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Tasteful Friends: Are split levels due to make a comeback?

I was in one a few weeks back (friends' rental) and the layout actually seems sort of clever-- kitchen, dining and living room up a half flight, den down half a flight and bedrooms on the middle level .

Seems a good layout for a family with older kids where everyone wanted some privacy and could probably be modernized by making the kitchen-living room level into a "great room" type space.

Given that they've been out of favor since the 70s or 80s, are split levels the new midcentury modern?

by Anonymousreply 61December 22, 2018 7:16 PM

No.

by Anonymousreply 1December 12, 2018 11:22 PM

Where I’m from, OP, the living area tends to be the mezzanine, bedrooms up, and a large living space and/or downstairs apartment (or partial garage) down.

They’re all set into hillsides so the lower level is invariably moldy and gross.

by Anonymousreply 2December 12, 2018 11:23 PM

Of course split levels have clever floor plans. They were designed for human families who didn't have a lot of time to waste on the Escher-like labyrinths produced by the deranged designers of McMansions. Don't spoil them by opening up the kitchen into the living room.

by Anonymousreply 3December 12, 2018 11:27 PM

I love split levels, for all the reasons you describe. They’re cozy and the use of space is efficient. Like R3 said, I have no use for the amorphous open floor plans, weird tray ceilings and ludicrous double-height foyers of your average McMansion.

Like R2, the classic split layout where I live is living/dining/kitchen on the entry-level, bedrooms and baths up, den and garage down. They’re not built into hillsides. Usually there’s a deck off the kitchen and a patio off the den.

by Anonymousreply 4December 12, 2018 11:38 PM

OP that sounds like the dreaded tri-level that you are describing there. Even more exotic.

by Anonymousreply 5December 12, 2018 11:45 PM

I like them if there is a proper entry hall that leads to the living room and not stairs up or down as soon as you walk in the door. It maximizes living space.

by Anonymousreply 6December 12, 2018 11:49 PM

They are okay, once you are inside.

Each and every one if them looks like shit from the outside. Big, ungainly, boxy. Nothing on the outside pleases. And when developers congregate them in one area, everything looks like shit.

by Anonymousreply 7December 12, 2018 11:53 PM

R7 = Doctor Who

by Anonymousreply 8December 12, 2018 11:54 PM

[quote] the living area tends to be the mezzanine, bedrooms up, and a large living space and/or downstairs apartment (or partial garage) down.

Canada?

by Anonymousreply 9December 12, 2018 11:55 PM

I hate them, absolutely hate them, you have to go up or down a half flight of stairs to get anywhere and I would never buy one. Plus to me they are just plain ugly, I am very happy in my one story with a basement, but each to their own. I did live in one for a while as a child.

by Anonymousreply 10December 12, 2018 11:58 PM

I really like the layout inside of a split level home, but I have to agree with others here that the outside of these home is always fugly. Its either some contemporary modern from the late 70's -80's or its a "colonial" split level from the 60's-70's.

by Anonymousreply 11December 13, 2018 12:03 AM

I remember them from my childhood in Massachusetts. We had a very old home, as did others in my neighborhood. Go across town and there were split levels. I hated the layout and thought they were ugly. They had a narrow hall with small bedroom on each side that led to the master. Really unimpressive and depressing compared to other homes.

by Anonymousreply 12December 13, 2018 12:08 AM

Couldn't the outside look like whatever you wanted it to? Was it just that ugly modern was the style back then?

It's sort of like McMansions. I've seen some where the outside is fine, just looks like a traditional house, only bigger, and others look like Frankenhouses, with a range of mismatched architectural styles all trying to say "big and grand"

by Anonymousreply 13December 13, 2018 12:10 AM

I've seen exterior remodels of split levels that had a lot of curb appeal, but they couldn't have been cheap. The interior layout is great for families, but it would be a tough house to grow old in.

by Anonymousreply 14December 13, 2018 12:16 AM

I abhor the 70s including the design and style of those years. Split level homes are no exception.

by Anonymousreply 15December 13, 2018 12:19 AM

Eldergays are not made for split level living. The stairs are tough for an oldster.

by Anonymousreply 16December 13, 2018 12:28 AM

Eldergays woulnd't need a house that size either.

Though I see where you're coming from--midcentury modern houses are often small enough that they're perfect for a single person or couple. But yes, any split level revival would have to be for families.

by Anonymousreply 17December 13, 2018 12:30 AM

I loved the one I lived in as a girl. I really liked the privacy of the bedrooms - unfortunately the kitchen/dining/living room floor was mostly wasted in that off limits to kids and only for company way that was popular in the 70s and 80s - if I were to live in one again I'd use the dining and living room as the main floor - and keep the den downstairs as more of a kind of rumpus room - extra room - that would be the lesser used area. It would make a good man cave.

by Anonymousreply 18December 13, 2018 12:31 AM

My partner's parents have in LI what they call a raised ranch. It looks like what we in the midwest would call a split level or bi-level on the outside. There is a flight of stairs up to the front door. Inside is a landing with half flights up and down. Everything is on the upper level - kitchen, living room and bedrooms. Down is a garage, laundry room and finished basement like area, which is dark and dreary and just used for storage. It seems such an odd plan when you could just have a two story or ranch with the same materials as the whole downstairs seems a waste. No basements in LI maybe?

by Anonymousreply 19December 13, 2018 12:34 AM

The lower levels on splits always seemed to be dark, unless the lot was sloping and there was a full walkout in the back.

by Anonymousreply 20December 13, 2018 12:44 AM

So is the "high-ranch" concept just that what would be the basement of a traditional ranch house is slightly more above ground and thus not technically a basement, R19?

by Anonymousreply 21December 13, 2018 12:44 AM

For the uninitiated.

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by Anonymousreply 22December 13, 2018 12:52 AM

Everything you ever wanted to know about split levels, bi-levels and then some. (I love nerding out to sites like this and I suspect many of you will too. Just found it and have not had a chance to really explore.)

It's even called splitlevel.net, not .com, which makes it even more awesome.

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by Anonymousreply 23December 13, 2018 12:58 AM

Everyone I knew growing up had one of these. I could navigate one blindfolded.

We were poor, so we usually lived in a three-family (one up/one down/ studio on the third) in a more urban setting. Also could navigate one blindfolded.

My “rich” friend had a four-bedroom with a “Florida room” and a tree with a swing in her backyard and her own bathroom. WOW.

by Anonymousreply 24December 13, 2018 1:00 AM

Updated versions of split level house plans with blueprint style layouts

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by Anonymousreply 25December 13, 2018 1:03 AM

Grew up in one, but not built into a hillside (strange assumption). Our lower level den had a large window into the front yard, so nothing dark and dreary about it. Middle level dining and living rooms were for (rare) company only.

Downstairs half-bath and kitchen did feature wall-to-wall (UK: fitted) carpeting. Garage was next to the house, beside den, not within the structure. Unfinished "basement" under the living room.

by Anonymousreply 26December 13, 2018 1:08 AM

And this, which seems to support the theory that they may be due for a comeback (though it is from Realtor.com which has a vested interest in that development.)

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by Anonymousreply 27December 13, 2018 1:09 AM

This has hit a nerve. My great grandparents, and then my grandfather and father were property developers from the 1920s to 2000.

They built custom homes and they built small to median size developments. They probably have at least 5000 existing properties from their efforts.

When the postwar boom began and the split level and raised ranch raised their unbecoming heads, my grandfather had to make a decision. Should he or shouldn’t he?

Though demand was high, he decided to never build an inelegant bilevel. And my father followed suit. In fact, a failed small development project was taken over by my father at one point, and the splits were redisgned as center hall colonials. My dad ate the cost of ripping down the framing of the first places to meet his esthetics.

So as family, I don’t like them either. You’re 5 steps down to not quite a basement or 5 steps up to not quite far enough away from the living room.

Who knows what I’d really think if I hadn’t listened to that argument a thousand times as a little kid!

by Anonymousreply 28December 13, 2018 1:16 AM

I like them as a suburban throwback from my teenaged years. If I lived in one, I’m sure I’d often have the sudden desire to be stoned once again.

by Anonymousreply 29December 13, 2018 1:24 AM

[quote] No basements in LI maybe?

No, I’m pretty sure basements are required in single family homes (not in condos or “prefabricated” houses like the ones in some senior communities that are really trailer parks but the houses look more like a house)

When I added onto the first floor of my house, I had to have my basement extended as well. Pi$$ed me off

by Anonymousreply 30December 13, 2018 1:31 AM

Shit, I hope not. 60s 70s split levels are one of the worst architectural blights ever visited upon the landscape. And there's been PLENTY.

Depressingly low ceilings, narrow,creepy staircases and unwieldly, compartmentalized floor plans.

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by Anonymousreply 31December 13, 2018 1:34 AM

The kid who crapped in the neighborhood fort lived in a split level. His mother loved French provincial and shag.

He also once laid on the ground and peed into his own mouth while we were playing softball.

by Anonymousreply 32December 13, 2018 1:56 AM

I have a friend who lived in a modern style split level, probably built about 10 years ago. Kind of like the house at the link. There's something I like about the levels and how they create these neat spaces, but agree about the stairs. You feel as if you're constantly going up and down stairs. I'd rather have a bungalow with everything I need on one level, including laundry.

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by Anonymousreply 33December 13, 2018 2:11 AM

Fess up, R32, that kid was you, wasn't it?

by Anonymousreply 34December 13, 2018 2:39 AM

Yes R31, but all that open space over the stairs left plenty of room for our Italian-American friends to hang one of these

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by Anonymousreply 35December 13, 2018 2:49 AM

R21 - grew up in a “high ranch” in NYC - they really aren’t split levels - the just may share a visually similar “entryway with half flights of stairs” as a split. In the 60s / 70s splits were considered more upscale than high ranches & were usually bigger.

A “colonial” or traditional has kitchen / living / dining on the ground level & bedrooms upstairs. A “ranch” had everything on one level.

Our high ranch didn’t have a basement - it was built on a slab (houses in the neighborhood with below grade basements flooded a lot.). Our house had a half flight stoop up to the front door - like lots of older NYC buildings - and people people in the neighborhood who were used to those kinds of buildings sat out / socialized / played on the stoop all the time.

From doir opens onto a small landing with half flights up and down - so the ground floor isn’t a basement - but it does contain laundry room / storage room and garage in the front and a large den in back that opens up on the yard. Garage door is in the front of the house under the living room picture window.

The second floor had the L shaker living / dining combo, the kitchen & 3 bedrooms. The living room is open to the stairwell along the short side with a railing - sonit feel bigger & apes some of the visuals of the more expensive split.

The design was popular because it offered some flexibility to families that has been used to apartments. The garage could be closed off into another bedroom for a bigger family or the den space on the ground floor could be a grandma apartment or a rental - since the top floor had everything on it.

by Anonymousreply 36December 13, 2018 3:36 AM

Lots of typing on my phone with one thumb errors above. My appologies.

by Anonymousreply 37December 13, 2018 3:47 AM

Thank you for the intelligent discussion r36. Too many of these people making snobby dismissive statements of split levels have not gotten a chance to be this pretentious and superior acting since the Mayonnaise VS Miracle Whip thread closed.

by Anonymousreply 38December 13, 2018 3:58 AM

Levels, Jerry. Levels.

by Anonymousreply 39December 13, 2018 4:07 AM

I grew up in a 50s bungalow and envied my friends who lived in split levels, which seemed so roomy and glamorous.

by Anonymousreply 40December 13, 2018 4:08 AM

I grew up in a split level. I know the style in OP as a bi-level. The front entry was on the first floor next to the living room. The up and down part of the house was to the side. 7 steps up from the entry were the bedrooms and 7 steps down were the family room,another bedroom and bath and the laundry. Then another 7 steps down to a basement under the living room level

by Anonymousreply 41December 13, 2018 4:29 AM

I lived in a tri-level and it was seen as the non-plus ultra at the time. Then that look became so retro and outdated.

I dunno - it isn't a stupid design really. But I agree that the main floor (when I was a kid) was seldom used outside of the kitchen. It was that living room and formal dining that no one was supposed to enter except on occasions.

I think there could be a return to this design, but modified. It did become soooo declasse quickly - but there is a LOT of housing stock of these bi and trilevels in the US.

by Anonymousreply 42December 13, 2018 4:32 AM

In Fort Lauderdale (and Miami's postwar suburbs east of I-95), it's common in low-lying neighborhoods on/near canals that were built prior to the 1990s to find a variant of split-level homes. Usually, with a single-car garage at ground level, the "main" level of the house a half level up, and the master bedroom above the garage. Or in areas with wider lots, a two-car garage with kitchen/living room/dining room/some-bedrooms a half level up, and either the master bedroom or two bedrooms + bathroom above the garage.

The general idea is that even back then, everyone knew the main floor of the house had to be at least 4-5 feet higher than the minimum halfway-sane height for a garage, but a lot of people didn't want to have to ALWAYS walk up an entire flight of stairs to get into the house, so the split-level variant was a compromise. It also gave the builder a convenient "middle load-bearing concrete wall" so the smaller second living floor sitting above the garage could be entirely concrete-walled as well (with its walls resting on the walls around the garage).

The main thing that killed split-levels HERE was the combination of soaring land values in the old neighborhoods, narrow lots in NEW ones, an expectation that any new house is going to have at LEAST a two-car (often 3-4 car) garage, and the fact that someone who can afford to spend a million+ dollars buying a teardown postwar home on a canal-front lot expects to ends up with a MINIMUM of 5-6 bedrooms and 3,000+ square feet. By the time the architect is finished designing the garage, there's no room LEFT for anything alongside the garage besides a stairway, and the only way to fit 3,000+ square feet and 5-6 bedrooms without blowing past zoning codes is to build two full stories over the garage.

The latest trend I've seen in Fort Lauderdale teardown-infill new construction: "inverted" second stories... ground-level has a lot-width bank of garages along the front, foyer and stairway to the side, and swimming pool in the back. The second floor (first living floor) has the same footprint as the garage, but the THIRD floor (second living floor) partially overhangs the pool (so sunlight still has a 45-degree angle to fully illuminate the pool for most of the year, but the builder can shoehorn another thousand or so square feet of living space into the lot without crowding out the pool. It looks fine from the street, but absolutely HIDEOUS from the canal (or from the back yard of your neighbors across the canal). As an added bonus to the homeowner, though, it also gives them more reinforced concrete to shore up the pool cage against(*)

(*)Pool cages are almost universal here, though not really for the reason people think... mosquitoes are a problem, but snakes -- specifically water moccasins -- are the REAL problem. For a few years, it was vogue and trendy to build "open" pools, until people started having face to face encounters with aggressive venomous water snakes & quickly rediscovered WHY pool cages became so popular in Florida in the first place.

by Anonymousreply 43December 13, 2018 4:37 AM

We had family friends in NJ that had a split level that was a bit more elaborate than what has been described. Ground level had a two car garage and then the front door to the right of the garage doors.

Entered into a small foyer, and the long living room was to the right with a fireplace at the far end. The dining room & kitchen were a half flight above the living room & the dining room was essentially a mezzanine that overlooked the living room with a railing - so the LR part of the space had a 12 foot cathedral ceiling. Kitchen was long and narrow behind the dining room.

A half flight from the dining room led up to the bedrooms - that were over the garage. A half flight at one end of the kitchen led down to a den that was on the ground level - behind the garage / under the bedrooms. Den opened onto the back yard with sliding patio doors. The den also gave access to a 4 foot high storage space under the kitchen & dining room.

All the half flights of stairs were close to each other at the center of the house - right as you entered the LR was the half flight up to the DR with the archway to the kitchen straight ahead. The half flight to the bedrooms was off to the left at the edge of the DR right before the kitchen artchway & the half fling down to the den was right past the archway to the left as you entered the kitchen.

by Anonymousreply 44December 13, 2018 4:48 AM

I have 2 family members who live in split levels. Two different states (NJ and MD), nearly identical floor plans.

To me, it always seemed like a lot of wasted space for the footprint needed. The bedrooms were all pretty tiny because they had to fit over one half of the house, and they weren't super private since they were only 6 steps up from the main living areas of the house. My aunt could see from the kitchen doorway whether her kids' lights were off after bedtime.

by Anonymousreply 45December 13, 2018 5:09 AM

One of my favorite houses. An updated MCM split.

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by Anonymousreply 46December 13, 2018 6:55 AM

One of my rental houses is a split level, and it is built on a relatively steep slope, which falls away on the back side of the house. so the lower level is full daylight, with a french door and lots of windows on the back side. The three main disadvantages to split levels are the darkness of the interior hallways both upstairs and downstairs, the small bedrooms and bathrooms, and (in my model) the very small foyer, where the front door opens and a guest would have to make an immediate decision whether to go up or down. No stopping to chat with a houseguest there - not even room for two people. Very inconvenient if you had to unload groceries that way instead of using the garage. I've been giving thought to punching a solar light tube through the ceiling to bring extra natural light both to the central hallway on the upper floor and to the lower level. I've also considered pushing out the front entrance and the front stoop to add another 2-3 feet to the entrance foyer. If I lived there, I might remove the wall between the two smaller adjacent bedrooms and make that a master bedroom and office. This might end up being my home someday, so that's why I'm thinking about these alterations. My tenants seem to love it - they've been there 7 years!

by Anonymousreply 47December 13, 2018 8:16 AM

I can't believe I read this thread.

by Anonymousreply 48December 13, 2018 11:13 AM

I lived in a colonial split. loved it! normal entrance with foyer having LR on left DR on right with door leading to Kitchen/ FR half flight steps down with French doors leading to patio and back yard. From foyer step led up to landing with BR and bath to right and left, another half flight of steps led to another split -right left BR with bath in between and another half flight of steps with another set of split BR and bath. 6 br and three full and one half bath. Sooo much privacy growing up with only 2 kids. People could never believe how big the house was; it was built in the 60's with the BR's LAARGE and lots of windows. Last time I visited my parents, the house they sold for 1.2M was resold for 1.4M just a few years later. Families like them. It/s def not for people seeking an urban floorplan.

by Anonymousreply 49December 13, 2018 12:18 PM

I actually had a convo with one of my realtor friends about this topic. My parents live in a late-70s split level that they are looking to sell and I was asking her thoughts. She said that in certain parts of the country, splits are making a steady comeback, a lot being custom homes in rural areas with a more modern exterior look and luxury interiors, likely similar to R46. However, she said they're development is hindered because they're generally limited to a higher-end market; they require a larger footprint than your typical storied home. So in order to do them well, you need a significant amount of land space, which most city and suburban lots can't accommodate. Also, because of the larger footprint, they get significantly more expensive; often plumbing is coming and going from all over the house and requires specialty workers and they require significantly larger roofing (which she said was very expensive, I didn't know that). Thus, for your average homebuyer who wants a nicer, modern home with decent space, split levels just aren't feasible financially.

by Anonymousreply 50December 13, 2018 7:11 PM

In my area in the midwest there are 10 s of thousands of them mostly built in the 60 s and 70 s. Splits dont appraise as well as the same sq footage either one story or 2. I bought mine sight unseen from out of state as the inventory was so low in my price range and it was already somewhat rehabbed. I like it ok and no real dissapointments. I dont like the 5 different levels and the main level living/dining/kitchen does not have a half bath even....... so you are always going up or down a flight to the bathroom. I have fallen down the stairs slipping when my dogs got in the way twice....its about 5 or 6 stairs each level and the floors and all hardwood and the falls were not exactly pain free. When Im older its going to be harder even. My 13 year old dog also slips and falls down the stairs and so far hasnt hurt himself but its ineveitable. The lowest level is complete walkout with big huge patio doors but it is pretty chilly in the winter. Splits arent terrible and my house is now completely redone and beautiful but Im not sure Id do a split over again.

by Anonymousreply 51December 14, 2018 2:19 AM

IT's because they are ill-designed. A good tri-level should look like two rowhouses, not like cheap siding has fallen from the sky and smashed part of a house.

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by Anonymousreply 52December 14, 2018 4:56 AM

THis is better

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by Anonymousreply 53December 14, 2018 5:01 AM

I really like the look of some of these split levels, but I have never seen one like them in person.

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by Anonymousreply 54December 14, 2018 7:55 AM

This is the kind of house I grew up in. In the photo you can see the basic design, from 1954 when the neighborhood was constructed. It's a mazing to me how current residents take this design and add rooms; bedrooms above the living room and additions into the backyard.

As a kid and even visiting my parents as an adult, I never felt there was a lack of space in the original design.

The original residents of the neighborhood, from Brooklyn and Queens, moving into town post-WWII, these homes were huge steps up in the world from where they lived in the boroughs. I can't overstate how much the adults loved having a home and a yard.

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by Anonymousreply 55December 14, 2018 8:53 AM

Here's a good example of the "Florida" variant of split-level homes (no basement, lowest floor is garage)

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by Anonymousreply 56December 14, 2018 9:09 AM

In order of increasing expense per square foot of living space-

bi-level (what many of you are describing) which the only mid level is the front door landing with half a flight up or down to the actual room is the cheapest, because it pops the basement up partially out of the ground and makes it into finished living space.

Colonial - basement is just basement, ground level is living area, upstair are bedrooms. THIS is the dominant floorplan for a number of reasons, but cost is a major one. Roofing area is only 1/2 of the square footage of the house.

Split level. Entry on basically the ground level, which usually has the living room, dining room and kitchen. In older splits the family room and a bedroom bath and laundry room / door to garage was half a flight down. In the 80s there was only one or two steps down as this level tended to be built entirely above ground on a slab. The basement was only under the LR DR Kitchen level. Finally the top level was the bedrooms and baths, and was either a half or (in later splits) almost full flight up from the entry. This floor plan maximizes living area at the expense of bedrooms. It is actually my favorite style if you are able to climb stairs. You only realize a problem when you have an accident and find you have to negotiate stairs multiple times a day to reach a bathroom. And that is why all of us eventually end up building a ……….

Ranch- everything on one level, usually with a basement here in the Midwest. It is the most expensive per square foot as there is a 1:1 ratio of roof to square footage, 1:1 ratio of basement / footers per square footage etc. Plumbing and heating runs are longer, more expensive to heat and cool, etc. So it is compensated by usually being smaller square footage than the others. BUT if you are looking at future sales value, probably a good bet as stairs become a concern with 45 and older move up buyers.

by Anonymousreply 57December 15, 2018 3:09 PM

I grew up in a non-split entry/foyer split level. You came in the front door directly into the living and dining room and the kitchen was behind. The den was down about six to eight stairs off the kitchen while the bedrooms were up ten or so stairs from the living and dining. There was a one car garage adjacent to the den and under the bedrooms and a large patio off the den

by Anonymousreply 58December 15, 2018 4:16 PM

[quote]Colonial - basement is just basement, ground level is living area, upstair are bedrooms. THIS is the dominant floorplan for a number of reasons, but cost is a major one. Roofing area is only 1/2 of the square footage of the house.

Not in California it isn't. VERY few homes have basements.

by Anonymousreply 59December 15, 2018 6:40 PM

The basement is not the point of a colonial. It could be built on a slab, the discussion remains the same. All living space is above ground and first and second floors have equal dimensions and are more economical to build than ranches. That is the point regardless of whether California houses, either ranch style or colonial, have basements or not,

by Anonymousreply 60December 22, 2018 7:09 AM

R60 - you are completely correct, but I do think many people just think “Colonial” is the description of a style - like “Tudor” - and not also a classification of layout / space use - all public rooms on the ground floor, all bedrooms above.

by Anonymousreply 61December 22, 2018 7:16 PM
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