A hodge-podge of thoughts... I'm pretty sure we looked at this plan when we were trying to decide! The porches on the back seem closed off from each other. I would prefer to have the square footage open for entertaining. The front porches seem far from the kitchen and possibly not used nearly as much? Depending on the direction the house faces the Living area could possibly be very dark. I do love the optional gameroom. Bedrooms upstairs seem small. Our two bunk together and that area would work for them but would be tight. (We plan to keep them together for the time being, allowing the other two rooms to be play room and guest rooms). Our upstairs bath is small like the one upstairs in your plan. However we planned larger closets to allow for desk area in them for primping/storage - to keep it out of the bathroom. I grew up with that and loved it. The additional corners/bumpouts on the foundation will make it more expensive. Having the plumbing all over the house will be more expensive than having it generally in the same area. 12'x12'8" dining room... Our table is 4'x8' seating 6 without the extra leaves. Can be 4'x10'. Our table would not fit lengthwise in your dining room. We entertain a lot and need the additional seating. We wanted: 4 bedrooms, laundry in an accessable area, large kitchen and living room area with an open concept. Vaulted section (husbands elk mount - silly but what we wanted). Plumbing generally in one area. Large closets. Must have large pantry. Wrap around porch, Country living. We are outdoors most of the time. Function was extreemly important for us. Being on a farm and using the laundry to drop clothes and be near a shower was a necessity. Wanted tall ceilings (for the feel and to help with the wrap around porches and letting light deep into the house). Could NOT (!!!!!) find everything we wanted in the layout that worked with our views and driveway access. So we started drawing. We were aiming for about 2400-2500sq ft. We saved on keeping the foundation square, rooflines simple, and sub contracting out ourselves. We are dried in now and working on electrical and plumbing. :) Example of what we did. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=jennybc%20gardenweb%20&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CD4QrAIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fths.gardenweb.com%2Fforums%2Fload%2Fbuild%2Fmsg0309084529850.html&ei=h0-fUcr7NYTc9QSFr4GwDQ&usg=AFQjCNFF3KXs5DfVIteq3OJlLSfsm5bNcw Didn't purchase plans. Bonus! Did have someone review the specs for beams and lengths for vaulted area, and roof support. I have to disagree with rosies: "And above all, wrap-around porches make the interior rooms gloomy all year, not just shadowy in summer, requiring artificial lighting all day long/all year long." No offense. There are so many reasons I think the statement is wrong I don't know where to begin. A house in the woods can be gloomy with no porches. A house with few windows is gloomy. I would say how the land lays in relationship to how sun rises and sets through the seasons AND the layout of the house in is much more improtant in determining the gloom factor. IMO I knew I wanted bright light in my kitchen in the morning. So I made sure the kitchen was on the back... etc. Keep these things in mind.

Consider: Providing an opening between the carport and the Entry Porch and eliminate the door from the carport into the house. Rethink the kitchen layout to tighten up the work triangle, locate the double ovens just outside the work triangle, and relocating the entry into the pantry. Accessing the closet directly from the M. Bedroom without having to go through the M. Bath. Same concept with Bedrm #2/Bath. Eliminating the gas chamber in the M. Bath. Swinging the M. Bedrm's door in the opposite direction into the room. Allowing space around the (if that is a) freestanding tub for cleaning. Aligning the double doors leading to the Screened Porch with the main entry doors. Having the entry to the pantry only off the Entry. Eliminating the porch outside the kitchen windows. Allowing three feet of space for the watercloset in Bedrm #3's Bath. Making all porch roof slopes the same. . Your draftsman should be able to understand the comments.

I agree with PPF; if the kid's rooms are going to be moved upstairs, you should let your architect propose a new plan and massing for the house. I doubt that much from the current design will survive the redesign. I use 42" for halls and stairs unless there is a special condition and 32" for doors. Mary's plans appear to show a 60" corridor outside of the MBR, a 48" corridor in the MBR and a 42+" corridor outside of the kid' bedrooms. The stair appears to be 42" wide. There also appears to be wall space for switches at doors. The doors appear to be 36". If the kid's bedroom wing is removed, there will be plenty of opportunities for windows in the dining and living room spaces and perhaps even a porch. The major challenge will be connecting two 1 1/2 story elements without the expense of dormers. I would sketch a plan and a section and then test the design with a rough 3D model. I await the architect's solution.

"I'm betting that after you build you will come back here a little less cocky. Just as I did." Truer words were never spoken. Building a house is definitely a lesson in how to eat one's own words...lol. Hint to OP: Chasing them down with vodka or wine makes them go down better and a tad less bitter ;-) OP, FWIW, in my neck of the woods, you could definitely build a 2,250 sf house for $350K with basic builder grade finishes. Easy. BUT, it concerns me that your initial estimate is that amount and some of the allowances are definitely low. The $70K for major systems wouldn't be nearly what yours are costing here. Going over by 10% is EASY to do so if you're still comfortable with the house at $385K, then fine. Oftentimes, however, the overages are a LOT more than 10%. Don't ask me how I know...... Is your big box store cabinet allowances including your bathrooms? I noticed you had a sink allowance for the master bath but no cabinet allowance.