Hi. Have you surfed eplans.com or familyhomeplans.com? You can put in the square footage (and other filters) to search by and oodles of plans show up. There are many other sites also. Do you want a single story or a 2 story? What is a nice sized kitchen to you - how big?

Try searching on Mascord's site as they have lots of open floor plans (they have a search feature that lets you select great room).

Be aware that in a 1500 to 1600 sq ft plan, you're probably NOT going to find the kind of 300 to 400 sq ft dream kitchen with dozens of cabinets and 20-30 linear feet of counter space that you see in 4000 to 5000 sq ft plans. You just won't have the square footage to devote that much to kitchen. And, an open plan typically means that you lose a kitchen wall (to open the space up to the living room area) that you might otherwise have had cabinets on.

When you say you want a "somewhat symmetric" front elevation, how non-symmetrical are you willing to go? Do you want/need a front facing garage? It's pretty much impossible to get a symmetrical front elevation when you have a front facing garage. The garage throws the symmetry off.

You also don't mention whether you want 1 or 2 stories. And if 2 stories are okay, would you also be okay with all the bedrooms upstairs or do you want the master and that nursery downstairs?

Do you want/need a formal dining area or could you possibly adapt a plan by turning a formal dining area into a nursery?

All that said, here are a couple of plans that might suit you (with my commentary about tweaks that might make them a little better)...

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http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl08973.html?from=search
The only thing not symmetrical about the front elevation of this house is that the roof and a small part of the side wall of a side load garage (which is at the back of the plan) can be see peaking out from the front. Hopefully it is still symmetrical enough for you because the floor plan seems pretty much perfect. The only change I would make is that I'd move the doorway to the middle bedroom back closer to the master bedroom door so that one couldn't see straight into the bedroom from the great room.

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http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl10254.html?from=search
The general floor plan seems to meet your needs and the front elevation is almost symmetrical. I can't say I like those three front facing gables on this one tho. And attic dormer windows that aren't there for a PURPOSE have always struck me as a rather silly waste of money. If it were me, I'd square up the garage with the bedrooms and pull the front wall of the "activity room" forward by about 3 feet. For a living area, 11'6" is just too narrow. Then I'd roof the entire house/garage with a simple gable roof. Finally I'd pull the porch forward so that it sticks out in front of the house by about 4 to 6 ft and put a front facing gable roof over that. That would give you a very symmetrical front elevation with the front porch as the clear focal point of the house. Inside I'd make the office space smaller by moving that wall over to about where the right hand edge of that window is. Then I'd make that smaller "office" into the laundry with a window of its own. Where the laundry closet was, I'd put in a small reach-pantry. The remaining space I'd turn into a mud room.

To find other plans that might suit you, you might try looking for 2 bedroom plans with a den/office; or split bedroom plans with a formal dining room or an office/den that could be turned into a nursery. An office/den is often placed close to the master bedroom so it can often be turned into a nursery.

Hope this helps

Bev has a good point! To find this type of home, you might have to think about 1800-2000 square feet. You can always take a plan you like to an architect...let them see what you want...and then maybe trim it down just a bit, if necessary.

Here's a plan that I think you might like. Open plan, nice kitchen and large living room. There's also a possible bonus space over the garage...and a study/nursery by the master. The other bedrooms and bath are futher down the hall for a little more privacy. Hope this helps with your search :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to eplans home

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These are a little larger than 1600sf, but the rooms could be made smaller.

http://www.dreamhomesource.com/house-plans/dhs/dhsw72938.html?from=search

You don't need to add the garage in this one.
http://www.dreamhomesource.com/house-plans/dhs/dhsw47015.html?from=search