Ellwood by Richmond American at Beacon Park

java123 said:
If I ever have to buy this floor plan, I would keep a billboard in my hall way stating "Designed by dumb architect, owned by smart owner".

Who ya calling "dumb architect"?  TI Blasphemy!    ;D
 
when the other team is losing, and their crowd starts booing our team, we just chant scoreboard.
 
FIFY. Why would you buy something if you think it's flawed?

java123 said:
If I ever have to buy this floor plan, I would keep a billboard in my hall way stating "Designed by dumb architect, owned by smart dumber owner". ( if not why should they waste 50% of main floor  for one bed room,. Jesus Christ).
 
To be fair, sometimes the market is limited with the floor plan that you'd like.
A lot of people are not in the market for those in law rooms/suites but there's a whole bunch in recent designs.
No one likes motorcourts, zero lot lines, min allowed setbacks, but those are happening more.
 
rideBMC said:
FIFY. Why would you buy something if you think it's flawed?

java123 said:
If I ever have to buy this floor plan, I would keep a billboard in my hall way stating "Designed by dumb architect, owned by smart dumber owner". ( if not why should they waste 50% of main floor  for one bed room,. Jesus Christ).

I agree with this, unless I buy one from these plans.  8)

However, does any one checked out new plans coming up in baker ranch. seems more appealing with terraces, except schools.
 
WTTCHMN said:
java123 said:
If I ever have to buy this floor plan, I would keep a billboard in my hall way stating "Designed by dumb architect, owned by smart owner".

Who ya calling "dumb architect"?  TI Blasphemy!    ;D

Still I can't understand, why they want to allocate 50% of main space to in-laws and for rest for rest of the family where ever fried smell from kitchen is just 6 feet away. I cant invite guests when my family is working at kitchen. This is the only floor plan in BP I have seen wasting most precious main floor space that too in irvine CA.  With all my respect, I can say even a masonry do not design this way. You dont waste space for in-law suit, unless you have enough space for entire family to live in.....

Where does my guest hand their coat/jacket.  why do one need under stair space in in-law suite???

Architect know it is a dumb floor plan, however they must have a good reason for it. I am sure that reason favors builder not owner/buyer.






 
irvinehomeshopper said:
This is the fastest selling project in the country. It will continue to stand out because it is the first in Irvine with a roof deck and will likely win all sorts of awards. Resale will do extremely well along with the accolades.

IHS, I thought Ellwood was going to sweep all the awards?
http://greatersmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015_SoCal_Awards_Winners_72.pdf
http://greatersmc.com/socalawards/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015_SoCal_Awards_Finalists_04.pdf
 
Could not produce photography and drawings in time for the submittal deadline. it was too much of a rush. This is not a priority for the builder when the homes are selling well. To photo the models builder has to close them up for several days. That is not going to happen when customers are in and out the models constantly.
 
Your opinion is highly subjective. In many cultures the grandparents and In laws are treated with respect and dignity. Their room must be first class and not be cramped. If they live in the same house for a long duration their livelihood and happiness in their domain should be much more accommodating than just a bed. Many that I interviews expressed wanting additional space to fit a conversational seating and a place to watch their ethnic TV program. A privatized exclusive bathroom is ideal where they are comfortable in leaving out their medicines and denture.

This plan may not be right for you but it resonates with far many other buyers' wishes. They want spacious accommodation for their guests, close family members and especially guests from oversea with excessive luggages. If for some reason you or your spouse someday could not negotiate stairs you will be glad to have this BR down.
You may not agree with a bedroom next to to a foyer. A bedroom also needs to be flexible to function as an office, den, library or music parlor. The size is perfect for a baby grand and for those who tutor music at home where the students do not need to wander through the whole house there is a separate bath there.

This room is perfect for those who just want their children to study there while parental control is at a short distance from the kitchen. Even grand parents and in laws like the proximity to the kitchen when they volunteer to cook for the family and not needing to cross over dining and TV viewing area to get to the kitchen.

If the cooking smell bothers you so much you really should buy the plan with the wok kitchen because no house is really big enough to escape the cooking odor.

java123 said:
WTTCHMN said:
java123 said:
If I ever have to buy this floor plan, I would keep a billboard in my hall way stating "Designed by dumb architect, owned by smart owner".

Who ya calling "dumb architect"?  TI Blasphemy!    ;D

Still I can't understand, why they want to allocate 50% of main space to in-laws and for rest for rest of the family where ever fried smell from kitchen is just 6 feet away. I cant invite guests when my family is working at kitchen. This is the only floor plan in BP I have seen wasting most precious main floor space that too in Irvine CA.  With all my respect, I can say even a masonry do not design this way. You dont waste space for in-law suit, unless you have enough space for entire family to live in.....

Where does my guest hand their coat/jacket.  why do one need under stair space in in-law suite???

Architect know it is a dumb floor plan, however they must have a good reason for it. I am sure that reason favors builder not owner/buyer.
 
I agree with comment from previous post, but still can be done optimizing floor space usage. I thought grand parents live in family room along with rest of the family rather spending alone in their own room. and it make sense to me to have reasonable space when main living space was compromised. However, your justification is not bad.

For home shoppers in GP. I heard from other buyers,  there are some builders including most of the options in the listing price, unlike Ellwood who listed little low and charging more for options which comes to the range of other builder prices. I like the melody as every plan comes with attached bath for all bedrooms. but the price is touching the magic number $$$.

Welton and Melody including most of the options in the listing price as their homes are almost built out before buyer purchase it. Ellwood is starting foundation only after buyer purchase the home and that is making him to complete the home little longer....

Does anyone been to ellwood design center for choosing options?
How much does wood flooring, sliding doors and foldable doors at living space, cost with Ellwood homes.  are they reasonable or expensive....
Just curios....






 
Grand parents like their ethnic TV because they don't understand English. Imagine what kind of tension that will create with family who want to watch regular TV if the great room is the only place with media.
 
I agree and respect with this grandparent concept. how is this smart to put 2 family members in 50% of main space and 6 family members(including grand) in rest of the 50% space? Anyhow floor plans+MR in beacon park are not impressive. not even one good one.

 
My calculation, it would cost $1000/month more to live in BP than SG. Any suggestions on if it is worth? Please share your comments.

Stonegate has 3bed home in 1690 square feet which has the same feel as 2300 sqft home in beacon park. BP dont have at least one town home style home. primrose lost privacy concept to avoid much sharing driveway and rowland have 3 floors, most of the grandparents dont like it. Contrast to that, stone gate has 4 tyle of 3 bed room homes in well 1600-1800sqft. trust me, they hve the almost(*) same feel as ellwood(all), melody(1,2). Compare 800k vs $1m+3500MR. Still cant justify myself.





 
Heard lots of bad stories on Richmond American quality of construction from previous home owners.... Any experiences?
 
java123 said:
I agree and respect with this grandparent concept. how is this smart to put 2 family members in 50% of main space and 6 family members(including grand) in rest of the 50% space? Anyhow floor plans+MR in beacon park are not impressive. not even one good one.

I got your grief about the down stair bedroom taken majority of first floor space but we are taking about a small 2000-2300 sq.ft detach condo here, a down stair bedroom will take up spaces.

Down stair bedroom is a very popular future here. Maybe it's not for you but usually the floor plan without the down stair bedroom will be harder to sell.  Builder just design what's popular. 

 
java123 said:
Heard lots of bad stories on Richmond American quality of construction from previous home owners.... Any experiences?

i'm confused. you seem to have made up your mind in that Ellwood isn't fitting so I'm not sure why you're still debating/wondering about it?

personally if I was in your shoe and I have that much doubt in terms of price/floor plan.. (which are two big factors IMO), I'd already move on and look more closely at SG offerings vs BP

re: builder quality which others can chime in as I've only bought a few new homes. but as far as I know its heavily dependent on local contractors/subcontracts and how well the builder's local supervisors enforce QA, code, and build quality. a contractor working on a richmond american home can easily also be working at another builder down the street, etc. etc. (though from what I gather richmond is using only one exclusive general contractor right now, but lord knows who they sub contract out for other type of work).
 
I've had a few houses and a townhome. All but one had a downstairs bedroom and I would NEVER buy another house without one again. Never used it as a bedroom (although now that I'm getting older, I can see that it would be another reason to buy a house with that feature even if I were young cuz you never know how long you will own the home, the need for a place for your elderly parent or the health status of everyone in the future). Always used it as an "office" type thing even when there was no working at home. It's a major PITA to have to go upstairs for everything that you happen to need just when you are hurrying off to work or to get those school supplies for a project etc you keep tucked away and it's an even bigger hassle to work from an upstairs room and always be going downstairs (answering the door, getting a soda, etc). I know those who don't work from their home won't understand how frequently you actually do go downstairs (which is why I thought I could manage without that room downstairs). Yeah, you could have a little fridge upstairs, coffeemaker, microwave etc but you go stir crazy without being able to just roam around.

And having that room downstairs means it's quick to file away papers, mail etc rather than have things get scattered around the rest of the downstairs.

No downstairs bedroom/office is a complete deal killer for me.

 
BR down is highly subjective. It is desirable for some area and absolutely not relevant for other cities.  Family dynamic is more complex today than the past. I am not a great fan of a one room lower level because having the entire family squeezed into one space can create friction let alone multigenerational families in short term or long term. The flex downstairs room is the only other space for refuge. No upstairs bedrooms have ever worked well as an office, guest room, craft room, fitness, music parlor, or formal gathering spaces. The extra room is perfect for the older generational social gathering or men and women meeting separately in some culture. It is surprising however to see other plans that are less in footages but with same features compared to Ellwood. They are likely my other "children".
 
Do anyone know how demand/sales are at BP and especially Ellwood(since this thread is meant for that). Any updates.
 
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