Overall I really like your floorplan! :) Your spaces have a nice balance of open and cozy.

Just a few thoughts at first glance...

(1) Accessing the fridge/oven when people are sitting at the bar will be tricky (if not impossible) and potentially dangerous.

(2) Ranges on islands scare me. My parents home had one and I still remember the NASTY burn I got as a young child. (When my parents remodeled a few years ago they moved the range to a safer location.)

(3) Some people will tell you you need a bigger laundry room. I personally don't mind a small laundry room (about the same size as yours) because I don't like folding laundry in the laundry room. I fold laundry wherever my son is playing, and my husband folds laundry in front of the TV. (And we do cloth diapers, so that's a LOT of laundry!)

(4) I don't like that the 1st floor bathroom is so far from the 1st floor bedroom area. Walking through public areas in pajamas to get to the bathroom is uncomfortable for both guests and the elderly.

(5) That's an awful lot of foyer closet space. If it's for guest coats, think about how much space you actually need. If it's for household storage, think about what you'll actually store there--you might want those things closer to where they are actually used, rather than the foyer.

I would get the function of the kitchen on the perimeter L and have perhaps a prep sink on the island and use the bank of cabinetry against the stairs for storage.

With this layout, the island blocks the ovens and fridge completely and makes a race-track type traffic pattern. You also wouldn't use any of the counterspace at the bottom of the L for workspace because it is too far from any appliances or fixtures.

My only comment is about the laundry. I have a similar setup in my current house and Hate it! The busy area means floor is often dirty which makes clothes that fall on it gross. And it is very hard to get behind the w/d when things inevitably fall behind.

I like what you've got overall. I had some ideas on the downstairs setup...

-I agree with andry above on the laundry setup. I lived with that setup for 10 years and while it was better than what I had before, it was not ideal at all. Where are you sorting your clothes? Where will the sorted clothes "live" until they hit the machines? The dirty floor is also a good point. Not to mention the traffic along that hallway while you're trying to do laundry. I would move the laundry into the mudroom and move the cubbies to the hallway.

-I ran your clearances for the dining area-the box around the table in the pic below shows the dining area with the chairs pushed out 2' from the table on all sides. 4' clearance on the kitchen side is what you have and it's doable, although 5' would be ideal. Your family room shrinks to 12'9" deep potentially limiting furniture placement. What are you thinking furniture wise in there?

-IMO the corner from the back hall to the family room is somewhat awkward--have you thought of angling it instead?

-Minneapolisite also had some great comments that I agree with--#s 1,2,4 & 5. I would slide the island over toward the sink allowing for 42" cabinet to cabinet floor space on that side and allowing for at least 4' clearance on the fridge side-- >4' on the fridge side would be better. The island is 4' wide--what cabinet setup are you planning for it? 15" is the ideal minimum for the overhang portion, so that leaves 33" for cabinetry. That would give you 24" deep base cabs on one side and only 9" deep cabs on the other. Don't care for ranges in islands either especially when you have so much perimeter space.

-That bathroom is so far from the guest room and guests have to walk through the front entry to get to it. Not wild about it. Which parts of the foundation/roofline is changing? Could you extend the front part of the guestroom out a bit more or the family room allowing for more space on that side for a bath?

-That is alot of space allotted to the foyer especially for a house this size.

-I think the upstairs looks good. Yes, it would likely be more cost effective to put the baths back to back, but then you would lose the window over the tub.

Here's a revised layout showing some of the changes mentioned above. Note: I also resized the downstairs bath slightly allowing for more room next to the shower so the toilet and sink could swap places--you end up with a bigger vanity (think storage) and you aren't looking at the toilet as you pass by/open the door...

Have you thought about putting the laundry upstairs by reconfiguring the master walk-in / reach in closets? Flip the whole thing to make the walk-in directly accessible from the master and the laundry area in the hallway.

Is there any reason the garage is not pushed out to be even with the back entry area? (Like a set back or something?)
Bumpouts generally complicate rooflines so it may be a wash to incorporate that extra square footage into the house

Minneapolisite - Thank you. I agree, the layout of the kitchen is not good. I definitely do not want my range in the island. I also agree about the closets in the foyer, I don't think I want two large closets there. The question is what else goes there instead?

Palimpest - I am intrigued by your suggestion of moving the laundry upstairs. I can't visualize what you mean though, would you mind explaining more?? The only reason why the mudroom is bumped out more, is because now the current mudroom is too small and I wanted something wider. I guess making the garage that much wider would be more $$? But you bring up a valid point.

andry - You come up with some interesting things to think about. Thanks.

Mydreamhome - As far as the laundry, it will expand to over the stairs, so it would be wide in that direction, so the dirty clothes would be thrown there. Thank you so much for the drawing! I like the angled wall you made, it is pretty cool. I think I prefer the cubbies in the mudroom area because then you can't see them from the dining area.

What if I moved the toilet and sink into the foyer area (and removed the shower). That front room is 90% of the time used as an office and den. If we have guests, they usually sleep in the basement. So, if I move the powder room into the foyer, then the current bathroom can turn into the laundry room? Does that work?

In the foyer, I think a large built-in bench with hooks would be really functional and be more visually appealing than the side-by-side closets. :)

The extra two feet could easily be integrated into the house as well.

Re: laundry room

Turn the Walk In Closet 90-degrees and move it where the reach in closet is + the small hallway are. The door will essentially be where that small hall is between that and the other closet. (That small hallway is wasted space in such a compact plan)

The space formerly occupied by the walk in closet has a door right next to the back of the linen closet in the hall bathroom. It becomes the laundry room. You could probably make that linen closet have a door in it's back, too. Load in towels from the laundry and take them out in the bathroom.

Do you have a big family room downstairs? Have you tried drawing furniture in the family room space, as you have in some of the other rooms?

My only concern is that the family room seems small, compared to the other spaces. It seems more like a keeping room/hearth room space (maybe add a fireplace?) and have the great room/family room off to the right of this space. So it's the room you'd see as you enter the home? Just a thought :)

palimpest - Where does the reach in closet go when the walk in moves over? I agree with you about the small hallway between the two closets not needed, good point. I just don't know how my husband would access his closet then?

lavender_lass- I agree, the family room needs to be pushed out at least 5 feet in order to make the dining area not infringe into the family room space.

I was envisioning something like soonermagic's space. I'm not sure how much space she has for her table though.

{{gwi:1440586}}

The Laundry Room in that scenario would take over the space that was given to that hallway and his closet (unfortunately).

This could be partly made up by reconfiguring that narrow but deep closet at the top of the stairs, but also...the closets in the front hall extend further than the wall of the master bedroom upstairs, why not just enclose that space to make closets above that can be accessed by your bedroom? Unless the drawing is not to scale, I am not sure how those closets downstairs relate to the double height foyer. Also I don't think that space is going to look as you think. The upper windows are not aligned in the space the same way the lowers are.

The kitchen could be epic but the island is too dominant. As well, the architect has drawn what looks to be a counterdepth fridge flush to the back wall. You can count on a standard depth fridge sticking out 36-37" to the ends of the handles as the rear of the fridge needs to off the back wall for air circulation. You could cut into the pantry I suppose.

Our master bath is about the same size. It's not bad since the four of us use to share a one half the size but it's not the master retreat I wanted for my wife. If I were stuck with the same square footage for the master bath, I'd eliminate the tub. Neither of us have used it in the 1.5 years we've been here. Makes a great shelf for towels and candle holders though.

I like your layout overall though. Good use of space. Have pilfered the plan for future reference. lol

palimpest - hmm, I can't get rid of the reach in closet, but I definitely agree that the hallway between is wasted space, not sure how to incorporate that space so DH is able to get into his closet??

Hmm, I can bump out the master bedroom wall more for more space, but I thought it did go over the closets downstairs? I thought the windows looked like they lined up, but maybe you are right. I think I want to keep the two story entry because it will make the space appear bigger when you enter the house, but I am willing to make it smaller if I can.

dyno - Thank you. I will be getting a counter depth fridge. I think I will be moving the fridge to where he has the DW drawn. I may remove all the cabinets on the stair wall so my island has more breathing room. I am most excited about a big island than anything else! maybe I just have 3 stools and have one on either side and one on the end? As far as the master bath, my plan A has a very large master bath, I agree this one is tight but I would have to cut some of my walk in closet space to make it bigger and not sure I'm willing to do that :) I also can't give up my tub!!

I'm curious why your husband needs his own small closet when consolidating the closets would actually create MORE storage space for BOTH of you? If possible, giving up the "his/hers" closets concept would give you more freedom with this floorplan.

Why does he need a separate closet? Why not a bigger walk in closet for both?

I still don't understand the relationship of the closets on the first floor of the entry to the whole space. Does your bedroom extend over them? Are they chopped off at 8 feet with nothing above them?

Our master bedroom is over our garage in our current house. The bedroom is chilly in the winter months and the sound of the garage door opening/closing wakes me up when my husband leaves for work. I never thought I'd be sleeping when he was making his departure, but schedules do change over the years. :)

palimpsest - I am going to confirm with the architect that the master bedroom extends over the closets downstairs.

minneapolisite- hmm, I think I am stuck with the master over the garage, there is no other place for it?

Okay, you both convinced me, combine the two closets into one, thanks.

Someone on the kitchen forum mentioned switching the stairs to the opposite wall but then I don't know where the bathroom and pantry would go. I thought of maybe moving the stairs to where the kitchen is, but then, where to put the laundry and bathroom? Ugh, so confusing.

In this particular floorplan, I think you're stuck with the master over the garage unless you do significant redrawing. Depending on your climate (more mild than MN?) and family schedules (are you usually awake when people open/close garage doors?) it might not be a big deal. :)