  Totally nailed the dining room and love the use of the cove strip lights, its going to look amazing.  Same thing in the kitchen great use of cove strip lights (christine has always liked that feature) and we think the soffit feature in the kitchen is great because it breaks up a large ceiling, especially being next to the nook.

Beams looks amazing in family and gallery and really cool to see the covered porch and foyer details!

Also, I appreciate the tv outlet there in the kitchen so I can watch the warriors and giants while I finish up the dishes (I've already called the right side sink as mine ;) )  Cool feature with the doorbells too in the dining and nook porch! ;) We love the recessed lighting also in the art niches and adds to the super custom feel of the house!

Also, wanted to mention the use of dimmers pretty much throughout the house is great because not only is it a great feature in the dining but hallways/gallery/foyer is great to have that feature too so kids can have low light to navigate the house later at night and also the windows in gallery (upper and lower) we can dim so will be low light from an exterior view of house.

We have just a few questions:

1) What about moving the telephone outlet in the kitchen over to the island with the bar stools (maybe less "wet" of an area) ?

2) Any need for ceiling lights in garage?  Would the garages door lights be enough?

3) In the bathrooms, can the electrical ceiling fan also be a small overhead light?

Thanks again Tim for getting this done for us (I know you worked over the weekend on these) as we move towards getting permits, super happy and excited with the plans!! --Jeff and Christine

[Tim Haley]

I've modified the drawings per the comments and our meeting + added quite a bit more information since what was originally presented was just a conceptual first pass.

• Modified the ceiling per above but also did a "dropped" soffit over the kitchen island
• Removed the ceiling fans but kept it in the master bedroom and master balcony (let me know if you want these removed).
• Also did the mirror side lights in the master bath (per our first meeting)