We looked at a townhouse today that we really liked. The only thing we didn't really care for was the split level living and dining rooms. You have to go up a few stairs from the living room to get to the dining room, eat-in kitchen, and family room. I can't decide if I would hate it or not.
We aren't quite ready to put an offer in on this one, but there are other homes in the area with the same layout.
I know all the stairs might be an issue with young children.
pomegranate / 3355 posts
Not a deal breaker for me. I actually kinda like it. Separate's the spaces...
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Not a deal breaker. I like how the stairs and railing make the formal spaces separate. How often will you use the living room though? Even with the bank of Windows and light the space looks great as a family room/ TV room.
pear / 1677 posts
Not a deal breaker. It still has a more open layout than some houses and the windows look great adding all the natural lighting.
clementine / 995 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: We would probably use the living room as more of a second family room. We aren't very formal people. I
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
Not a deal breaker. Grew up (well one of many houses) in a house like that and have several friends with one like that.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I think the house is beautiful! I don't think I'd mind that layout at all. Might actually discourage my kid from bringing food into the living room haha
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@NCSUchick27: how old are your kids? My parents' house has part with a similar layout to this. We are only there a few times a year. It was awful when DS was just 12 months and barely walking and had no sense about being safe around the stairs. I basically just stayed within 5 feet of him at all times. Also they had no baby gates which probably would have helped. Although it looks like it might be hard to gate some of those openings.
But we went when DD was 2 and she did fine. If you love everything else it would be a short term pain but not a deal breaker for me.
clementine / 995 posts
@MamaCate: We don't have any kids yet. The house we are looking for now is the house we are planning on starting our family in. We are probably going to start TTC this fall. Since I don't have any kids yet so I don't really know how much of a pain it would be. If you gated off all of the stairs you would have gates everywhere, but maybe we could get by with just gating off some of them?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
The only thing that would bother me slightly is that even though the formal living room and the family room above is separated, you really are going to have noise issues between the two. AKA you can't watch TV up in the family room while having a convo down in the living room.
clementine / 995 posts
@T.H.O.U.: The area above is the dining room, and the area below is the formal living room. The family room is through the arched doorway off the dining room, and it is open to the eat-in kitchen.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@NCSUchick27: Ok! That makes it nicer. For us we didn't really care about a formal dining room but at least the family and living room are spaced apart.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
I typically HATE split level homes, but I have to say that one looks really beautiful...and the way you would plan to use the space really makes sense. I love being able to see where my kids are playing while I'm in the kitchen, and having a space where adults can eat while kids play in eye sight but not right on top of you is so nice when you have friends with kids over. I'm a mom to three kids 4 and under, and would not look at stairs as a big deterrent/safety issues. It's really only an issue for a short period of time (a few months to half a year I'd think) when you really have to worry about them tumbling down. Pressure mounted baby gates are a quick fix!
My middle daughter lived in a brownstone with CRAZY steep and stairs from 4 months to 2.5 years, and she just learned to climb stairs early & well! We ended up having baby gates up b/c she was TOO DARN EFFICIENT at getting up/down the stairs and destroying another room rather than because we were worried she'd fall. 
You'll be fine!
nectarine / 2173 posts
The house looks very beautiful. But I hate split levels. All those stairs are such a pain and breaks up the space in a weird way. It'd be a deal breaker for me but I know some people like this floor plan.
apricot / 356 posts
Not in this case! I think it looks gorgeous with the windows and a great way to separate the spaces while still knowing what's going on. For example if you're having a dinner with friends and the kids are playing downstairs. A bit of a pain when they can't climb stairs yet, but I found it went quickly !
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
The kitchen is where, behind the dining room? Is the kitchen big enough to accommodate a table to eat in there?
persimmon / 1458 posts
I think it's beautiful but I'm looking at all those steps that would need to be gated and it would be a hassle to me. But my frame of reference is having 3 young kiddos and my oldest is the only one that can be trusted to safely do the steps independently.
pomegranate / 3127 posts
Not a deal breaker for me, and I usually hate places with stairs because I spend so much time running up and down with the kids. It's only a few steps so it seems like you wouldn't have to watch little ones all the time once they figure out they shouldn't just pitch themselves off the top step.
And wow, it's beautiful! Those windows!
clementine / 995 posts
@looch: Yes, the kitchen is behind the dining room, and it is definitely big enough to accommodate a table to eat in there.
Here is the kitchen and eat-in area:
pomelo / 5220 posts
Not a deal breaker for me. We have lots of stairs in our house and they are annoying sometimes, but that is city life in a townhouse! I love the windows/light!
clementine / 995 posts
I just got an email that this house is now under contract. I was pretty sure when we looked at it yesterday (I said today in my original post, but it was yesterday) at the open house that it would be under contract pretty quickly. We just weren't ready to make an offer yet. We don't have our pre-approval or realtor squared away yet (soon!). This was the first open house we had been to.
We really liked the listing agent for this house so we got her contact information. We may use her as our realtor for our house hunt. I think there will be similar houses on the market in the same neighborhood in the next couple of months.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@NCSUchick27: I know it's a moot point at this time, but given the size of the kitchen and the fact that it can accommodate a table, I would be okay with the layout. I find myself in the kitchen a lot, and it's nice to be able to have the kids in there too, playing or whatever. The thing that concerned me was that you had a dining room in between the lower level living room and it doesn't make sense to "swap" them in my mind.
persimmon / 1286 posts
wow that's beautiful! it would not be a dealbreaker for me, because it's all so open. you could make the current family room (off the dining, i think?) your play area and then gate off the stairs down to the living room.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@NCSUchick27: the home & all those windows looks really nice 
coconut / 8472 posts
I wouldn't be able to deal with this kind of layout and my son. It would be a total deal breaker. My kid is a serious klutz. He doesn't pay attention is always goofing around on the stairs even when we're constantly reminding him to pay attention. He also LOVED stairs when he first started crawling.
It would drive me nuts to to have to put a baby gate up between common areas of the house. It's one thing to have to gate off the bedrooms. Those you don't need to access very often throughout the day. But to not be able to move between the kitchen and the living room without stairs/baby gates would make me crazy.
pomegranate / 3375 posts
I kind of like that!! Not my typical style, but I don't mind that split layout in this case.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
@ShootingStar: agree. We have to have gates up at all times that my younger child is awake. It would drive me nuts if they were in public areas.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
29 comments