Interesting plan! I don't have time to look at it in detail, but one thing that jumped out at me was the prep sink. It needs to be at the other end of the island, between the fridge and the cooktop, not opposite the other sink.

Anne

Kind of a hike from the garage to the kitchen with groceries. Fridge is too removed from kitchen sink and the eating area (Nook). I agree with Anne about moving the prep sink. Where will you set dishes you remove from the dishwasher? Not clear about what's labeled 'Nook'. You need 12 X 12 for a breakfast area, not counting the walkway alongside the island -- or is that a breakfast bar under the windows?

So...you'll have children within the next year -- to ten? Where can they play that's in sight of a parent? Do you mind if your LR is strewn with toys (and worse, lol)? Do you need a formal DR, or could that be play area?

Do you need BR #4? Plan on live-in help? I'd want a larger laundry and 'back hall' with closets for coats, mops, etc. I would not want to walk *through* a laundry daily.

I think you can do better with the master suite. I'd tire of making the 'end run' from bathroom to closet. Do you want to mix public and private (doors from porch to MBR)? It's nicer to have a window in the toilet room; showers can be interior.

There are a LOT of hallways here.

We'd planned a 38 X 10 terrace, but it looked 'skimpy'; 12 feet deep was better.

I really like the 'rotunda' foyer. (That and your username make me think you are a Francophile. LOL)

Hate the utility room. It's no wider than a hallway with no room at all for clothes, dirty or clean, coming or going out of the washer/dryer. Why would you want to walk through the laundry every time you go to the garage?

No uppers in kitchen. Tell me where you would put glasses? You want them close to the fridge. And then that DW is way out of the way.

I hate hate hate a double oven next to a fridge. No landing space from the fridge or oven. Ouch that dish is hot - quick turn around to put it on the island - oh wait my toddler is running back there to get a drink out of the fridge....

Absolutely no play area. 3000 sq feet with no area for toys. The reason - way too many halls. Halls are wasted space that comes from poorly designed spaces.

3 sets of exterior double doors. Have you ever seen a double door that seals as well as a single door?

I never understood the double door (or any glass door) onto a patio from the master that faced another room. Call me private but I don't want the kitchen to see into my master bedroom. And if you put up blinds, then you are wasting the glass door. The glass door is more expensive, less secure, and less insulated. I have a bunch but not into a bedroom. And double doors - are you looking to move furniture into your bedroom. I know it is romantic to envision opening french doors onto your patio in the morning. But not if you have kids hanging in the kitchen. And people don't usually build 4 bedroom houses to be a childless couple (I saw that you want kids someday).

French doors into a hallway from the courtyard. French doors look nice but no one would use these - except the teenager escaping after hours. Think of the view from the courtyard - oh look there is the bathroom and a hallway.

I would like to see a door into the master - even if it was a pocket. It is amazing what a second door does for noise abatement.

Wow! Thanks for your comments! Yes, really - this is just the kind of feedback we needed.

Kitchen - Yes we had already decided to move the prep sink but forgot to have that done. Few uppers in kitchen. I am 5'1" and can't reach any past the lowest shelf and don't really want to be getting a stool out to work in my kitchen. Glasses we planned for upper above the dishwasher.

What do you think about moving the double oven to the wall on the right? (between butler's pantry & window).

Yes, it has a lot of halls; however, we like the ones around the living room cause it adds dimension to living space. However, I think we can make some rearrangement of rooms so we have a little less hall and more bedroom.

We need to have 4 seperate rooms. We hope to have at least 2 kids and both my husband & I need offices. My husband is a professor and does a lot of work from home. I currently work from home and will be a student for the next couple of years. We plan to use my office as an office while I work and then an activity/play room as we have kids.

The distance from garage to kitchen doesn't bother me. The nook is actually a banquette. It is a 22" deep seat banquette along the outside wall.

Yes, I think we will work on the master suite. That was the last part we worked on. I just knew I didn't want entrance to closet from bathroom, but I hadn't thought about having to do that walk everytime working in bathroom and need something from closet.

The depth of patio I am unsure about. Husband prefers it deeper and I am afraid it will block sun. I think we may do 10' with extra concrete laid out.

I hadn't really thought about insulation and glass doors. I don't use blinds on french doors, I leave them open or put a curtain rod over them. We will go to single french door though because we were playing with a 3d creation of room and had trouble placing furniture. I had a single door in my last house and I really liked it.

Our inspiration floorplan for this plan
http://rollohomes.com/downloads/Rollo-Homes-Garden-Series-Plan-1-Tuscan-1-Story.pdf

It looks like it has a window instead of door into courtyard. Yeah, I don't think that door would be used much, probably just be locked most of the time!

I have some ideas on how to change the left side of the house to lessen halls and rearrange master; however, I'm unsure about utility/bedroom 4. It doesn't bother me too much, but it would be nicer to not enter through it. In my last house, I walked through laundry everyday and that utility room was about 1/4 size of the one we have drawn! I would appreciate any ideas on how to redo that part of the house.

Thanks again!

Oh, I live in South Texas where most houses are Spanish style -- ie round foyer. And my dog's name is Paris. :)

So your plan for glasses makes it a long walk to the fridge.

I've thought of that style of seating but the two things that stopped me where - access to the middle - you have to scoot in. And bad backs where that seating is less than comfortable and scooting is tough. I think kids can do it just fine but no one will want to be in "the middle". There are reasons that such a space saving layout is not done often. Have you ever lived with one? Like I said, I think it is a great idea, I was just too afraid to ever do it.

Your patio is covered? Yes you just sucked the light out of your living room. These things are tough especially in a hot climate.

"Bark! Bark!" That's our Westie saying hello to Paris.

Yours is the second or third large house plan that's been posted within the last few weeks by a couple who plan to have children. Trouble is, thinking about 'someday' children is different from knowing what plans work with young children. If you are past 30 you need a plan that works for children NOW -- or you'll have a lot of empty space. Few house plans work for every stage of life: Couples, young families, older families, retirees.

It's not realistic to think you can use one of these bedrooms as a playroom until your children are nearly school age. Little children want/need to play in sight of a parent -- who is often in the kitchen. I don't see a place in this plan except IN the kitchen or in the LR. Neither is ideal for a constantly messy space. I'd feel irritated because there's lots of *other* space sitting idle because it's in the wrong location.

Kids generate mess + more laundry. You may not have minded a walk-through laundry 'before'. Kids also generate 'stuff' that needs storage in the house and the garage.

Refrigerators are the most-visited appliance in the kitchen. Your plan isolates it. I'm still unhappy with having no 'laying space' near the dishwasher, the main sink, the ovens, OR the refrigerator. This island requires a lot of space. If you are short, can you even reach the center of it? (You'll get more help from the Kitchen Forum.)

Do try to lessen the hallways. Pretty, but you won't enjoy cleaning 'pretty'. There are a couple of homes near me that are converted stables, similar to your 'U' plan. They are charming, with a lot of rooms, but when they come on the market they are difficult to sell.

If the patio is not roofed, won't it be hot? If it is roofed, you could use some skylights (operable and with shades) to keep interior rooms light. If it is open, how about something other than concrete?

Re: French doors. We have many. They are Pella, with pleated shades between the glass for privacy and sun control. Do decide which doors you want operable and save some money. Most people only use one of a set.

Our MBR suite might be workable for you. Ours is a rectangle with BR and one end and bath at the other. A short hallway, flanked by closets, connects the two. A pedestal sink faces each closet wall, with the row of toilet room, tub, and shower across from them on the opposite wall. Closets have sliding doors (seldom closed). There's a door between hallway and the bathroom.

I'm glad you are doing the inexpensive *paper* work on plans before plunging ahead and trying to make fixes later.

I think you need to show an elevation, too. It is really hard to evaluate a floor plan in isolation, especially when suggesting changes.

I noticed a couple of things that I don't think anyone else mentioned.

Dishwasher against a wall. You lose access from one side, which can make things difficult at times. Personally, I couldn't deal with it. It can also make it more difficult to service, should it need it.

The island appears to be much too close to the counter on both the sink side and the oven/fridge end. You really should have about four feet. Some people get by with three, but it can be cramped, especially when two or more people are working there.

You also need body clearance between an open oven or refrigerator door and the island. it doesn't look like you have much more than a couple of inches.

Lastly, the dryer will exhaust near the "front" entrance. It's not the best spot, as you may have lint greeting your guests from time to time, but it's not terrible. Just thought I would mention it.

Paris says "Grrrrr!" She's a grouchy alpha.

This is what we ended with today! I really like the way the master turned out and how we elimated the hall on the left. We relocated bedroom no. 4 (husband study) to top right of house to move the laundry room out. I think I feel better about all the changes; however, still unsure about kitchen/nook/appliance layout.

The green area is a corner banquette. I've never lived with a banquette, but I think this one wouldn't be too bad to get in/out. I think it would be fun to have, especially for kids.

I think there is enough clearance in kitchen. We had a ceiling drawn in previous plan that was the same shape as island that made the floor plan kind of confusing. We decided to make the ceiling in the kitchen flat. Dimensions are written in the kitchen - we have about 1ft left to the dishwasher.

The patio is covered. I am a little concerned about getting light in there. I really like open sunlight. My last house had 2 big long windows and 3 smaller windows on the side that let light in (no porches) and I loved that! We should get some light in from front window to couryard, right? Would skylights be necessary with light from front window?

Thanks again for your thoughts! This has helped us a LOT!

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This is the latest revision. We widened the pantry to use more of the hall between living and kitchen/dining.

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Beautiful house design.

I personally would have left the pantry like it was...the way it was before it created a nice open feel and an "open hallway" from the mudroom/front door to the kitchen area.

All I can say is...I'm jealous! :) This will be a gorgeous house once you get all the things that bug you worked out. I read through all the comments, but didn't see anything about the exterior style of the home? What will the exterior and materials be...or are you not that far along, still stuck working the inside details?

Since you have a banquette and I see you have been adjusting it here....I saw the most gorgeous version today on a houseplan site, though it probably is not a form that would work for your layout. I will post the link below. It takes you to the plan page and you can scroll through the pictures to see the one with the banquette.

Here is a link that might be useful: dutch colonial w/banquette

BIG improvement! Especially the master suite! I like the idea of moving the study to the rear of the house. That bathroom will be used.

Do post your plan on the Kitchen Forum if you haven't done so. (One foot of counter 'frontage' is much more useful if you can stretch it to 18".) Still a hike with groceries and from the fridge to the eating area.

Skylights in the porch roof can make a big difference.

Check your exterior walls for possible additional windows. (I can't have too much natural light!)

Thanks for the comments! Yes, we are really happy the way the master suite turned out.

Do you mean doing something like this in porch? Our ceiling start at 12' in living area.

I am really excited about the nook also! We originally had a round one and then I changed to square and then to angle and I think we will be going back to round.

The house will have stucco and stone exterior. I asked the elevation guy to come up with something and send cause I really have no idea how I want it to look on the exterior.

We are still unsure about kithcen layout. We may be adding a wall of cabinets to hall entering study (and rearranging entrance to study/bath) to put in some space for a desk.

Yes to skylights in back porch roof. How far out can you go with a roof, starting at 12 feet? (No snow load problems where you're building? Just enough slope for rain run-off?) House faces South, so this will be North?

Is your lot wide enough to place the garage to the side/rear of the house?

I'm not sure how far we can go out with the roof, but the builder suggested going out to end of master bedroom cause it is easier when building. Yes, we don't have snow, just rain.

No, the lot is not wide enough to stick on the side/rear. We had tried that at first but didn't have the space. We can only go about 1ft more to the right with the garage.

The house faces east and the windows in living room are facing the west.

Thanks for your ideas! I really appreciate it!

You don't want to roof out as far as the MBR. You may want to pave out to there though. Might a pergola work for shade, or do you want to sit outside when it's raining?

I forgot your directions. On most plans North is the top of the drawing.

If costs get out of hand, I think the square-corner nook would be very pleasing -- and you'd have room for a desk in the right corner of the kitchen across from the table.