Which floorpan for a 3-bed new build?

[Catycity]

Helping a friend choose between floorplans. The two without utility room are both 933 sq ft and same price. The one with utility is 1034 sq ft but is also £17k more expensive than the other two.

1. One French doors.

1. Two French doors.

1. With Utility but more expensive.

Friend is querying if the £17k extra for the one with utility is worth it? It would stretch their budget as they need to factor in extras etc.

Between the 3 floorplans, which is better in order of preference?

My last house had a utility that was the only access to the garden from the kitchen. HATED it. It was small & got cluttered with shoes & it felt so inconvenient going through it to the garden. I also disliked access to the garden off the lounge. Carpet got muddy. Kids shoes & coats ended up in the living room. Really irritating. I now live with patio doors off my kitchen, it’s a delight 😊

Why do they always make bedrooms 2&3 so unequal! Doesn’t anyone involved have two kids?

For that alone, I wouldn’t buy.

No 3 for the utility but I'd make the utility/kitchen door a pocket door so more usable space.

I'd love a big landing though - I'd have a big linen cupboard/wardrobe up there for bedding and towels.

There must be a difference in the location to justify 50k increase for the other development.

My main issue with no 3 is that the lounge is long and narrow. I just don't think it gives a nice space. The ones with the bays are probably only wider at the bay, but I think will give a much better feeling of space. The other development looks about the same size overall to no.3 but better room proportions.

(I don't understand why developers don't do semi-detached any more. It either seems to be terraces (sorry, townhouses), or detached. I'm sure they've done research into what sells well etc, but I'd rather have a roomier semi than a small detached.)

@whatsthecomingoverthehill

There is a difference in location. The £50k more one is near a big supermarket, so having that amenity on the doorstep is handy. It's also closer to the centre, but that can get congested during rush hour etc.

However the cheaper development is much better connected for transport; less of a congestion issue around rush hour as not as a close to the centre. Major commuter station in walking distance and just off major connecting roads for easy access to the motorway and dual carriageways. It is also more picturesque with trees etc.

The supermarket might close down and move one day. The convenience of the transport connections less likely to change. Friend thinks the cheaper development will properly catch up with the other one because they're building amenities on the development; there's enough new houses to make it worth the while for the planned business development section with shops and pubs/restaurants.

Yeah. I think they don't do semi-detached because people like the social status of being in a detached, don't they?! Also, less likely to have issues with neighbours. Development looks more affluent if it's all detached.

Semi detached houses are such a gamble on build quality/noise transmission. My old house was end terraced, 30s, no bloody soundproofing until we added some.

Current rented house is late 90s, semi, can't hear voices/music but do hear next door's heating kick in early in the morning...

Definitely want a detached when we buy if we can afford it because without living in the house you have no idea how good or bad the insulation is - even this house where the sound proofing is nearly perfect I was getting woken up at 6am by the heating pipes clicking next door - our radiators were cold so it definitely wasn't our heating!

@randomsabreuse It's trade-offs isn't it?

Semi detached for more space or detached for more privacy/independence?

Regarding developers and semi-detached vs detached. Detached means they can justify their premium costs a bit more. Detached are generally better investments for future proofing as well.

FYI that is the other developer's floorplan 3 equivalent upstairs.

You're right @whatsthecomingoverthehill "The other development looks about the same size overall to no.3 but better room proportions."

Friend prefers the bedroom sizes on this too tbh. They just can't justify the £50k difference.

In the future I guess they can change the upstairs easy enough because it's mostly plasterboard walls, rather than brick. Right?

A lot of the nicest houses in my city are interwar semis which probably affects my view of them. It used to be that the step between semi and detached was at a bigger house size (if that makes sense). When you have smaller detached houses the room sizes just don't seem to work as well. You often end up with these long and narrow through-room lounges and relatively small kitchens. Whereas when it's a semi with the same floor space it often seems to work better, but I don't really know why!

Anyway, that aside. Yes, 50k more does seem an awful lot based on what you've said. The upstairs should be relatively straightforward to change around.

@whatsthecomingoverthehill

I think a lot of people (me included!) find a detached (new build or otherwise) with a double front still looks really impressive. Double fronted homes have curb appeal that can be important when it comes to just feeling house proud and also re-selling.

Seen the show home video for number 3 btw. The long and narrow is actually alright with furniture in it. It's hard to judge just from floorplans.

If she could get a stacked washer and dryer in the storage cupboard on the landing in 2 - I'd go for that. It might be possible if cupboard is deep enough & obviously plumbing near as shower etc just the other side of the wall.

3rd bedroom in houses 1&2 is really small, you would struggle to get a single bed in there. Do they need to use this room as a bedroom or an other use?

To have a still very small but useable 3 bed I would do for house 3. Of the others I would go with 1 as I prefer the shape of the kitchen.

For a radical idea, they could remove the en-suite and use that as a utility, if it is just then or them plus 1 then they might not need an en-suite, but it would fit a washing machine and dyer and the plumbing is already in place.

They will have put undersized furniture in it! Beware!

@Catycity

Helping a friend choose between floorplans. The two without utility room are both 933 sq ft and same price. The one with utility is 1034 sq ft but is also £17k more expensive than the other two.

1. One French doors.

1. Two French doors.

1. With Utility but more expensive.

Friend is querying if the £17k extra for the one with utility is worth it? It would stretch their budget as they need to factor in extras etc.

Between the 3 floorplans, which is better in order of preference?

As an update, my friends chose floorplan option 3 with the utility. Floorplan 2 with 2 French doors was very tempting, but there isn't much storage space. Utility room is useful for storage and having a backdoor might be more functional/practical for laundry etc.

Down the line they will consider flipping the kitchen/dining setup and changing the back window on 3 into French doors to look out to the garden. Hopefully flipping it won't be too expensive, but they will cross that bridge when they get to it.

It was odd that floorplan 3 didn't have French doors from the dining area looking into the garden. Then we worked out that from the front the house looks symmetrical and that's why they've put the kitchen at the back (kitchen sink window is higher up). In pictures of the outside of house 2 it doesn't look symmetrical, despite also being double fronted.

Thanks for all your input though! Was very helpful. Thanks.

Like another poster said, these houses are small on square footage, so the extra space in floorplan 3 makes it worth it.