We didn't build Frank Betz's "Summerlake", but did build the "Allentown". However, I might can weigh in here on your dilema. (I'm going to try to post a photo, but I've never tried before and it might not work.)

In our floor plan you could access the kitchen from the dining room, and in two place from the "Great room" . We elected to only have the one opening from the dining room and one opening from the great room. We love it! Which wall are you thinking of closing in?

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Allentown

We are wanting to "widen" the kitchen and have an island overlooking the breakfast area....so we would not have an "angled island" overlooking the greatroom. We would put a wall there and just have probably a 4ft opening entering in between the kitchen and eat-in area, and also keep the opening into the kitchen from the dining room.
All of this to give the great room a more cozy feel..more walls to place furniture up against. We just sold our home that was very open..and we always said when we build again...we were not going for an open plan...however, everything else about the summerlake- we love...Love how the stairs are off the kitchen and how they are not just a strait 'up' stairway....
Anyway...I couldn't see your picture...but thank you for corresponding.
What is your opinion about our changes??

I couldn't get the picture to show either, but look at our floorplan via the link. We too loved our floorplan, but didn't want an open plan; we needed more wall space in the kitchen (for cabinets) and family room (for furniture). WHen you look at our plan come look at the entrance hall and then go into the great room. Notice two case openings to the right going into the kitchen...we removed the first one and made that a solid wall...we are so glad we did! Now we have plenty of counter space in the kitchen and I like the "non" openess of one room to the other. You can see into my breakfast room from the family room via the case opening, but you can't see into the kitchen. Good Luck!

To post a photo:

go to http://tinypic.com (it's free and no sign up is required)

select "browse" and go find your jpg, png, gif, or tif photo file and select it (it will be automatically downsized to 250K)

select the "upload" button

Click once on the "HTML for websites" window (it is automatically copied) then paste it into the text part of your message.

Now preview your message. If you can see the photo, submit the message.

If you are unsure of yourself try all of this first at the test forum which is linked at the bottom of the main forum page. You might have to play with the dimensions of the original photo to keep the downloaded version from being too large since that sometimes stretches the text of all messages to the right (possibly off most screens)

It is also possible to copy the contents of the URL window and to then paste it into the "Optional Link URL" box. You must also type a description in the "Name of the Link" box.

Good luck

Sadly, I am the one who posted about closing up the kitchen of the Summerlake plan. We are still waiting for building permits, best guess: may get to start about June, but we'll see...My kitchen dilema: we absolutely don't want an open floor plan. Summerlake kitchen is an island open to the great room with the sink and dishwasher in it. I just want to put a wall all along the great room/kitchen and keep the rest as is. This will put my sink on that wall without a window!! I'm sure there are splendid condos that have this very thing and it's fine, but I wonder...I would love advice.

We are also going to be building this plan but we are torn on the kitchen, we like the kitchen in the Azalea Farm but really do not want to pay the extra money to have the blueprints done and then have to wait 5-8 weeks. I would love to see some pictures of the kitchen in the summerlake plan.

We are building the outside of the Summerlake, and the inside of the Azalea Farm, with quite of few changes. I definately love the kitchen in the Azalea Farm. I, and this is just my personal opinion, I just think that in smaller homes as these, you get a much bigger feel of the home if the kitchen is open. We lived in a much larger house that had a HUGE kitchen "not open" and I did not feel closed in at all, but it was because it was so big and the rest of the house was big. My parents just built a house with the kitchen "semi-closed" in (a smaller house) and they sure with they had an open kitchen. But, of course, everyone is different and has different ideas than me-LOL! The kitchen in the Summerlake seems to be too small to close in the walls.

The changes we made to the Azalea Farm (inside):

1. Formal Dining Room is now Study
2. No entrance from the "now Study" to the Kitchen
3. Made the Dinette area much bigger and will accomodate the Formal Dining Table
4. Screened in porch area is now Den
5. The Family Room and and "now Formal Dining" area have French doors leading out to the "now patio" that was an empty space on the plan.

We have made numerous smaller changes, but those are the biggest.

jj30: Have you purchased your plans yet? If so, you could change the Summerlake plan around to meet your needs on the Azalea Farm. The outside elevation wouldn't change much, if at all, depending on what you want to change. If you are using a builder, he could change it for you.

correction to my post above: Where it shows Vaulted Screened Porch, is where our patio is, not screened though. I thought it showed an empty space on the Azalea Farm plan.

Olliesmom, We did buy the summerlake plan, and have not started (hope to by this summer). Anyway, I am still trying/struggling to plan our kitchen. I have posted for help in the Kitchens forum. Here's where I am so far...
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A work in progress...frustrating!!!

Not mine, but as it is on the original floorplan:
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thepond, I looked at your post on the Kitchens Forum and I really like the layout Buehl suggested! I do think if you have a small peninsula like Buehl shows, you wouldn't feel so confined to eat at the table all the time. I love having a snack bar. Looks really good!

I think Buehl is really talented. Can I ask: Did you extend breakfast area out in the deck area to make it larger? Did you keep bedrm 4 the same? Screened porch that is now a den, is it all one great room? We enclosed the screened porch and made it all one giant great room. I think I just got 'lost' in your virtual 'house' lol. I am not good at visualizing.

Thanks, Lisa

Yes, we made the kitchen and breakfast area bigger, which made the den bigger. In doing all that, the Study got bigger, which I didn't really want to make bigger, but couldn't be helped. We just widened that part of the house all the way through, so it didn't affect the Patio (screened in porch). I wanted a big Patio area, which will have an outdoor fireplace. We took out the FP in the Family Room and put in windows to have a water view. If you can't tell by now, the water view is on that side of the house, not the back, which is a BIG reason for picking this plan.
I know, we made many changes, I probably am confusing you! I get confused myself, because the bottom of the house is Azalea Farm, and the top is Summerlake-LOL! If you are talking about Bedroom #4 on the bottom level, yes, it is a bedroom, for my DS, who I wanted on the same floor as us.

I forgot to answer the den question: The den, that was once the screened in porch is a total separate living area than the Family(Great)Room. We like two different areas for television watching. I, myself, like to watch TV in a smaller, cozier place than a big room.

Hey,

This may be too late, however, we are building this floor plan in the fall. I have over 100 pics of this house and am glad to share them. I will see if I can figure out how to post them here. I can post on flickr easily under the name "greatdayalive". Let me know if you are interested. My pics look totally different from the ones seen here.

Yes!!! Please post pics!

alrighty then I am attempting to paste these in here-be patient-I am pretty sure I can do this.http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=slmoap&s=3

Here is a link that might be useful: tiny pic

We have just started building the Summerlake and we are planning on walling up the kitchen. If anyone has already done this could you please let me know and possibly show pictures.

We hope to build Summerlake soon, maybe start by Spring.

This only shows the kitchen, but it is exactly in the same area as the original, just is not open to the family room.

This is the floorplan we have come up with for our kitchen layout. There will be a wall between the kitchen and family room. The larger cleanup sink will be on a wall without a window, but the prep sink will be in the corner, able to look in to breakfast area and family room.

I like how your layout is. We have added 2 feet to the width of the kitchen which also gave us 2 feet wider in dining room, breakfast area, basement, and upstairs. Every thing that followed the refrigerater wall line of the kitchen.
Our layout is similar to yours but our sink and dishwasher will be in the breakfast bar area.
I am not sure how to post a picture but I would show you our layout if I knew how.