Please make this image bigger. It is really too tiny for me to comment.

I'm afraid I am having a hard time. But if you click on the picture, it will come up in Flickr

Here is a link that might be useful: Here it is on Flickr

This is the largest size available on natashak's flicker account:

Okay. Can you tell a little about your family?
This is a 3 car garage, and you want a larger laundry, so I am assuming this is a family home/build.

Where are the rooms?
How long (into what age) would you like to live here?

There isn't a bath/shower on the main floor which is a downside if you or a family member is ever injured for a period of time (or permanently disabled). And, there isn't a main floor bedroom.

I would agree in adding to the mudroom--extend it out even with the current front/bottom wall of the laundry. Then, rearrange to your hearts desire. You can even add a tub/shower to the bath easily at this point.

How does that affect the other (upper) floors?

Will you have a basement? As it is, your second pantry could expand to under the stair landing and be larger. I would definitely do that if there weren't stairs to a basement under your stairs.

I think the kitchen layout is reasonable.

Where will you put coats in this? Where do you live? Will guests, entering through the front door, have a need to put their coats anywhere? Right now, you have no closet for jackets or guests shoes.

Finally, I feel like the space to the right of the foyer is wasted on your lot...

Okay. Can you tell a little about your family?

We are a family of 4. I have two children 9 and 7.

Where are the rooms?

I have attached the second floor and basement.

How long (into what age) would you like to live here?
We are in our late 30's and would like to live here for at least another 20 years. Not interested in adding a bedroom to the main floor and not interested in adding to the bathroom. We don't live in an area where that is common and we don't particularly care for that at all.
Will you have a basement? Yes. Floorplans attached.

As it is, your second pantry could expand to under the stair landing and be larger. I would definitely do that if there weren't stairs to a basement under your stairs.

We've moved the second pantry to across the hall so we can add a refrigerator.

Where will you put coats in this?

There needs to be a coat closet added. Agreed.

Where do you live?

DC Metro.

Will guests, entering through the front door, have a need to put their coats anywhere? Right now, you have no closet for jackets or guests shoes.

Agreed. Will add.

Finally, I feel like the space to the right of the foyer is wasted on your lot...

How is it wasted? We have a 10 acre lot and don't want additional rooms. The porch wraps around.

Some changes were made today:

Overall I really like your plan, probably because it is similar to where we started with ours (thought ours is mostly single story).

One few thoughts:

-Perhaps you could put a closet along the wall with between the entry and office, and another within the office for storage. It will keep the room balanced on both sides and give you an entry closet.

- Consider the placement of any tables/cubbies etc you would like in your mudroom/breezeway to make sure it is propotioned to meet your needs.

- I'd add soundproofing between the master bedroom wall and extra family room. Even if it isn't used often the extra buffer may come in a welcome respite from time to time.

- Sketch in the furniture you would like in your great room to make sure it works functionly for you.

- Finally, while full baths and a bedroom on the main floor may not be common in your area or seem like a large need at the moment, you may want to consider at least a shower on the main floor. While the bedroom may be uncessary as the occaisonal guest could stay in the office, you never know when a parent may end up having problems with the stairs when the visit, or you or your spouse could suffer an accident and need to stay on the main floor temporarily.

The upstairs family room is a homework area with U shaped built in that will be desks for my kids.

Similar to the picture above.

I appreciate your thoughts and will do the furniture sketching. Great idea.

I must be in the minority with the full bath downstairs. We are definitely not going to change the half-bath downstairs. If someone lands themselves in trouble, they'll have to make do with the arrangements. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1462089}}

I didn't see the need for a main floor full bath either, until my MIL had to have her knee replaced and had a rough recovery.

I love the niche, though, I'd still put in some extra soundproofing. Late night homework sessions when your kids are in highschool may make you happy you have it, and the cost is minimal.

Sounds like you have your mind made up... but one more.
I had a horrible back strain at age 30. For a week and a half, I literally was flat on my back; and any steps killed (worse than labor, and I had 2 unmedicated vaginal births). I was thankful I wasn't having to take any stairs, and I had a bedroom and full bath on the main level next to each other. You can't guarantee you won't need it even in a short term context. And, you don't have an elevator that I see.

Enough on that. You've heard from enough people with enough experiences that if you still don't want it, so be it.

Your upstairs plan. I am not a fan of any of the baths. The J&J will cause problems. Your master bath seems oddly oriented (with no privacy to the toilet).

The upstairs hall closet is deep and narrow, which is less usable than something that is a reach in.

How do you envision using the upstairs spaces? If it were me, I'd try to re-do the upstairs J&J bath layout to get the toilet behind a single door--perhaps expanding into that hall closet area to do so.

The OP mentioned just having two kids, if each has their own bath and the jack and jill is shared by occasional visits I think it solves that issue.

That said, I think the master bath has the potential for a much more effective layout as you don't lack space.

The jack and Jill won't work? Why? We rarely have guests, so my son will rarely have to share it. We will be finishing the space over the garage ASAP which will be where our guests stay.

There is a 5' wall on the side of the toilet--we don't want a door. If there is a need for privacy, the main bathroom door can be locked.

There is no hall closet--that's mechanical for a humidifier. The closets are large enough in each room for my children to store their sheets and towels.

Laura12, would love any suggestions on the master bathroom--it has really stumped us.

I should mention, I did initially have a bathroom in each bedroom, but the guest bathroom didn't have natural light, which is extremely important to us, so we made it a J&J.

I had a lot of trouble with my own bathroom layout and I'm not as great as others on here at redesigning plans, however your master bath reminds me of a model home we looked at so maybe that plan could help you.

Regarding the toilet closet, I know you are planning on staying in your house long term, but that is an item I wouldn't skip over (even if it isn't important to you) as it could affect resale. New homes with seperate toilet closets are becoming very very standard. You also have plenty of space to make it work, and you could use a pocket door that is left open the majority of the time anyways.

Regarding the Jack and Jill, a lot of people on GW have very bad feedback regarding their use, however I don't have any experience with one myself. I grew up sharing one bathroom with my sister and my mom so we learned not to be shy! :)

That said, as it will only be shared by the occaisonal guest I think it will be fine. Most guests would just be happy to not have to go out to the hall for a bathroom so I can't see the arrangement being a problem. Though, I'm certain that there is a better use of space to fit everything in as something about it seems awkard, and the hall closet is too deep to be useful for anything but long term storage.

Regarding your window in the bathroom concern, we will end up with a bathroom without a window, something I was initially against, however I've found a great solution a solatube skylight. If you aren't familiar with these google them for more information as it is a great, affodable solution for dark bathrooms and even closets.

I've attached a photo I found online a bathroom light up by one.

In our house several dark spaces without windows will be getting these including; 3 in our hallways (mostly single story house), 1 in the kitchen pantry, and 1 in a bedroom closet.

Well, you asked for feedback, and you've gotten it.

Good luck! Sounds like you have your plan all picked out.

Laura12, we're definitely part of the group that hates the WC. It feels so claustrophobic to us. I think I'm going to move the toilet and put up a pony wall. I prefer that look. I like the bathroom you posted, thank you!

I can see that, but maybe you should consider making sure there is enough space for a WC for a future owner if they want to wall it up?