Design floor plan myself or hire a designer?

amother

Mon, May 27 2024, 7:21 am

Hi, I would love any insight or help making this decision!

My husband and I bought a house (in Israel fwiw) that needs a lot of fixing up--but most crucially for moving in, especially in the area where the bedrooms are. Right now there are three bedrooms and three bathrooms, and we need to end up with four bedrooms and possibly only two bathrooms (though thee would be nice) and a very different layout to make that practical.

I spent a few hours there over the course of several visits, and I think I see the best way to do it to work with the shape of the walls and the windows, but a) I am not sure exactly to the INCH where certain walls should be. Like should the hallway be wider or should the bedroom be bigger? I don't know. b) I don't know for sure... maybe there's another idea I didn't think of?

So the question is... Do I hire a designer (which requires more money and time to wait till she's available) or do I go ahead with the vision I have myself?

I have someone available and ready to start working right away--he actually offered to rip down all the walls so I can physically play around and lay down "walls" to see how things will work. He also said he doesn't recommend working with a designer because sometimes they draw floor plans and then in practice they aren't good--you only realize when you see it going up, and then it's too late or a big deal to change it. Whereas if he rips down the walls, I can see and decide myself.

I would love any thoughts on this matter!

Brit in Israel

Mon, May 27 2024, 7:37 am

I just worked with a designer for my parents apartment and the amount of knowledge she had isn't something I would have realised myself from where the drainage holes are and which electricity ports can be put where etc.
Besides many interior designers get a special price in the stores.

amother

Pear

Mon, May 27 2024, 7:55 am

I would say it's worth speaking to a professional, as they can know things you wouldn't think about. If you already have a design in mind, you can bring it to them and get their input. They may not change it much, just give you additional food for thought, or tell you the best way to do it, and let you know about some things you don't think of.
Also thinking about the long term future, whether you may want to move things around in 5, 10 years when your family looks different and you have different needs. Or whether you already want to factor that into your plans.

Tzivia18

Mon, May 27 2024, 9:28 am

Definitely keep the third bathroom. With a lot of people, bathrooms are more important than bedrooms in my opinion. You can double, triple up in bedrooms, but bathrooms is always one at a time.

Speak to a professional. You need someone who understands how to play with the structure that is already there. He will help make your dreams practical.

If you choose to do it yourself as an amateur, you are very very likely to make costly mistakes. And then you will have to hire a professional. Double work.

amother

Peachpuff

Mon, May 27 2024, 8:57 pm

If you can really visualize what you want and you feel you can work with the contractor to help you with the technical parts of design I say skip the designer.

I am currently putting a second floor on my house and I hired a space planner to design it because whoever I spoke to told me architects design the structure but they are not good with interior space. I didn’t really have a vision of what exactly I wanted I just wanted an expert to design it in the smartest way possible. Anyway I was very unimpressedl and regret hiring her. At the end I ended up changing things and working directly with the architect and I wasted thousand of dollars on the space planner.

amother

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 4:03 am

Thank you everyone for your input!

And I like the idea of posting the plan here for ideas--G-d willing once I have the official measurements (so something to show), I will do that.

Just to explain why I'm opting for having more bedrooms and few bathrooms--it's sort of how we're already living now (in a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment, but we mostly don't use one of the bathrooms). So I know we can do it. I have three girls and two boys and the two oldest girls fight a lot. It brought a lot of peace to our family when I separated them. In addition, one of my ideas (in a future stage of renovations) is to add a master bathroom on to the exterior of the house. So I feel like if I get the bedrooms I need now and the hope/plan of an additional bathroom in the future, we'll be okay.

I think I'm leaning towards getting a designer, I guess I just wish I knew there was a way to "trial run" it. Like I see pictures of her work and I like her style, but all I can really see is the decoration, like the "superficial" choices. I can't see if there's an intelligent use of space.

amother

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 4:18 am

to clarify I have a basic idea of a layout that makes sense, but there are certain parts that I am not sure about (wider hallway or bigger room? I'm not sure where to draw the line). and also (not surprisingly with such space limitations) there are things that I want in the space that I'm not sure how to get) so I'm hoping a designer might think of something that I didn't think of.

amother

Indigo

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 8:56 am

amother Peachpuff wrote:

This is because you were lied to re architects not being good with interior. The reason to hire a space planner is because they are cheaper than architects. If you go with a space planner, please get one that has worked for an architect for some time.* Of they have a lot of experience, they can be better than some architects. A lot of "space planners" are just amateurs who may or may not have talent and didn't have technical experience especially with what the norms are and construction.

That being said, Israel is a whole other system. Their interior decorators are trained well to create floor plans within in the stone structures typical of Israel. (Vs. The US wood framed home where there are a lot more partitions and movable walls etc.)

*I work as an architectural designer/project manager and have done a lot of this kind of work on my own for context.

amother

Indigo

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 9:01 am

amother OP wrote:

Re hallway, if it's a hallway to the bedrooms, I would prioritize bedroom sizes. There is usually a minimum norm for hallway sizes. In the US it's 3'-4". It may be a bit narrower in Israel. A designer would know this.
If it's a more central or front hallway, I'd maybe make it wider