House Plans [UPDATE: Construction!]

[Aeolius]

Having purchased a few acres of land near where I currently live, I am in the process of interviewing architects and builders. One architect has presented a house plan that works, but it’s somewhat uninspiring.

http://www.aeolius.com/house.html

If this house was one presented in a D&D adventure, what features or elements would you incorporate? Where would you put secret doors? Have fun!

Some changes from the plan so far are: expanding the unfinished basement to both sides, adding a playroom on the upper floor (instead of “open to below”), and scaling the garage back to 2-3 cars.

 

[Crothian]

I'm coming down for a visit when that is all done. That looks pretty cool, not dungeon like but very cool house like.

 

[Aeolius]

Some notes about the house:
The overall feel of the home will be reminiscent of a farmhouse, with wide-plank flooring, pavers in the foyer, oversized tumbled brick on the exterior, and a timeless “lived in” look. A large basement will be included with the plan, to house numerous saltwater aquariums and the needs of several indoor cats. This space would initially be unfinished.

Other rooms to be incorporated would be a sunroom/solarium/aviary to house tropical birds, a craft/scrapbook room, an oversized office, an upstairs laundry room with kitchenette, and communal area to be used as a playroom. The main floor kitchen would include a large walk-in pantry and old-world ambiance. The main floor will include a side entrance/mud room, possibly from the garage.

Neither a dining room nor formal living room are required, as a larger family room, perhaps with exposed beams, is sufficient. My wife wants a kitchen with an old-world country farmhouse feel to it, while I want Baba Yaga’s kitchen.

 

[Krieg]

.../snip/...adding a playroom on the upper floor (instead of “open to below”),.../snip/...

You might want think about keeping at least some of that open. A living room with vaulted ceilings and a loft goes a long towards making the house more spacious.

It is a nice design and you should be very happy with it, just be sure to put the kids in the bedrooms on the opposite side of the (currently) open area from the master bedroom. Your well rested body will thank you for it.

If you serious about doing something more exotic with the house, just stick a three story tower on the corner between the masterbedroom & bath. You'll have room for an office/library/study on the second floor and a sitting area with a great view at the top. An octagonal tower will also work well with the corresponding deck/gazebo on the front of the house.

 

[tonym]

If this house was one presented in a D&D adventure, what features or elements would you incorporate?

The office is by the front door? No way! For a D&D house, I'd move the office upstairs. The evil villain is probably in the office when the PCs attack and it shouldn't be too easy to get to him.

I'd also fill one of the upstairs bedrooms with giant spiders.

And I'd change it so that the master bedroom's walk-in closet opened into the bedroom rather than the adjoining bathroom. And then I'd put an undead monkey in it, to guard the shoes.


Tony M

 

[Mark]

Nice porch.

 

[GlassJaw]

Holy crap that's a huge house!

My first impression is that it has a very Victorian/Cthulhu/Ravenloft feel. Perhaps some wealthy but eccentic recluse lives there. He has a lot of valuable things but everything is covered in a layer of dust because he rarely goes into most of the rooms. For some reason, he invites the PC's to his home one evening. The catch? He's really a ghost.

 

[Aeolius]

A living room with vaulted ceilings and a loft goes a long towards making the house more spacious.

While we closed the space in for safety concerns (300+ lb wheelchair vs. railing) and to gain a common room on the second floor, my wife and I are still not 100% on this one.

...just be sure to put the kids in the bedrooms on the opposite side of the (currently) open area from the master bedroom. Your well rested body will thank you for it.

There will be intercoms throughout the house, to help disturb any notion of a peaceful night’s rest. My two girls will each have an upstairs room with a window seat. Notice they are the exact same size.

...stick a three story tower on the corner between the masterbedroom & bath. You'll have room for an office/library/study on the second floor and a sitting area with a great view at the top. An octagonal tower will also work well with the corresponding deck/gazebo on the front of the house.

We did consider adding a sitting room to the master bedroom, in the corner you mentioned. As for a tower, as much as I’d like to have one, I may have to settle for the undrawn fourth floor (there are dormers on the front elevation, in the revision). I intend to have a spiral staircase leading to that forgotten square footage.

For a D&D house, I'd move the office upstairs. The evil villain is probably in the office when the PCs attack and it shouldn't be too easy to get to him.

See comment above about the forgotten fourth floor

And I'd change it so that the master bedroom's walk-in closet opened into the bedroom rather than the adjoining bathroom. And then I'd put an undead monkey in it, to guard the shoes.

We put the closet entrance in the bathroom, so that we’d have some walls left in the bedroom to put furniture against. As for the monkey, it would have to be undead, to spend an extended period guarding MY shoes!

Nice porch.

My wife wanted a wraparound porch, so we worked in as much as we could. The deck on the back will also be expanded, in time, and I might even change the dormer window in the upper loft into a door, to create an upper balcony.

For some reason, he invites the PC's to his home one evening. The catch? He's really a ghost.

In my case, the catch would be that my sharks are hungry!

 

[GentleGiant]

Okay, so erm... when did you win the lottery?
That house looks HUGE!

But I'm with GlassJaw that it has more of a Victorian/Cthulhu/Ravenloft feel to it than a dungeon per se.

 

[Zappo]

Whoa. That's... big. With all that space, I would make extra sure to have a gaming room - spacious table, bookshelves and all (with more technology if you make use of it).

*lives in a flat*