Here is the second floor. The other thing I'm not sure I like is the two story foyer. Suggestions?

If you don't like the two story foyer, make the open space above the foyer a walk-in closet for the front bedroom. That would then make the bedroom more 'fair' in terms of closet space. The other bedroom have nice sized closets and the front bedroom is cheated.

Or you don't have the need for the extra closet space, close in the area and make it a little loft instead of a wasted foyer area.

Because I have a cape style house... The right hand upper floor bedroom's bath will not likely have room for a mirror above the vanity as laid out... In our house, we have this setup and while it works well to have the toilet tucked under the eaves/on the knee wall (like in the middle bedroom's bath) it really doesn't work well for the sink. The slope of the roof will probably start too low to hang a mirror above the sink that will reflect anything higher than your mid-belly... I'd consider reorganizing that bathroom by turning the sink/vanity 90* and putting it on the window wall... Or something similar. If you have a tall knee wall there, this isn't a concern. But our knee wall is a 5' wall and that isn't high enough for a useful vanity mirror.

As for the stairs... Will you have a basement? (In my area, they aren't common, so that isn't as silly a question as you might guess). If not, you can reverse the direction of the stairs, and close up the foyer for a little sitting area/common area at the top/front of the house.

If you need basement stairs, then, how do you plan to use the little space between the LR and the FR/Master hallway? I think I would consider making the stairs a U shape with the top and bottom of the U in that hall way rather than an L shape. You could relocate the space that is now between the LR/FR to near the foyer.

DreamHomeDreamer: That's a great solution. Not sure where the stairs will end up ultimately but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

Kirkhall, good catch on the vanity. I'll have to check with the architect. We're in the south, so basements are common where we are and we're not doing on. I thought about turning the stairs but I'm worried that the foyer will look odd with a dead space between the back of the stairs and the front doorway. Any thoughts? I'll google to see if I can find a picture. I really need a visual.

Can you access the living room, from the entry? It looks like a nice layout and those stairs will be beautiful, at Christmas time.

I think I would put the second staircase, back into your plan. It will be nice for the kids to go from the mudroom to their bedrooms, without walking all the way through the house, to the entry.

And, I really like DreamHomeDreamer's suggestion, about making the area above the entry, into a walk in closet! That will be a great use of space :)

Lexmom-I haven't reloaded my pics yet, but as soon as I do, I'll post a pic of our home's exterior as you requested. Seems like there should be a pic somewhere in the 'How is your build progressing?' threads from maybe last July, August or Sept.

You have a very nice plan overall. There are several things I would think about...

-Is the laundry room large enough for the # of people living in the house?

-No bathroom near the garage entrance--picture this..DH is hot, sweaty and dirty from mowing the grass/gardening & the kids are dirty from playing outside and making mudpies--do you really want them having to traipse all the way through the mudroom, kitchen, family room and hall to get to the bathroom trailing dirt and grime as they go?

-Do you really need 3 areas to eat (breakfast room, island seating & dining room)? That's square footage that could be cut & save $$$ or you can trade that square footage for something else--like enlarging the area behind the garage to enable a powder room to be added and a larger more functional laundry room.

-Is 16x18 wide enough for the family room? Subtract ~2' for the fireplace protruding into the room, and a minimum of 3' for the walkway behind the sofa and you're down to 11x18 for usable furniture space.

-In the master bedroom, 13'4" is a little too narrow IMO to place a bed with a dresser/armoire on the opposite wall and still have a nice size path to walk between them/open drawers.

-The living room is a "dead end" room where the rest of the common areas on the first floor are open. Have you thought about opening it up on the foyer side?

You may want to check out some of John Tee's plans. Many of his plans are very similar in layout to what you're after (note that the exterior elevation may not be exactly what you're after). Here are links to a few plans that helped us tremendously when it came to trying to decide stair placement and other layout issues. You may want to browse through his various plans on his website and see if any of them would work for what you're after.

http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1003&Category_Code=2500-3000

http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1320&Category_Code=OVER-3000

http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=1327&Category_Code=OVER-3000

http://store.johntee.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JT&Product_Code=335&Category_Code=OVER-3000

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: House Plans by John Tee

i'll review your plan , as time permits ... :-)

Thanks mydreamhome and Summerfield!

Mydreamhome: Thanks for posting the additional plans to review. Here's a few answers to your questions.

-size of laundry room. I think it's big enough. What I currently have is just slightly smaller and works fine for us. I'm also considering putting a second laundry room on the second floor. I have a 14,10, and 7 yr old up there. My 14 yo will be responsible for helping with laundry.

-No bathroom near the garage entrance--good point. Will reconsider.

-Do you really need 3 areas to eat? Unfortunately, yes. The island won't be big enough for the six of us to eat at. I plan for it to be big enough for all four kiddos, though. I wanted to do away with the formal dining room as you have but dh and designer advised against for resale purposes.

-Size of family room. You're right. That's not big enough. I was thinking that the 16' did not include the fireplace but I'm sure you're right that it does.

-In the master bedroom, 13'4" is a little too narrow. Yes, that was a concern too. I currently have 15.5" and it's perfect.

-The living room is a "dead end" room. This will be my 2 year old's bedroom until our daughter goes to college in four years and then it will be a guest suite so I don't want it to open to the foyer. We don't need a formal living room. I know the closet isn't technically "in" the bedroom but I'm ok with that since it will eventually only be a guest bedroom.

Thanks for your suggestions and help!