Nice plan Yani, :) I really like it, we have 3 kids and the upstairs would be great for a family like ours.
These are the things that I would consider changing if it were me...
Garage-Do you *need* those stairs going into the basement there?
Study- I would add some windows to the very long wall,
Great Room/Study- I would consider 'stealing' some space from the back wall in the study and giving it to the Great Room, it would make a great place for a built in for your TV.
Powder- flip toilet & sink to kitchen wall-would help with plumbing noise, you don't want that on your dining room wall while you are eating! You would also need to change the door placement & swing.
Kitchen- I think you will find the refridgerator is too far off on its own, perhaps the kitchen design can be tweaked a little to change that.
Laundry- I would make it a 'galley' style, door opens in center, window straight ahead with sink & w/d on one side and a full length counter on the other and upper cabinets on both. You would have alot more storage and folding space and you could do a taller window or even door to the back yard.
Upstairs in the Master- I would figure out where I wanted my bed and on the 'other' window wall put a large centered window. I have been in Master's that have the 4 smaller windows just as you show on your plan and I always feel too closed in or like they are missing something. If you really don't want alot of window area then perhaps it works as is for you.
Master Bath- I would swap the shower with the toilet room area. You could have a small window in the toilet room for light and ventilation and if you kept the same size shower you would have a longer vanity allowing for double sinks if you want them. You would lose a little closet space with this change.
Hope that helps!

I like it. :) Adding a closet to the study would be something you might consider. That could give the room more versatility for possible guest room usage or also provide some great storage for a home office.

Those are great ideas, Luckymom23. I love this forum. I will definitely bring my plans here for improvement ideas when the time comes. :)

Hi LuckyMom:

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. I am really glad that I post the question here.

For stairs going to the basement, that is my builder's recommendation. I live in Madison, WI and it seems this is getting popular here. Personally, I don't need this. (It is about $2000 to $3000 I think)

For the great room/study, I will ask the builder to add build-in in both sides of the center wall. On the great room side, it will be entertainment center and cabinet.
On the study side, it will be bookcase and maybe a build-in desk. I will also add window to the long wall as you have suggested.

For the powder room, nice catch, I should have thought of that. :)

Fir laundry, I like your suggestion, I will talk with our builder to change it.

For the master bedroom, I need more thinking about this.

For the master bath, I agree with you suggestion.

One question I have is what do you think of moving the master bed room to the great room area. That way, the master bed will have a window seat and the bedroom 3 will be changed to master bath room and WIC.

I will post our revised plan in a day or two.

Yani

Nice plan! I just see a couple of things I would change.

1) Where is your food storage going to be? I don't see a pantry unless you are going to use the cabinets in the Butler's pantry or perhaps the mudroom cabinets? I couldn't live without a walkin pantry

2) The jack and jill bath upstairs seems awkward to me. It's a bit of a maze. I might make that small bedroom a little bigger an opt for a hall bath instead.

3) I agree with Luckymom about making room for a double vanity. Hubby and I would have a hard time with only one sink.

4) I disagree with her about adding windows to the study though as I would use that back wall for a nice built in.

I like it! What's the exterior like?

Hi lindybarts:

The first floor - 1686 sqaure feet
The second floor - 1476 square feet.

I also think the Jack and Jill layout are kind of awkward. I was thinking of moving the master bed and bath to the great room and bedroom 3 area. That way, I will move the two bedrooms above the kitchen/mudroom and breakfast area. Our builder will have both layout for me and it will be ready in a day or two. (I will post both once I get the floor plan).

For the study room, since it is a long wall, I guess I can add small vertical window and leaves the center part for built in.

For pantry, I will ask the builder to change the butler's pantry to a walk in pantry. (Take a little space out from the garage)

The exterior of the house should be ready in a day or two. I will post them once I get it from our builder.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.
Yani

I love the Butler's pantry and like to have access to the dining room that way. If you put the walk in there, you'll have to walk around for the dining room.

Maybe rearrange the mudroom/laundry area to accomodate the walkin pantry but leave the Butler's pantry. Just my opinion of course.

Hi

Here are two elevations I got from my builder.
The first one will be all brick.
The second one will be stone and stucoo.

I like the second one better since I have more color choice using stucco.

Any suggestions to improve the look?

Thanks
Yani

Wow, love the plan. I would definitely keep the stairs to the basement in the garage. My parents had that and it is a great option. Allowed them to get a pool table in the basement because it would not go down the stairs with a turn. Also my dad had a workshop in the basement at the bottom of the stairs, in the winter it is too cold to work in the garage.
I like the second elevation better too.

I really like how open your great room/kitchen/breakfast nook area is. I wonder whether you're going to have a lot of empty space, though, in the breakfast nook room. I don't know how big the table is that you're planning to fit in here, but maybe you could consider making the kitchen itself a bit bigger & the breakfast nook smaller, especially since you have a separate dining room.

As others have suggested, built-in shelves in the study, to make it almost like a library, would be lovely.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to have 2 sinks in the master bathroom. It looks like you have a long enough counter where you could have a second sink in there.

I think that brick & stucco or brick & siding combination would be nice; to me, too much brick is not interesting, but that's just my personal taste.

Cheers!
Heather W

Here is a link that might be useful: Our ICF Home Construction Journal

These designs look awesome...But could you just reload the designs..actually the dimensions were not clear:)

i think the kitchen is ok...u dont need anything bigger than that..as i just noticed some proportions...I will also go by the second design..

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. :)

I had my builder changed a few things based on the suggestion but I only got the updated floor plan in paper.

The floor elevations I post here are taken using my digital camera and that is why it is not that clear.
Once I get the updated PDF file, I will post it here.

Yani