Most Desirable Layouts - By Apt Size

Bedrooms next to each other but as far away as possible from living room. You're right, kids do change the equation. You don't want them being kept up after their bedtime while you are still up.

Agree on LR width.
Disagree on double sinks. Worth the space IMO.
If I had to choose between LR and bedroom sizes I would take LR and small BRs. Again with (young) children it's better to do things together as a family. As the kids get older then I guess it changes. They will want more stuff in their BRs and keep the parents out :)

One bedrooms: must have place for a dining table that doesn't require you to either (1) move table everytime you use it or (2) walk around table to get to rest of apartment; must have place for desk. Those two requirements eliminate about 80% of the 1-bedrooms I've seen.

15' wide for living room is very large. For 2bd/bth apts, I think 12' is the norm. Would never settle for less, but would really want 13' at least.

Reasonable dining alcove is a must for me.

Split bedrooms are very nice bc it makes whole apt feel bigger IMO.

Don't need huge bathrooms.

I'm with divvie - Large living/dining space. The larger the better (LOL, insert "Office" humor? ;). 12' wide seems too narrow for LR IMO. Happy to sacrifice size of bedrooms for living space. Ideally, LR/DR flow into eachother. Semi-open kitchen (does not need to be eat-in, but needs ample storage and counterspace) overlooking DR/LR. Bedrooms (2 or more) away from the living space, NOT directly off of living space. Do NOT need a bathroom for every bedroom. Again, happy to sacrifice bathrooms (and number of sinks in them ;). I would much rather have additional living/sleeping space. Must have good closet space as well. At least one nicely sized (deep) closet in entry foyer.

After moving what seems like a hundred times, I feel like we've cracked the code. For us (two adults, two kids, occasional overnight guests including grandparents), we're now in the smallest place we've lived in terms of square feet, but the best use of the space. Large main room - open kitchen/dining/living with tiny alcove for desk. Full bath between living area and bedrooms. Three bedrooms: two at the rear of the main floor, and one smallish br with 3/4 bath up a flight of stairs. Kids share a room, smallest bedroom is home office/guest room. Key features - laundry room on main living level (we cannibalized the kids' walk-in closet), and 2 walk-out roof decks from our upstairs bedroom. It's about 1300sf total (including outside walls), but it serves us better than our old 2500sf house in the burbs.

Love our space now. Large living room separated by kitchen (semi-open to kitchen) from dining room (dining room has French doors off kitchen). 2.5 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms (2 for kids, 1 for us, 1 guest/office).

that sounds quite nice and somewhat unusual for manhattan.

Any further thoughts on this topic? Was is everyone's opinions on how many closets/storage areas a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment should have?

bump

Also if the apartment has an in-unit W/D, is it preferable that it be located in a closet space somewhere along the hallway? Is it acceptable if the W/D is in a bathroom closet space or even in the kitchen?

lobster, thanks for bringing back my old thread! Re: closets/storage, it should go without saying that each bedroom should have its own closet, but that's not a given in this city, unfortunately. A coat closet in the foyer or living room is also a must and in a larger apartment, you'd probably want a pantry or additional storage/linen closet. Also important is the actual layout of the closets - I'm a fan of the door frame being as wide as possible, so you don't have any reach-around issues and belongings that are kind of trapped behind walls. It makes a difference. About the W/D, I'd rather not have it in the kitchen, but it's probably not a dealbreaker.

lobster, are you still looking? You can buy my 3br if you want.

gcondo, how much?

For one=beds, my impression is that 600sf or below, in anything newish, you are stuck with two rectangle stuck next to each other....and a dining room table doesn't work very well, nor does a digital piano, and it's hard to give much character to the place. When you get up to 700-750sf there seems to be a bit moreroom to look normal. In some older buildins things can be chopped up in an interesting way, but then any given room is so tiny it's kinda claustrophobic.

1.45m

Any layout needs a window in the kitchen and bathrooms for quick ventilation as well as an external venting rangehood. That means any new construction is no good. Low ceilings are a deal breaker.

damn. i met my criteria (and then some) 7 months later. score! i have to say that i'm VERY happy in a space with a combo lr/dr w/ semi open kitchen. we looked at many places with separate dr's and i think it would have gone unused most of the time (but we live a very casual lifestyle...no fine dining at home). its nice to have expansive living space (especially with little gremlins running around).

Bjw, I was delighted to come across this discussion because there was so much good information about what buyers want in an apartment layout. When you start an excellent thread, it'll definitely come back again. I was interested in learning whether buyers prefer a larger L/R space/smaller bedrooms or the reverse and also the fact that several posters were willing to sacrifice bathroom space (and dual sinks which I like but have never had in an apartment) for more space in other rooms. When I look at apartments, I have my own preferences but it aeems that you always have to take into account what is preferred by most buyers for resale purposes. For example, I am a huge fan of closets- the more the better, but most people probably don't want more than 4 closets in a 2 bedroom (2 bedroom closets, coat closet, pantry or linen closet). I still have a hard time getting used to seeing a W/D in a kitchen as opposed to elsewhere in the apartment. Have a good weekend.

This is going to sound like a description of our current apartment, because it's really close to perfect. 2BR/2BA, which comes out to 1 BA for each of us and we like it that way. The bedrooms don't need to be very large, but should be comparable in size (years ago, we had an apartment with a large master bath and small 2nd bedroom, after a few months switch and turned the master bath into the office), since the 2nd BR does double duty as office/guest BR. The two BRs are off a long hallway that ends in the LR/DR, and has a a very long closet along most of it -- serves as coat closet, pantry and linen closet. Kitchen is about square, main opening to the hallway but also pass-through to the D/R, gets natural light and has sufficient counter and cabinet space. L/D/R is 13' x 27', two sides fully windowed. We could live with less in the L/D/R, but love the spacious feel.

The only thing I don't have and dream of is a larger master bath, with a deep bath tub, and maybe separate shower. Dual sinks would be nice but not essential since we have one bathroom per person. Unfortunately, I haven't yet seen a layout that keeps all we like, adds my perfect bathrooms (and a little extra kitchen space), and is still just a 2BR/2BA. Which keeps me happily renting and saving money.